Ivica Iliev

Ivica Iliev

Iliev being interviewed in 2011
Personal information
Full name Ivica Iliev
Date of birth (1979-10-27) 27 October 1979
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.

Club career

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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.

In July 2004, Iliev went abroad and joined Italian club Messina on a free transfer.[4] He made 29 appearances and scored once in his debut season in Serie A, as the club finished in seventh place. In January 2006, after receiving very little playing time, Iliev was loaned to Serie C1 club Genoa, helping them win promotion to Serie B via the playoffs. He subsequently returned to Messina, but failed to help the side avoid relegation from Serie A in the 2006–07 campaign, finishing bottom of the table.

After three years in Italy, Iliev moved to Greece and signed with PAOK. He scored only one goal in the 2007–08 season, as the club failed to secure a spot in UEFA competitions. In August 2008, Iliev joined German club Energie Cottbus.[5] He managed to score three Bundesliga goals from 27 games in the 2008–09 season. They were eventually relegated from the top flight after losing in the playoffs. In August 2009, Iliev signed with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv on a one-year deal. He quickly became an important part of the team, but suffered an injury in January 2010, causing him to miss the remainder of the 2009–10 season.

On 21 July 2010, Iliev returned to his parent club Partizan, on a one-year deal.[6] He scored one goal in the UEFA Champions League preliminary phase,[7] thus again helped the club reach the group stage. With 13 goals, Iliev was the league's joint top scorer, being named in the competition's Team of the Season, while also collecting the double.

In June 2011, Iliev moved to Poland and signed a two-year contract with Wisła Kraków.[8] He made 69 appearances for the club and scored seven goals in all competitions.

International career

Iliev earned two caps for Serbia and Montenegro, making his international debut as a substitute for Goran Trobok in a 0–1 friendly loss at Germany on 30 April 2003. He scored a goal in his second appearance, a 3–4 friendly loss against Poland on 16 November 2003.

Post-playing career

On 27 October 2015, on his 36th birthday, Iliev was appointed director of football at Partizan.[9]

Statistics

Club

Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Playoffs Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Partizan 1997–98 40–00–40
1998–99 154–21–175
1999–2000 29820–60–378
2000–01 331056–40–4216
2001–02 22322–31–276
2002–03 271320–82–3715
2003–04 20310–101–314
Messina 2004–05 29140–00–331
2005–06 8000–00–80
Genoa (loan) 2005–06 17300–0041214
Messina 2006–07 21051–00–261
PAOK 2007–08 17110–00–181
Energie Cottbus 2008–09 27320–0010303
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2009–10 173003200–205
Partizan 2010–11 271341–81–3915
Wisła Kraków 2011–12 28151–121–453
2012–13 20341–00–244
Career total 361693712325375145991

International

National teamYearAppsGoals
Serbia and Montenegro 200321
Total21

Honours

Club

Partizan

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Lazio nei quarti" (in Italian). raisport.rai.it. 6 November 1998. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Iliev i Delibašić u glavnim ulogama" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 13 July 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Newcastle pay Partizan penalty". uefa.com. 28 August 2003. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Iliev makes Messina move". uefa.com. 12 July 2004. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Serbe Iliev wechselt ablösefrei nach Cottbus" (in German). espnfc.com. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Iliev se vratio u Partizan" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Partizan leave HJK on the brink". uefa.com. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Ivica Iliev joins Wisła Kraków". wisla.krakow.pl. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Ivica Iliev sportski direktor Partizana" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
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