Perica Ognjenović

Football player infobox
playername = Perica Ognjenović

| fullname = Perica Ognjenović
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1977|2|24
cityofbirth = Smederevska Palanka
countryofbirth = SFR Yugoslavia
currentclub = Ergotelis FC
position = Striker
youthyears = ?-1994
youthclubs = Mladost Goša
years = 1992-1994 1994-1998 1999-2001 Jun'01 - Jan'02 2002 2003 2003-2005 2005 - 2006 2006 2006-
clubs = flagicon|FR Yugoslavia Mladost Goša flagicon|FR Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade flagicon|Spain Real Madrid no club flagicon|Germany 1. FC Kaiserslautern flagicon|China Dalian Shide flagicon|Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv flagicon|France Angers SCO flagicon|Malaysia Selangor FA
flagicon|Greece Ergotelis FC
caps(goals) = 28 (9) 89 (24) 12 (1) 2 (0) 2 (0) 2 (0) 7 (0) 0 (0) 26 (3)
nationalyears = 1995-1998
nationalteam = FR Yugoslavia
nationalcaps(goals) = 8 (0)

Perica Ognjenović (Serbian Cyrillic: "Перица Огњеновић") (born 24 February 1977 in Smederevska Palanka, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia), is a Serbian footballer.

At one point considered to be among Serbia's brightest footballing talents, he is now widely viewed as one of the more spectacular examples of a sports-related bust.

Ognjenović's first football steps were taken with modest hometown side Mladost Goša where he went through all age levels before cracking the senior squad just short of his 16th birthday during 1992-93 season. At the time, FK Mladost competed in Srpska liga (3rd tier competition) and it soon became apparent Ognjenovic's skill and talent far surpassed that level of competition. He caught the eye of Serbian powerhouse Red Star Belgrade that brought the promising 17-year-old into their squad during summer 1994.

Extremely speedy and skillful on the ball, he quickly marked himself out as a potential star. A series of glowing performances for Red Star Belgrade earned him a move to Real Madrid on January 12, 1999 for a DM5 million transfer fee, and a reported annual salary of DM1.2 million. [http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.co.yu/arhiva/1999/01/14/06gv-14-01.html] However, his time in Madrid was not a happy one. Ognjenovic spent two and a half fruitless years at Bernabeu, barely making around 30 first team appearances, mostly as a substitute, in all competitions (Primera, Copa del Rey, and Champions League). He was finally released during summer of 2001.

For the next six months, Ognjenovic had no club. He trained alone with a private coach until Kaiserslautern arranged a tryout and brought him in for free on January 17, 2002. The contract was signed until summer of 2002 with a 2-year extension option. [http://www.blic.co.yu/arhiva/2002-01-21/strane/sport.htm] [http://www.arhiva.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/2002-01/17/323021.html]

After failing to settle in Germany, Ognjenović's next stop was China with Dalian Shide where he was brought during January 2003 by the club's coach Milorad Kosanović who also previously coached him at Red Star.

Ognjenović then moved on to Dynamo Kyiv in the summer of 2003, but couldn't earn playing time there either. Once one of the greatest European talents, his next stop was in French lower league club Angers SCO beginning in January 2005.

In May 2006, Ognjenović joined Malaysian Super League side, Selangor from Shah Alam, signing a 6-month contract. [http://www.b92.net/sport/fudbal.php?nav_id=196751&dd=05&mm=05&yyyy=2006] The club was sitting in last place at the time of his signing.

More recently Ognjenović joined Greek Super League club Ergotelis FC in December 2006 on a one and a half year contract.

Ognjenović was a member of the FR Yugoslavia 1998 FIFA World Cup squad.

External links

* [http://www.jadransport.org/articles/3679.html Article on Ognjenović joining Ergotelis FC]
* [http://www.galanissportsdata.com/football/national/season2007_08/aeteam.asp?t=09 Ergotelis FC Team Statistics]