Milivoje Novaković

Milivoje Novaković
Novaković in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-05-18) 18 May 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Slovan
0000–1998 Olimpija
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 DSG Klopeinersee 20 (9)
2000–2001 SAK Klagenfurt 16 (7)
2001–2004 ASK Voitsberg 14 (8)
2004 → SV Mattersburg (loan) 6 (2)
2004–2005 LASK 21 (8)
2005–2006 Litex Lovech 26 (18)
2006–2014 1. FC Köln 166 (74)
2012–2013 → Omiya Ardija (loan) 38 (17)
2014 Shimizu S-Pulse 34 (12)
2015 Nagoya Grampus 26 (5)
2016–2017 Maribor 37 (16)
Total 404 (176)
International career
2006–2017 Slovenia 80 (32)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Milivoje Novaković (Slovene pronunciation: [ˈmiːliʋɔjɛ nɔˈʋaːkɔʋitʃ];[tones?] Serbian Cyrillic: Миливоје Новаковић, pronounced [noʋǎːkoʋitɕ];[2] born 18 May 1979) is a Slovenian retired footballer who played as a forward.

Club career

Novaković spent his youth career at Olimpija where he remained until the age of 19, when he was forced to leave and look for the opportunity to play professional football elsewhere as he was written off by the club officials who considered him unpromising and too skinny for a forward.[3][4][5] Many years later, at the height of his playing career, Novaković revealed that people at Olimpija had demanded money in order to promote him to the main squad.[5]

He then went to play football for lower tier Austrian clubs where he rose to prominence, eventually signing with professional sides SV Mattersburg and LASK.[3][4] In 2005, he signed with the Bulgarian top division side Litex Lovech and immediately established himself as one of their top players scoring 16 goals in 24 appearances during the 2005–06 season, earning the title of the league's top goalscorer.[6] In the same season, Litex qualified for the group stage of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, where Novaković scored two of the clubs's four goals to help the Bulgarian team reach the round of 32, where they were eliminated by France's Strasbourg with 2–0 on aggregate.

During the summer of 2006 he was linked with several different clubs (e.g. German team 1. FC Köln,[7] Israeli team Beitar Jerusalem[8] and Bulgarian champions Levski Sofia[9]) but despite his wish to continue his career in a different club he started, with three goals on three league appearances, the 2006–07 season with Litex Lovech who faced Koper from Slovenia and AC Omonia from Cyprus in the qualifying rounds of the 2006–07 UEFA Cup.[10] However, Novaković's wish to leave the club was granted in late August 2006 when he joined German side 1. FC Köln for around €1.5 million.[11]

In his first season in Germany Novaković quickly established himself in the first team and eventually finished the season with ten goals in 25 2. Bundesliga appearances, finishing the season second on the club's top scorers list. During his second season with Köln he scored 20 goals in 33 league appearances[12] and became the top goalscorer of the 2. Bundesliga, helping his side reach the elite Bundesliga. During the 2008–09 season, he was again Köln's top goalscorer with 16 Bundesliga goals to his name. On 12 September 2008, coach Christoph Daum made him captain of the first team squad, however in late November 2009, he lost his captaincy due to a dispute with Köln's new manager Zvonimir Soldo. The 2010–11 season was his best season in the Bundesliga as Köln finished 10th on the league table with Novaković scoring 17 goals, finishing the season on third place in the league's top scorer's list. Novaković was Köln's top scorer in three of the club's four Bundesliga seasons, during his spell at the club, scoring 44 goals in 108 appearances. After finishing the next season on 17th place Köln was relegated and during the summer of 2012 the club officials decided to cut costs of the first team before the start of the season in the second tier.

Novaković was one of the players whose contract expenses were too high and on 1 August 2012, he joined J1 League side Omiya Ardija, on loan until December 2012. After the end of the loan, Novaković returned to Cologne and stayed fit with an individual training program. On 26 January 2013, the loan was eventually renewed through 31 December 2013. In 2014 Novaković signed a two-year deal with another J League side Shimizu S Pulse. After one year, he moved to Nagoya Grampus, but he was released after only one season.[13]

On 18 February 2016, he signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Slovenian club Maribor.[14]

International career

Novaković was a member of the Slovenia national team between 2006 and 2017, scoring 32 goals in 80 appearances.[15] He scored his first international goals on 31 May 2006 against Trinidad and Tobago, when he scored all three goals for Slovenia in a 3–1 win.[16] He initially retired from international football on 13 February 2012, saying he wanted to focus on club football. However, in January 2013 he said that he is ready to play for the national team once again.[17] On 11 October 2013, he scored a hat-trick against Norway in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which Slovenia won 3–0.[18] He retired from the national team in June 2017 after the match against Malta, where he also scored Slovenia's second goal in a 2–0 win.[19]

Career statistics

International

Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Novaković goal.
List of international goals scored by Milivoje Novaković[20]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 31 May 2006 Arena Petrol, Celje, Slovenia  Trinidad and Tobago 1–0 3–1 Friendly
2 2–0
3 3–1
4 7 October 2006 Arena Petrol, Celje, Slovenia  Luxembourg 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
5 8 September 2007 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
6 6 February 2008 Nova Gorica Sports Park, Nova Gorica, Slovenia  Denmark 1–1 1–2 Friendly
7 10 September 2008 Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia  Slovakia 1–0 2–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 2–0
9 11 October 2008 Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia  Northern Ireland 1–0 2–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 19 November 2008 Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2–4 3–4 Friendly
11 3–4
12 9 September 2009 Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia  Poland 2–0 3–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
13 14 October 2009 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 1–0 3–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
14 3 March 2010 Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia  Qatar 1–0 4–1 Friendly
15 4 June 2010 Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia  New Zealand 1–0 3–1 Friendly
16 2–1
17 7 September 2010 Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia  Serbia 1–0 1–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
18 8 October 2010 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  Faroe Islands 4–0 5–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
19 9 February 2011 Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania  Albania 1–0 2–1 Friendly
20 22 March 2013 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  Iceland 1–0 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
21 31 May 2013 Schüco Arena, Bielefeld, Germany  Turkey 1–0 2–0 Friendly
22 10 September 2013 GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus 1–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
23 11 October 2013 Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia  Norway 1–0 3–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
24 2–0
25 3–0
26 9 October 2014 Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia   Switzerland 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
27 12 October 2014 LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania  Lithuania 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
28 2–0
29 27 March 2015 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  San Marino 4–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
30 14 June 2015 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  England 1–0 2–3 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
31 5 September 2015 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland   Switzerland 1–0 2–3 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
32 10 June 2017 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  Malta 2–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Maribor

Individual

References

  1. ^ "選手データ ノヴァコヴィッチ | 名古屋グランパス公式サイト". Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  2. ^ "nȍv". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 18 March 2018. Nováković
  3. ^ a b "Новакович скоро ще е №1 в националния" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  4. ^ a b Luka Petrič (13 October 2014). "Pri 35 letih v lovu na rekord Zlatka Zahoviča" [At 35 years of age on the hunt for the record of Zlatko Zahovic] (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  5. ^ a b Matej Rijavec (19 February 2016). "18-letno popotovanje iz Ljubljane do Maribora" [An 18-year journey from Ljubljana to Maribor] (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Бъдещият нападател на "Литекс": искам да повторя пътя на Миливое Новакович". sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). 19 January 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Кьолн иска Миливое Новакович". sport1.bg (in Bulgarian). 11 July 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  8. ^ "Бейтар Йерусалим иска Новакович". sport1.bg (in Bulgarian). 4 July 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  9. ^ Katsarov, Rumen (6 June 2006). "Левски хвърли око на Новакович и Желев". standartnews.com (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  10. ^ "?". Archived from the original on 12 March 2007.
  11. ^ Popov, Dimitar (30 August 2006). "Новакович подписа с Кьолн за три години". topsport.ibox.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  12. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (12 December 2019). "Milivoje Novaković – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  13. ^ "ニュース｜名古屋グランパス公式サイト".
  14. ^ A. G. (18 February 2016). "Maribor potegnil veliko potezo - Novaković se seli v Ljudski vrt" [Maribor made a big move - Novakovic is moving to Ljudski vrt] (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  15. ^ Mamrud, Roberto (12 December 2019). "Milivoje Novakovic – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  16. ^ "Slovenci nadigrali Trinidad in Tobago" (in Slovenian). Delo. 1 June 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Novaković sprejel Katančevo povabilo". Dnevnik (in Slovenian). 16 January 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  18. ^ Plestenjak, Rok (11 October 2013). "Zgodovinsko: Maestralni Novaković s tremi goli potopil vikinško ladjo" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Slovenija strla Malto, Novaković odšel "v slogu"" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  20. ^ Milivoje Novaković at Soccerway
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Milivoje Novaković.