Dejan Stanković

Dejan Stanković

Stanković with Internazionale in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Dejan Stanković
Date of birth	(1978-09-11) 11 September 1978 (age 38)
Place of birth	Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
1985–1992	Teleoptik
1992–1995	Red Star Belgrade
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1995–1998	Red Star Belgrade	85	(30)
1998–2004	Lazio	137	(22)
2004–2013	Internazionale	231	(29)
Total		453	(81)
National team
1998–2013	Serbia	103	(15)
Teams managed
2014–2015	Udinese (assistant)
2015–2016	Internazionale (first team club manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Dejan "Deki" Stanković (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Станковић, Serbian pronunciation: [dɛ̂jan stǎːŋkɔʋit͡ɕ], born 11 September 1978) is a Serbian former footballer. He captained the Serbia national team until 2011, when he announced his retirement from international football. He played as an attacking midfielder who could also play out wide on the wings, or track back in a defensive midfield role. A tenacious and hard-working player, "Deki", as he is nicknamed, was best known for his efficient, accurate passing, versatility and creativity, as well as his ability to score goals from long distance; he was also effective in the air, and known for his influence on the pitch. Stanković began his career at Red Star Belgrade, before joining Lazio in 1998. He spent more than five years with the latter club before joining Inter.

On 13 June 2010, Stanković became the first player to have represented three different national teams in the FIFA World Cup: FR Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.

Stanković grew up in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade. Both of his parents, Borislav and Dragica, have strong football backgrounds.

Stanković began playing football for FK Teleoptik, based in his neighbourhood of Zemun. When spotted by Red Star cadet squad coach Branko Radović, however, 14-year-old Dejan transferred to Red Star Belgrade's youth system. Stanković then passed every age category at his hometown club. In the youth teams, he was coached by Vladimir Petrović, playing alongside future professionals Nikola Lazetić and Nenad Lalatović.