Perica Ognjenović

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Perica Ognjenović
Personal information
Full name Perica Ognjenović
Date of birth February 24, 1977 (1977-02-24) (age 31)
Place of birth    Smederevska Palanka, SFR Yugoslavia
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Ergotelis FC
Youth clubs
 ?-1994 Mladost Goša
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1992-1994
1994-1998
1999-2001
Jun'01 - Jan'02
2002
2003
2003-2005
2005 - 2006
2006
2006-
Flag of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Mladost Goša
Flag of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade
Flag of Spain Real Madrid
no club
Flag of Germany 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Flag of the People's Republic of China Dalian Shide
Flag of Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv
Flag of France Angers SCO
Flag of Malaysia Selangor FA
Flag of Greece Ergotelis FC
28 (9)
89 (24)
12 (0)

2 (0)
2 (0)
2 (0)
7 (0)
0 (0)
26 (3)   
National team
1995-1998 FR Yugoslavia 8 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Perica Ognjenović (Serbian Cyrillic: Перица Огњеновић) (born 24 February 1977 in Smederevska Palanka, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia), is a Serbian footballer.

At one point considered to be among Serbia's brightest footballing talents, he is now widely viewed as one of the more spectacular examples of a sports-related bust.

Ognjenović's first football steps were taken with modest hometown side Mladost Goša where he went through all age levels before cracking the senior squad just short of his 16th birthday during 1992-93 season. At the time, FK Mladost competed in Srpska liga (3rd tier competition) and it soon became apparent Ognjenovic's skill and talent far surpassed that level of competition. He caught the eye of Serbian powerhouse Red Star Belgrade that brought the promising 17-year-old into their squad during summer 1994.

Extremely speedy and skillful on the ball, he quickly marked himself out as a potential star. A series of glowing performances for Red Star Belgrade earned him a move to Real Madrid on January 12, 1999 for a DM5 million transfer fee, and a reported annual salary of DM1.2 million.[1] However, his time in Madrid was not a happy one. Ognjenovic spent two and a half fruitless years at Bernabeu, barely making around 30 first team appearances, mostly as a substitute, in all competitions (Primera, Copa del Rey, and Champions League). He was finally released during summer of 2001.

For the next six months, Ognjenovic had no club. He trained alone with a private coach until Kaiserslautern arranged a tryout and brought him in for free on January 17, 2002. The contract was signed until summer of 2002 with a 2-year extension option.[2][3]

After failing to settle in Germany, Ognjenović's next stop was China with Dalian Shide where he was brought during January 2003 by the club's coach Milorad Kosanović who also previously coached him at Red Star.

Ognjenović then moved on to Dynamo Kyiv in the summer of 2003, but couldn't earn playing time there either. Once one of the greatest European talents, his next stop was in French lower league club Angers SCO beginning in January 2005.

In May 2006, Ognjenović joined Malaysian Super League side, Selangor from Shah Alam, signing a 6-month contract.[4] The club was sitting in last place at the time of his signing.

More recently Ognjenović joined Greek Super League club Ergotelis FC in December 2006 on a one and a half year contract.

Ognjenović was a member of the FR Yugoslavia 1998 FIFA World Cup squad.

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