Branislav Ivanović

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Personal information
Bane Ivanović
Full name	Branislav "Bane" Ivanović
Date of birth	22 February 1984 (1984-02-22) (age 24)
Place of birth	Sremska Mitrovica, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	2
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002-2003 2003-2006 2006-2008 2008-	SREM Sremska Mitrovica OFK Beograd Lokomotiv Moscow Chelsea	19 (2) 55 (5) 54 (5) 00 (0)
National team²
2006- 2006-	Serbia U21 Serbia	33 (4) 012 (1)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 February, 2008. ² National team caps and goals correct as of 20 February, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Branislav Ivanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Бранислав Ивановић, born February 22, 1984) is a Serbian footballer, currently playing for Chelsea F.C. in the Premier League. He is a versatile defensive player, able to play across the defence and in central defensive midfield role.

1 Club career
- 1.1 Early years and Lokomotiv
- 1.2 Chelsea
2 International career
- 2.1 Under-21
- 2.2 Senior
3 Career honours
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early years and Lokomotiv

Ivanović began his career in his home town in FC SREM Sremska Mitrovica, before transferring to OFK Beograd in 2003. After three years of playing in the Serbian Superliga, the first division of football in Serbia and previously Montenegro, he was signed by FC Lokomotiv Moscow in 2006. He became a member of national Serbian team during his Russian career. The main trophy that he won in "Loko" was the Russian Cup in 2007.

[edit] Chelsea

On January 15, 2008, Chelsea confirmed that the club had agreed terms with Lokomotiv for Ivanović's £9 million transfer^[1] subject to the agreement of personal terms and the passing of a medical^[2], having beaten competition from the likes of AC Milan, Juventus, Internazionale and Manchester United for his signature. Lokomotiv Moscow announced the transfer fee of Ivanović was €13 million (£9.7 million). According to the club, the transfer was the largest in Russian football history.^[3] Ivanović signed a three-and-a-half year contract with Chelsea the following day. He was given the number 2 shirt.^[4]

As of May 24, 2008, Ivanovic is yet to make his first team debut for Chelsea, due to a lack of match fitness which is caused by the Russian league season being over when Chelsea signed him. He has played numerous times for the Chelsea reserve side however, and is expected to be more involved with the first team next season .

[edit] International career

[edit] Under-21

He took part in the 2006 U-21 Championships in Portugal, where he made four appearances and scored one goal for Serbia and Montenegro. Ivanović was given the captains armband during this time and continues to captain the side. He is considered by many as one of Serbia's best young players. He was named in the 'UEFA Team of the tournament' for the 2007 U-21 Championships held in the Netherlands, where they came second.

[edit] Senior

Branislav Ivanović received his first cap on June 8, 2005 in Toronto, Canada, when Serbia and Montenegro played a friendly against Italy. The game finished 1-1. ^[5] Ivanovic scored his first international goal on September 12, 2007 against Portugal in Lisbon. The goal was of importance because Serbia were losing 1-0 up until the 88th minute when Ivanović scored from a Stanković freekick sealing a 1-1 draw. This game was played for Euro 2008 qualifying.^[6]