Mijatović in 2007
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Personal information | |||
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Full name | Predrag Mijatović | ||
Date of birth | 19 January 1969 | ||
Place of birth | Titograd, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Playing position | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
Kom | |||
OFK Titograd | |||
Budućnost Titograd | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1987–1989 | Budućnost Titograd | 72 | (10) |
1989–1993 | Partizan | 104 | (45) |
1993–1996 | Valencia | 104 | (56) |
1996–1999 | Real Madrid | 90 | (30) |
1999–2002 | Fiorentina | 42 | (4) |
2002–2004 | Levante | 21 | (3) |
Total | 433 | (148) | |
National team | |||
1989–2003 | Yugoslavia | 73 | (26) |
Teams managed | |||
2006–2009 | Real Madrid (Director of Football) | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Predrag "Peđa" Mijatović (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг "Пеђа" Мијатовић, pronounced [prêdraɡ mijǎtoʋit͡ɕ]; born 19 January 1969) is a former footballer who played for the Yugoslavia national football team as a striker. At club level, Mijatović played for 6 different clubs: Budućnost Podgorica, Partizan, Valencia, Real Madrid, Fiorentina, and Levante. At international level, he played in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.
He scored 28 goals in the 1995–96 Primera División season for Valencia, which in turn led him to move to Real Madrid, where he scored a goal in the 1998 UEFA Champions League Final that brought the biggest European title back to Madrid after 32 years. In 1997, Mijatović was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or, behind Ronaldo and ahead of Zinedine Zidane.
In 1987–88 he became a regular at FK Budućnost Titograd under the newly arrived head coach Špaco Poklepović. In October 1987, as part of the Yugoslav youth squad that competed in and won the 1987 World Youth Championship in Chile, Mijatović had a notable tournament. Playing in Chile meant that he was away from the club for the entire month of October. Coming back to the club as a hero, young Mijatović's spot on the squad was now cemented alongside Dejan Savićević, Dragoljub Brnović, and fellow 'Chilean' Branko Brnović. The youngster made 31 league appearances and contributed 4 goals as Budućnost finished the season in 9th spot.