Predrag Đorđević

Predrag Đorđević (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг Ђорђевић, Greek: Πρέντρακ Τζόρτζεβιτς, sometimes written in English media as "Predrag Djordjevic") (born August 4, 1972 in Kragujevac, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Serbian football player famed for his free kicks.

He has been playing as left winger for Olympiakos for the last 12 years. He averages a goal nearly every three games in domestic football . He plays as a left side midfield for the Greek club Olympiacos and Serbia and Montenegro national football team. He is one of the best foreign footballers who have played in the Greek championship, a legendary symbol of the golden age (11 champions in 12 years) of the most successful Greek club, Olympiakos.

Having started his career in the youth section of Radnicki Kragujevac, his talent was spotted by FK Crvena Zvezda scouts who signed him and then loaned him to FK Spartak Subotica, Đorđević first moved to Greece to play for third division Paniliakos in 1993. He was an instrumental figure as the Pyrgos club achieved successive promotions.

He came to Olympiakos from Paniliakos together with Stelios Giannakopoulos in 1996. They were the basis of the team that won the seven consecutive titles. Dušan Bajević signed him for Olympiacos in the summer of 1996. The Serbian established himself as the club's dead-ball specialist, penalty taker and leader. He formed, along with Grigoris Georgatos, an outstanding left wing for Olympiakos in 1998-99 and they were the catalytic factor for Olympiakos qualifying to the UEFA Champions League 1998-99 Quarter-Finals. He scored 50 goals in his first five seasons at Olympiacos, all of which brought titles. Another superlative season in red and white followed in 2002/03, Đorđević scoring 14 league goals and providing 15 assists. He also hit form in the UEFA Champions League, scoring four goals in six games which included a hat-trick against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. In 2003/04, Đorđević recorded ten goals and 22 assists and was voted the best foreign player in the Greek Alpha Ethniki.

In 2004/05 he missed his club's first three Champions League matches through injury, but returned to score the winning goal against RC Deportivo La Coruña. He captained his side in all four UEFA Cup matches, scoring against Newcastle United FC. Led his side to the domestic double, appearing in 25 league matches, scoring five goals and providing six assists, before signing a two-year contract extension.

Amazingly, 2005–2006 was then 34-year-old Đorđević's most productive season, only missing one game in the Greek National A division leading the club's scoring charts with 15 goals and reaching a total of 110 in the competition. The icing on the cake was his appearance that summer in 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Another important period for Đorđević, the 2006–2007 season would prove record breaking. Once again scoring crucial goals for his club, Predrag not only continued his goal streak against Olympiakos' rivals AEK Athens, but also added another League trophy to the club's vast collection. Along with Georgios Anatolakis this would be the captain's 10th championship, making him the only foreign player in Greece to achieve such a feat.

The 2007–2008 season proved once again to be successful for the Olympiakos captain as he led a very new looking squad out to UEFA Champions League glory. Defeating the likes of SV Werder Bremen and S.S. Lazio, Olympiakos finished with the same points as group leaders Real Madrid FC and recorded their first Champions League away win in history. Đorđević played a vital role in the Greek club's entry into the Knockout rounds for the second time in their history, finishing the group stages with 4 assists; 1st in the tournament. [ [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/statistics/players/typestat=a/index.html uefa.com - UEFA Champions League - Statistics ] ] As a result of his excellent form in both Europe and the Greek Superleague, Đorđević who was set to retire at the end of the 2008 season, extended his contract for another year.

Đorđević made his international debut for the then Yugoslavia against Switzerland in a September 1998. He featured in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2000, but did not make thesquad for the finals. Also appeared on the road to UEFA EURO 2004, although Serbia and Montenegro did not qualify for Portugal, and remained a key part of their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying side. Đorđević played every minute in Serbia and Montenegro's failed World Cup campaign, losing each match in their Group C encounters with Argentina, Netherlands, and Côte d'Ivoire.

He is married to a Greek woman and has citizenship in the country.He is, by far, the leading scorer of the chart of foreign players who have played for Olympiakos and he is acknowledged as one of the greatest foreign players to have played in Greece.

Honours

* Greek Super League: (11) : 1996–1997, 1997–1998, 1998–1999, 1999–2000, 2000–2001, 2001–2002, 2002–2003, 2004–2005, 2005–2006, 2006–2007, 2007–2008
* Greek Cup: (4) : 1997–1998, 2004–2005, 2005–2006, 2007–2008
* Greek Super Cup: (1) : 2007

References