Ivica Iliev
Ivica Iliev (Serbian Cyrillic: Ивица Илиев, pronounced [ǐvitsa ilǐev]; born 27 October 1979) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
 Iliev being interviewed in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ivica Iliev | ||
| Date of birth | 27 October 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker / Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rad | |||
| 1996–1997 | Partizan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2004 | Partizan | 150 | (41) |
| 2004–2007 | Messina | 58 | (1) |
| 2006 | → Genoa (loan) | 17 | (3) |
| 2007–2008 | PAOK | 17 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | Energie Cottbus | 27 | (3) |
| 2009–2010 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 17 | (3) |
| 2010–2011 | Partizan | 27 | (13) |
| 2011–2013 | Wisła Kraków | 48 | (4) |
| Total | 361 | (69) | |
| National team | |||
| 1996 | FR Yugoslavia U16[lower-alpha 1] | 3 | (0) |
| 1997 | FR Yugoslavia U18[lower-alpha 1] | 4 | (2) |
| 1998–2001 | FR Yugoslavia U21[lower-alpha 1] | 6 | (1) |
| 2003 | Serbia and Montenegro | 2 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Club career
After starting out as a youngster at Rad, Iliev joined the youth system of Partizan in January 1996. He made his first-team debut under manager Ljubiša Tumbaković during the 1997–98 season, recording four league appearances in the process. In the following 1998–99 season, Iliev scored his first goals for Partizan, including a header in a 2–3 home loss to Lazio in the return leg of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round.[1] He later started playing more regularly, scoring eight league goals in the 1999–2000 season. After the departure of Mateja Kežman that summer, Iliev formed a strike partnership with Andrija Delibašić.[2] They became a formidable duo in the following period, as the team won back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003. In the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, Iliev scored the only goal in a 1–0 return leg win against Newcastle United at St James' Park, resulting in a 1–1 draw on aggregate.[3] Eventually, Partizan won the match 4–3 on penalties and reached the competition's group stage for the first time in the club's history.
In July 2004, Iliev went abroad and joined Italian side Messina on a free transfer.[4] He made 29 appearances and scored once in his debut season in Serie A, as the club finished in a respectable seventh place. In January 2006, after receiving very little playing time, Iliev was loaned to Serie C1 side Genoa, helping them earn promotion to Serie B via the playoffs. He subsequently returned to Messina, but failed to help the team avoid relegation from Serie A in the 2006–07 campaign, finishing bottom of the table.
After three years in Italy, Iliev moved to Greece and signed with PAOK. He scored only one goal in the 2007–08 season, as the club failed to secure a spot in UEFA competitions. In August 2008, Iliev joined German side Energie Cottbus.[5] He managed to score three Bundesliga goals from 27 games in the 2008–09 season. They were eventually relegated from the top flight after losing in the playoffs. In August 2009, Iliev signed with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv on a one-year deal. He quickly became an important part of the team, but suffered an injury in January 2010, causing him to miss the remainder of the 2009–10 season.
On 21 July 2010, Iliev returned to his parent club Partizan on a one-year deal.[6] He scored one goal in the Champions League preliminary phase,[7] helping the side reach the group stage after seven years. With 13 goals, Iliev was the league's joint top scorer, being named in the competition's Team of the Season, while also collecting the double.
In June 2011, Iliev moved to Poland and signed a two-year contract with Wisła Kraków.[8] He made a career-high 45 appearances and scored three goals across all competitions during his debut season. In the following 2012–13 campaign, Iliev netted four goals in 24 games, before being released by the Polish side.
International career
Iliev earned two caps for Serbia and Montenegro, making his international debut as a substitute for Goran Trobok in a 0–1 friendly loss at Germany on 30 April 2003. He scored a goal in his second appearance, a 3–4 friendly loss against Poland on 16 November 2003.
Post-playing career
On 27 October 2015, on his 36th birthday, Iliev was appointed as sporting director of Partizan.[9] His most notable signings included Everton Luiz, Leonardo, and Seydouba Soumah. Iliev resigned from the position in March 2019.[10]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Partizan | 1997–98 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 22 | 6 | |||
| 1999–2000 | 29 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | — | 37 | 8 | |||
| 2000–01 | 33 | 10 | 5 | 6 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 42 | 16 | |||
| 2001–02 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 27 | 6 | |||
| 2002–03 | 27 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 2 | — | 37 | 15 | |||
| 2003–04 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | — | 31 | 4 | |||
| Total | 150 | 41 | 17 | 9 | — | 33 | 5 | — | 200 | 55 | |||
| Messina | 2004–05 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2005–06 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Genoa (loan) | 2005–06 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | 21 | 4 | ||
| Messina | 2006–07 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| Total | 58 | 1 | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | 67 | 2 | ||||
| PAOK | 2007–08 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 18 | 1 | |||
| Energie Cottbus | 2008–09 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 30 | 3 | ||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2009–10 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 20 | 5 | ||
| Partizan | 2010–11 | 27 | 13 | 4 | 1 | — | 8 | 1 | — | 39 | 15 | ||
| Wisła Kraków | 2011–12 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | 12 | 1 | — | 45 | 3 | ||
| 2012–13 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 24 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 48 | 4 | 9 | 2 | — | 12 | 1 | — | 69 | 7 | |||
| Career total | 361 | 69 | 42 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 53 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 464 | 92 | |
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia and Montenegro | 2003 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | |
Honours
Club
- Partizan
Individual
Notes
- Only official UEFA matches included
References
- "Lazio nei quarti" (in Italian). raisport.rai.it. 6 November 1998. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "Iliev i Delibašić u glavnim ulogama" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 13 July 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "Newcastle pay Partizan penalty". uefa.com. 28 August 2003. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "Iliev makes Messina move". uefa.com. 12 July 2004. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "Serbe Iliev wechselt ablösefrei nach Cottbus" (in German). tagesspiegel.de. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- "Iliev se vratio u Partizan" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "Partizan leave HJK on the brink". uefa.com. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "Ivica Iliev joins Wisła Kraków". wisla.krakow.pl. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "Ivica Iliev sportski direktor Partizana" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "Ivica Iliev podneo ostavku!" (in Serbian). b92.net. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ivica Iliev. |
- Ivica Iliev at 90minut.pl (in Polish)
- Ivica Iliev at fussballdaten.de (in German)
- Ivica Iliev at Reprezentacija.rs (in Serbian)
- Ivica Iliev – UEFA competition record
- Ivica Iliev at National-Football-Teams.com