Preki

Football player infobox
playername = Preki


fullname = Predrag Radosavljević
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1963|6|24
cityofbirth = Belgrade
countryofbirth = SFR Yugoslavia
currentclub = Chivas USA (manager)
position = Left winger
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1983-1985
1992-1994
1994-1995
1995
1996-2000
2001
2002-2005
clubs = Red Star Belgrade
Tacoma Stars "(indoor)"
St. Louis Storm "(indoor)"
Everton
Portsmouth
San Jose Grizzlies "(indoor)"
Kansas City Wizards
Miami Fusion
Kansas City Wizards

caps(goals) =001 0(0)
046 0(4)
040 0(5)
145 (50)
024 0(8)
073 (21)
nationalyears = 1996-1998
nationalteam = USA
nationalcaps(goals) = 028 0(4)
ntupdate = June 24 2006
manageryears = 2007-
managerclubs = Chivas USA

Predrag Radosavljević (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг Радосављевић), commonly known in the United States as Preki (Преки) (born June 24, 1963 in Belgrade, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia), is a Serbian American soccer player. He is currently the head coach at C.D. Chivas USA.

Early career

Preki's career with league football clubs began in 1983 with Red Star Belgrade, with whom he spent 2 years, winning one championship. Preki moved to the United States in 1985 to play indoor soccer in the original MISL, first with the Tacoma Stars then with the St. Louis Storm. He played until 1992 and was named an all-star for all seven seasons. Preki played in England, first for Everton of the Premier League (1992-1994) and then one season with Portsmouth of the First Division. From 1994 to 1995, Preki played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League for the San Jose Grizzlies.

MLS

Preki resumed outdoor play beginning with MLS's inaugural season in 1996 when he joined the Kansas City Wizards. He played every season for the Wizards, except for one season with the Miami Fusion in 2001. After the Fusion were contracted, the Wizards re-acquired Preki in the 2002 MLS Dispersal Draft, but only after every other team in the league had passed on selecting him. Preki is the only player to have won the MLS MVP Award and the MLS Scoring Champion Award twice, winning in 1997 and 2003, and is also the current all-time league leader in points scored (270 on 79 goals and 112 assists, plus another 25 points on 10 goals and 5 assists in the playoffs). He won the 2000 MLS Cup with the Wizards. Preki retired following the 2005 season, scoring a goal in the last minute of his final game with Kansas City. He was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI after the season, and was 42 years old when he played his final competitive game.

National team

Though originally from Yugoslavia, Preki played for the American national team after acquiring U.S. citizenship in 1996. He made his debut for the U.S. on November 3rd, against Guatemala. Preki played a total of 28 games for the U.S., scoring four goals, one of them to beat Brazil at the 1998 Gold Cup. Two of those games, including one against his native Yugoslavia, came in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Coaching

After retiring as a player, Preki became an assistant coach with Chivas USA, and upon the appointment of Bob Bradley as the United States national team manager, Preki was promoted as head coach of Chivas USA for the 2007 Major League Soccer season and was named Coach of the Year in his first season. [cite web | url=http://www.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20071107&content_id=128236&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp | title=Preki, Edu named Coach, Rookie of the Year | date=November 7 2007 | publisher=Major League Soccer | format=press release | accessdate=2007-11-07] Before taking the coaching job with the Chivas, Preki started a soccer club in Kansas City, called the FC Rangers. He coached the teams of his son, Nicki and daughter, Natasa for three years. Preki has recently been the subject of rumors regarding his ability to successfully coach a team of his making. Chivas USA owner's have privately questioned his ability to motivate key players like Ante Razov as well and his perceived limited understanding of league policies regarding personnel. Currently, Chivas USA is near the bottom of Major League Soccer's west standings.

References

External links

* [http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/players/preki/ Preki profile at United States National Soccer Players]
* [http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=mls&player=radosavljevic_p&playerId=rad474619&statType=career MLS Player Stats]