Darko Božović

Darko Božović
Božović with Happy Valley in 2013
Personal information
Full name Darko Božović
Date of birth (1978-08-09) 9 August 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Titograd, SR Montenegro, Yugoslavia
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Bulgaria (goalkeeping coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Teleoptik 3 (0)
1997–2000 Srem Jakovo 56 (0)
2000–2002 Mladenovac 63 (0)
2002–2004 Timok 49 (0)
2004–2005 Srem 55 (0)
2005–2007 Bežanija 68 (1)
2007–2010 Partizan 24 (0)
2011–2012 Sloboda Užice 41 (0)
2012 Zob Ahan 7 (0)
2013 Bežanija 15 (0)
2013–2014 Happy Valley 8 (0)
2014–2015 Voždovac 2 (0)
Total 391 (1)
International career
2007 Montenegro 2 (0)
Managerial career
2022– Bulgaria (goalkeeping coach)
2023– Teleoptik (goalkeeping coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Darko Božović (Cyrillic: Дарко Божовић; born 9 August 1978) is a Montenegrin retired footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.

Club career

On 28 October 2006, while playing for Bežanija, Božović scored an equalizer in their home league fixture against Voždovac. Firstly, on the 0–1 result, he defended a penalty by Miloš Kolaković in the 88th minute, and then, in the fourth minute of injury time, he scored a header from a corner kick for the final 1–1.[1]

In June 2007, Božović moved to Partizan, playing regularly for the team in the first six months. However, he lost his place in the starting eleven in the second half of the 2007–08 season to his fellow countryman Mladen Božović, who arrived at the club in the 2008 winter transfer window. In the summer of 2010, Božović was released by the club after receiving very little playing time in the previous two years.

In August 2013, Božović joined Hong Kong First Division side Happy Valley. On 5 January 2014, he was one of the seven players and coaching staff arrested by the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) for allegations with match-fixing.[2][3] On 6 January 2014, the homes of Božović and five other Happy Valley players were raided by the ICAC as the officials stepped up their investigation into alleged match-fixing.[4] Božović was later released without charge, although his teammates Hinson Leung and Saša Mus were jailed for 12 months for match-fixing in 2014.[5][6] On 26 March 2014, Božović and other Happy Valley players went to the Hong Kong Labour Department to make claims against Happy Valley for unpaid and outstanding wages worth around 100,000 Hong Kong dollars.[7]

After leaving Happy Valley in Hong Kong, Božović returned to Serbia and joined Superlige-side FK Voždovac in July 2014.[8]

International career

Božović made his debut for Montenegro in a September 2007 friendly match against Sweden and has earned a total of 2 caps, scoring no goals. His second and final international was another friendly, a month later against Estonia.[9]

Honours

Bežanija

Partizan

References

  1. ^ "Podvig golmana Bežanije Božovića" (in Serbian). B92. 29 October 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Happy Valley in match-fixing probe". The Standard. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  3. ^ "Hong Kong football club backers face tough financial screening in wake of match-fixing probe". South China Morning Post. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Homes raided in football-fix probe". The Standard. 7 January 2014. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Croatian soccer player Sasa Mus jailed for match-fixing". South China Morning Post. 16 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Decision on case concerning Sasa Mus". Hong Kong Football Association. 30 June 2015.
  7. ^ "愉園十球員追十萬欠薪" (in Chinese). Metro. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Darko Božović najavljuje pojačanja Voždovca: Valjda će i nama da krene" (in Bosnian). Mozzart Sport. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
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