Ivica Iliev

Ivica Iliev

Iliev being interviewed in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Ivica Iliev
Date of birth	(1979-10-27) 27 October 1979 (age 37)
Place of birth	Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker / Winger
Youth career
	Rad
1996–1997	Partizan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2004	Partizan	150	(41)
2004–2007	Messina	58	(1)
2006	→ Genoa (loan)	17	(3)
2007–2008	PAOK	17	(1)
2008–2009	Energie Cottbus	27	(3)
2009–2010	Maccabi Tel Aviv	17	(3)
2010–2011	Partizan	27	(13)
2011–2013	Wisła Kraków	48	(4)
Total		361	(69)
National team
1996	FR Yugoslavia U16	3	(0)
1997	FR Yugoslavia U18	4	(2)
1998–2001	FR Yugoslavia U21	6	(1)
2003	Serbia and Montenegro	2	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Ivica Iliev (Serbian Cyrillic: Ивица Илиев; born 27 October 1979) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

After starting out as a youngster at Rad, Iliev joined the youth system of Partizan in January 1996. He made his senior debut for the club under manager Ljubiša Tumbaković during the 1997–98 season, recording four league appearances in the process. In the following 1998–99 season, Iliev scored his first goals for Partizan, including a header in a 2–3 home loss to Lazio in the return leg of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round. He later started playing more regularly, scoring eight league goals in the 1999–2000 season. After the departure of Mateja Kežman that summer, Iliev formed a strike partnership with Andrija Delibašić. They became a formidable duo in the following period, as the club won back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003. In the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, Iliev scored the only goal in a 1–0 return leg win against Newcastle United at St James' Park, resulting in a 1–1 draw on aggregate. Eventually, Partizan won the match 4–3 on penalties and reached the competition's group stage for the first time in the club's history.