The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Montenegro

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This page contains a list of the greatest Montenegrin Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 31 of which were born in Montenegro. This makes Montenegro the birth place of the 70th most number of Soccer Players behind North Korea, and Bolivia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Montenegrin Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Montenegrin Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Montenegrin Soccer Players.

Photo of Dejan Savićević

1. Dejan Savićević (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 58.18, Dejan Savićević is the most famous Montenegrin Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 43 different languages on wikipedia.

Dejan Savićević (Cyrillic: Дејан Савићевић, pronounced [dějan saʋǐːtɕeʋitɕ]; born 15 September 1966) is a Montenegrin former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Since 2001, he has been the president of the Montenegrin Football Association (FSCG), currently in his fifth term at the post. Savićević was considered one of the best players in the world during the 1990s, and is regarded as one of the greatest Yugoslav footballers of all time. During his time in AC Milan, he was nicknamed Il Genio (The Genius) by the Italian sports press. After beginning his professional career with hometown side Budućnost in Yugoslavia, Savićević moved to the more established Yugoslav First League club Red Star Belgrade in 1988 where he became prominent part of the team that won the 1990–91 European Cup—coming second in the 1991 Ballon d’Or voting—before making a big money transfer to Italian champions AC Milan in 1992. With Milan, he won three Serie A titles and the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, among other trophies. He later returned to Red Star for half a season in 1999, before ending his career with Rapid Wien in 2001. At the international level, he represented Yugoslavia at the 1990 and 1998 FIFA World Cups and, after retiring from playing, coached the Serbia and Montenegro national team from 2001 until 2003. Following an illustrious professional playing career that lasted 18 seasons, as well as a short and unsuccessful head coaching stint during the early 2000s, he has turned to administrative matters – becoming, during the summer of 2001, the president of the Montenegrin FA.

Photo of Predrag Mijatović

2. Predrag Mijatović (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 57.08, Predrag Mijatović is the 2nd most famous Montenegrin Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Predrag Mijatović (Serbian: Предраг Мијатовић; born 19 January 1969) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. At club level, Mijatović played for six clubs: Budućnost, Partizan, Valencia, Real Madrid, Fiorentina and Levante. Internationally, he played for FR Yugoslavia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and at the UEFA Euro 2000. During his career at Real Madrid he was widely considered as one of the best strikers in the world. Mijatović scored 28 goals in the 1995–96 La Liga season for Valencia, which prompted a move to Real Madrid, where he scored a goal in the 1998 UEFA Champions League final which ensured Madrid's first European Cup in 32 years. In 1997, Mijatović was named runner-up for the Ballon d'Or, behind Ronaldo and ahead of Zinedine Zidane. After his playing career, he served as director of football for Real Madrid from 2006 to 2009.

Photo of Željko Petrović

3. Željko Petrović (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 51.74, Željko Petrović is the 3rd most famous Montenegrin Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Željko Petrović (Serbian Cyrillic: Жељко Петровић; born 13 November 1965) is a Montenegrin professional football manager and former player. As a player, he represented the FR Yugoslavia national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Photo of Tomislav Crnković

4. Tomislav Crnković (1929 - 2009)

With an HPI of 50.97, Tomislav Crnković is the 4th most famous Montenegrin Soccer Player.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Tomislav Crnković (17 June 1929 – 17 January 2009) was a Croatian footballer. He was born in Kotor in what was still the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Photo of Milovan Jakšić

5. Milovan Jakšić (1909 - 1953)

With an HPI of 49.49, Milovan Jakšić is the 5th most famous Montenegrin Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Milovan Jakšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милован Јакшић; 21 September 1909 – 25 December 1953) was a Serbian football goalkeeper. Remembered mostly as "El Grande Milovan", the nickname he earned for his excellent saves in the game that Yugoslavia won against Brasil in the First World Cup in Uruguay 1930 FIFA World Cup. He is considered one of the major contributors for Yugoslavia reaching the semi-finals in that tournament. Being of medium stature, but very strong physically, Jakšić's main characteristics were his bravure and excellent reflexes. Jakšić spent most of his career playing in FK BASK, named SK Soko before 1931, where he played until 1939. The only exceptions were the Czechoslovak SK Slavia Praha, where Jakšić played a few months of the 1934-35 season, and SK Ljubljana and ND Ilirija at the end of his career. Jakšić played a total of nine matches for the Yugoslavia national football team. His debut was on 13 April 1930, in a friendly game against Bulgaria in Belgrade, a 6–1 win, and his fairway match was on 2 September 1934, another friendly game, this time in Prague, against Czechoslovakia, a 3–1 loss. Despite all the competition that he faced for the national team goalkeeping place, Jakšić was selected to be the main goalkeeper at the 1930 World Cup. Having displayed magnificent exhibitions in all the matches at the tournament, it is specially remembered by his contributions in the match against Brazil, and it was after that match, that the delighted journalists started calling him by his new nickname: "El Grande Milovan". After retiring, Jakšić stayed connected to football. After the World War II, in March 1945, he established Red Star Belgrade football club, and was the club's Technical Director. Jakšić was also the President of the Football Coaching Federation of Yugoslavia, from 1950 until the winter of 1953, when he died unexpectedly of a heart-attack during the football tournament in Cairo, Egypt, where he accompanied Red Star Belgrade. Milovan Jakšić at Reprezentacija.rs (in Serbian) Milovan Jakšić at FIFA.com (archived)

Photo of Zoran Filipović

6. Zoran Filipović (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 49.22, Zoran Filipović is the 6th most famous Montenegrin Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Zoran Filipović (Serbian Cyrillic: Зоран Филиповић, pronounced [zǒran filǐːpoʋitɕ, - fǐli-]; born 6 February 1953) is a Montenegrin former football coach and player, best known for his playing stints with Red Star Belgrade and S.L. Benfica.

Photo of Stevan Jovetić

7. Stevan Jovetić (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 49.11, Stevan Jovetić is the 7th most famous Montenegrin Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 48 different languages.

Stevan Jovetić (Montenegrin: Стеван Јоветић, pronounced [stêʋaːn jǒʋetitɕ]; born 2 November 1989) is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays as a striker for Super League Greece club Olympiacos. He also captains the Montenegro national team. Jovetić's primary position is a second striker, although he can also operate as an attacking midfielder or a winger. He is known for his dribbling, technical ability, and creativity, and his playing style has led to comparisons with Roberto Baggio. Jovetić began his career with FK Partizan, winning the double of Serbian Superliga and Serbian Cup in 2008, then joined ACF Fiorentina for an approximate €10.8 million. In five seasons at the Italian club, he scored 40 times in 134 matches, prompting an approximate €26.7 million transfer to Manchester City. In his first season in England, he won the League Cup and the Premier League. He subsequently returned to Italy to play for Inter Milan in 2015, and also had a loan spell in Spain with Sevilla in 2017, before joining Ligue 1 club Monaco later that year. Jovetić is a Montenegro international, having previously represented his team at under-21 level. He made his senior international debut in 2007, in Montenegro's first international football match as an independent country. With 36 goals, he is Montenegro's all-time top goalscorer. Jovetić is recognized as the second footballer to score at least a single goal in all of the "Big Five" leagues. He is one of the four professional football players (alongside Florin Răducioiu, Christian Poulsen and Justin Kluivert) to have played in all of the top five European leagues. Jovetić is also known for his fair play, having never received a straight red card.

Photo of Mirko Vučinić

8. Mirko Vučinić (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 47.94, Mirko Vučinić is the 8th most famous Montenegrin Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Mirko Vučinić (Montenegrin: Мирко Вучинић, pronounced [mǐːrko ʋǔtʃinitɕ]; born 1 October 1983) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a forward. Having caught the attention of Pantaleo Corvino, the sporting director of the Italian club Lecce, he transferred there in the summer of 2000. He played for Lecce as they moved between Serie A and B. His highest-scoring season was 2004–05, with 19 goals in 28 games in Serie A. In 2006, he joined Roma, where he won the Coppa Italia twice; he later moved on to Juventus in 2011, where he won three consecutive Serie A titles. In July 2014, he moved to Al Jazira on an undisclosed fee. On the international stage, Vučinić played for the Serbia and Montenegro under-21 team. Due to injury, he was unable to represent Serbia and Montenegro at the FIFA World Cup in 2006. Following the split of Serbia and Montenegro in the spring of 2006, Vučinić chose to represent his native Montenegro. Quick, versatile, and physically strong, Vučinić was known for his creativity, technique, and intelligence as a footballer, as well as his powerful striking ability from distance. In 2018, he began a golf career as a member of the Princess Milica Golf Club based in Tivat.

Photo of Stefan Savić

9. Stefan Savić (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 47.87, Stefan Savić is the 9th most famous Montenegrin Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Stefan Savić (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Стефан Савић, pronounced [stêfaːn sâʋitɕ]; born 8 January 1991) is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor and the Montenegro national team. Born in Mojkovac, Savić started his career at the local club Brskovo, before moving to BSK Borča, and then to Partizan. He won the double with Partizan, and then joined Manchester City for £6 million, winning the Premier League title in his only season there. In 2012, he was transferred to Fiorentina, making over 100 appearances across three seasons before signing with Atlético Madrid in 2015, where he won the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup in 2018. A full international since 2010, Savić has made over 70 appearances and scored nine goals for Montenegro.

Photo of Anto Drobnjak

10. Anto Drobnjak (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 46.89, Anto Drobnjak is the 10th most famous Montenegrin Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 46 different languages.

Anto Drobnjak (Cyrillic: Анто Дробњак; born 21 September 1968) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was one of two top scorers of the First League of Yugoslavia in 1993 when he played for Red Star Belgrade. Internationally, he played for FR Yugoslavia national team in the qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, although he was not selected to the country's squad for the final tournament.

People

Pantheon has 42 people classified as Montenegrin soccer players born between 1909 and 1995. Of these 42, 39 (92.86%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Montenegrin soccer players include Dejan Savićević, Predrag Mijatović, and Željko Petrović. The most famous deceased Montenegrin soccer players include Tomislav Crnković, Milovan Jakšić, and Nikola Radović. As of April 2024, 10 new Montenegrin soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Nikola Radović, Dragoljub Brnović, and Marko Vešović.

Living Montenegrin Soccer Players

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Deceased Montenegrin Soccer Players

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Newly Added Montenegrin Soccer Players (2024)

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