Saša Ćurčić

Saša Ćurčić

Football player infobox
playername = Saša Ćurčić


fullname = Aleksandar Ćurčić
nickname = Đani
height = 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
dateofbirth = birth date and age|df=yes|1972|2|14
cityofbirth = Belgrade
countryofbirth = SFR Yugoslavia
currentclub = Retired
clubnumber =
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = 25. maj Kovilovo
Pionir Besni Fok
Trudbenik
OFK Beograd
years = 1991-1993
1993-1995
1995-1996
1996-1998
1998-1999
1999
2000
2000-2001
clubs = OFK Beograd
FK Partizan
Bolton Wanderers
Aston Villa
Crystal Palace
MetroStars
Motherwell
Obilić Belgrade
caps(goals) = 59 (5)
74 (14)
28 (4)
29 (0)
23 (5)
9 (2)
5 (0)
- (-)
nationalyears = 1991-1998
nationalteam = SFRY/FRY
nationalcaps(goals) = 14 (1)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Aleksandar "Saša" Ćurčić (Александар Ћурчић - Саша) (born 14 February 1972 in Belgrade, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Serbian former football midfielder.

Known for his eccentricity, Ćurčić played for OFK Beograd (1991-93), Partizan Belgrade (1993-95), Bolton Wanderers (1995-96), Aston Villa (1996-98), Crystal Palace (1998-99), MetroStars (1999), and Motherwell (2000). In Serbia, he goes by the nickname Đani "(Johnny)".

He also turned out 14 times for the national team of Yugoslavia, and scored one of the most memorable goals in the history of the Premier League whilst with Bolton.

Early life

Growing up on the banks of Danube in the Belgrade suburb of Besni Fok, Ćurčić was a lively kid who took to football very early. His involvement with the sport came at the expense of everything else, including school as he only completed primary education.

After playing youth football with several local area clubs, he caught the attention of OFK Beograd, a more established club that included Ćurčić in their youth system.

Football career

OFK Beograd

Nineteen year old Ćurčić cracked OFK Beograd's first team towards the end of 1990/91 season while the club played in the Yugoslav Second League under head coach Ilija Petković. Ćurčić featured in 3 matches that season.

Despite failing to gain promotion on the pitch OFK still got to play in the Yugoslav First League for the following 1991/92 season (a season that would turn out to be the last in SFR Yugoslavia) since Croatian and Slovenian teams withdrew from the league. Against the backdrop of a country falling apart, Ćurčić became first team regular, playing 24 league matches and scoring 2 goals. His talent and exuberance turned some heads, including the national team head coach Ivica Osim who gave Ćurčić his international debut on 30 October 1991 in an away friendly versus Brazil.

He continued improving during the 1992/93 season (first one in FR Yugoslavia) with 3 goals from 32 league appearances, earning himself a big time summer 1993 move to Yugoslav champions FK Partizan.

FK Partizan

Coached by Ljubiša Tumbaković, Partizan was in a transitional phase despite coming off a title winning campaign. With team leader Predrag Mijatović leaving for Valencia CF and other important players like Vujadin Stanojković and Zlatko Zahovič departing as well, it was up to the new arrivals to carry the torch. For his part, Ćurčić responded with a fine overall season (7 goals from 33 league matches), contributing greatly to another Partizan league title with key assists and buildup play.

Next season 1994/95 brought more steady play from Ćurčić (5 goals from 31 league matches) as the offers from abroad started coming in for his services.

He began the 1995/96 season at Partizan (his third with the club), but in October 1995 after 10 league matches (2 goals), Bolton Wanderers put in a £1.5 million transfer bid (Bolton's record fee at the time) and he was on his way to England.

Bolton Wanderers

Making his Bolton debut at the club's Burnden Park stadium on 31 October 1995 versus Arsenal in the Premiership, Ćurčić quickly settled into the new surroundings. Only nine days later he scored his first goal in English football during a 3rd round League Cup replay away at Leicester City.

Entering the 1995/96 campaign Bolton was a club of modest expectations simply trying to survive its first ever season in Premiership. At the time of Ćurčić's arrival, they were in the middle of a bad losing streak firmly tied to the bottom of the table, and unfortunately, his distinguished season-long form didn't help much. Bolton was easily relegated at the end, despite some results improvement following a mid-season coaching change. Still, the season was a success for Ćurčić individually - in addition to playing at a high level throughout he also established himself as a fan favourite, all of which made his departure from the club all the more emotional.

Not too keen on playing football in second-tier First Division, in August 1996 he joined Aston Villa for £4 million.

Aston Villa

The move to Villa Park was ultimately unsuccessful. He teamed up with former Partisan Belgrade team-mate Savo Milosevic, but Ćurčić struggled to settle in. Playing on £12,000 weekly wages, he made his Villa debut in the Premier League against Derby County on 24 August 1996, going on to appear in 22 league matches for the club during the 1996/97 season. Still, he experienced hard time holding a regular first team place as his form from Bolton days was nowhere to be found. Frustrated with the way things were going, in January 1997, he even publicly admitted that leaving Bolton for Aston Villa was a mistake. [http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s474/st82103.htm]

His second season at the club turned out to be even worse. Villa manager Brian Little and Ćurčić never really saw eye to eye, but by the time 1997/98 season started their tense relations turned into a full blown feud. As a result Ćurčić would go on to make only 7 league appearances, mostly as a sub, in addition to a few UEFA Cup outings. Little resigned in February 1998, but Ćurčić's fate at Villa had already been sealed for a while and there was no reprieve for him under new manager John Gregory. On 26 March 1998 he was sold to Crystal Palace for £1 million, meaning that Villa had lost £3million on him and his sale fee was a mere 25% of the amount paid for him less than two years earlier.

In the end, Ćurčić's time at Villa is more remembered for his wild lifestyle and eccentric behaviour than anything football related. The trappings of sudden fame and fortune didn't pass him by and in later interviews he admitted to drug use and out of control partying during his Birmingham days. [http://www.dnevnik.co.yu/arhiva/23-01-2003/Strane/sport.htm] One of the bigger oddities of his Villa period was his purchase of a double-decker bus, which he used to throw parties.

Crystal Palace

Saša's arrival at Crystal Palace came toward the end of the 1997-98 Premiership season. Palace were struggling near the bottom of the table, without a win at Selhurst Park all season prior to his arrival. Ćurčić made an immediate impact, notably with a fine performance against Derby in which Palace finally recorded a home win. His charisma and quality made him a favourite with the fans, but his application to Palace's fight against relegation at times was questionable. The club were relegated to the Football League amidst a doomed takeover by Mark Goldberg that eventually led to administration, but Saša remained at the club. He famously paraded the Yugoslav flag around the pitch during the war in the former Republic, by that time he appeared to have lost interest in football, being reduced to a handful of substitute appearances for Palace, before leaving as part of cost cutting measures induced by Goldberg's ill-fated tenure as Chairman coming to an un-salubrious end. He joined MLS side New York Metrostars.

Career ending

Ćurčić has been known to sport a shaved head and a fu manchu beard sans mustache. Upon his arrival to Major League Soccer in 1999, he declared his intention to become the "Dennis Rodman of MLS". Ćurčić's stint in the league, however, lasted only nine games.

On 16 March 2000, Ćurčić joined Motherwell. He only made five appearances for the club, before joining Obilić Belgrade in his native Serbia.

In an interview on Sky Sports in April 2001, Ćurčić stated that he had retired from football.

Known to enjoy his night-life and his appreciation of the opposite sex, he remarked: 'I would not sign for another club, not even if I was offered 15 million dollars. However, it would be different if they were to instead offer me 15 different women from all around the world. I would tell the club chairman: 'Please let me make these women happy - I will satisfy them like they have never been satisfied before'.

Post football

On 5 May 2007, Ćurčić entered the Serbian Celebrity Big Brother house and won the contest on 3 June 2007.

On 2 August 2008, more than 7 years after he stopped playing, Ćurčić played the first of his two testemonial matches. This, the first part of his official farewell to football, pitted Partizan 1994 team consisting of former FK Partizan players from the late 1980s and early 1990s such as Zoran Mirković, Predrag Spasić, Dragan Ćirić, Saša Čurović, etc. against FK Pionir from Besni Fok, one of the teams where Ćurčić played youth football and also a team where he currently coaches the youth squad. Ćurčić played one half for each of the teams. Partizan 1994 won 2:0. The match was played at a ground in Besni Fok. [ [http://www.b92.net/sport/fudbal/vesti.php?yyyy=2008&mm=08&dd=03&nav_id=311352 Đanijev oproštaj, prvi deo, B92, 3 August 2008] ]

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=1842|name=Saša Ćurčić
* [http://homepage2.nifty.com/yugoslavia/player/curcic.html Club and national team career stats]
* [http://www.velikibrat.co.yu/housemates/04.html Saša Čurčić on Serbian Big Brother]
* [http://www.vbboard.net/forum/index.php/board,24.0.html Saša Čurčić on Serbian Big Brother (Unofficial Forum)]
* [http://www.boltonnews.co.uk/mostpopular.var.1452304.mostviewed.former_wanderers_star_wins_big_brother.php Former Wanderers star wins Big Brother] , Bolton News, 6 June 2007


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