The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Serbia

This page contains a list of the greatest Serbian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 210 of which were born in Serbia. This makes Serbia the birth place of the 14th most number of Soccer Players behind Russia, and Belgium.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Serbian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Serbian 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 Serbian Soccer Players.

1. Dragan Džajić (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 65.08, Dragan Džajić is the most famous Serbian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.

Dragan Džajić (Serbian Cyrillic: Драган Џајић; born 30 May 1946) is a Serbian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Football Association of Serbia from 14 March 2023. Džajić is widely considered to be one of the best footballers to emerge from the former Yugoslavia, and one of the greatest left wingers of all time. Džajić was known for his crosses, passes, dribbling with great pace, natural technique and his left footed free kicks. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, Džajić was selected as the Golden Player of Serbia and Montenegro by the Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.

2. Bora Milutinović (b. 1944)

With an HPI of 63.30, Bora Milutinović is the 2nd most famous Serbian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Velibor "Bora" Milutinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Велибор Бора Милутиновић; born 7 September 1944) is a Serbian former professional footballer and manager. He has managed at five editions of the FIFA World Cup, tied for the record alongside Brazilian manager Carlos Alberto Parreira, but did so in five consecutive World Cups with different teams: Mexico (1986), Costa Rica (1990), the United States (1994), Nigeria (1998) and China (2002). He is also the first manager to take four teams beyond the first round – all but China – earning the nickname of Miracle Worker, first given to him by Alan Rothenberg, then president of the United States Soccer Federation. In total, Milutinović has managed eight national football teams.

3. Radomir Antić (1948 - 2020)

With an HPI of 61.16, Radomir Antić is the 3rd most famous Serbian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Radomir Antić (Serbian Cyrillic: Радомир Антић, pronounced [rǎdomiːr âːntitɕ]; 22 November 1948 – 6 April 2020) was a Serbian professional football manager and player. Following a 17-year playing career as a defender, most of which he spent playing at Partizan, with whom he won the Yugoslav First League, Antić moved into coaching. He was one of only two men to have managed both Barcelona and Real Madrid, long-time bitter rivals (the other one is Enrique Fernández Viola). With Atlético Madrid, Antić won the double, conquering both La Liga and the Copa del Rey in the 1995–96 season. He is the only man to have coached Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid.

4. Rajko Mitić (1922 - 2008)

With an HPI of 60.18, Rajko Mitić is the 4th most famous Serbian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Rajko Mitić (Serbian Cyrillic: Рајко Митић, pronounced [rǎːjko mǐːtitɕ]; 19 November 1922 – 29 March 2008) was a Serbian footballer, coach, executive and journalist. A former forward, Mitić is considered one of the most important players in the history of Red Star Belgrade as he is the first out of only five players to have been awarded the Zvezdina zvezda. In December 2014, Red Star Stadium, the principal stadium in Serbia, was officially renamed after him.

5. Vujadin Boškov (1931 - 2014)

With an HPI of 59.63, Vujadin Boškov is the 5th most famous Serbian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Vujadin Boškov (Serbian Cyrillic: Вујадин Бошков, pronounced [ʋujǎdin bǒʃkoʋ]; 16 May 1931 – 27 April 2014) was a Serbian footballer and manager. A midfielder, he played 57 matches for the Yugoslavia national team. He experienced his greatest success as a coach in 1990, when he won the European Cup Winners' Cup with Sampdoria. He also reached the European Cup final in 1981 with Real Madrid and 1992 with Sampdoria. He also won the Yugoslav First League as technical director and the La Liga, the Copa del Rey twice, the Serie A and the Coppa Italia twice as a coach. Throughout his career as a football manager, he stood out both for his many successes, as well as due to his unique sense of humour and memorable ironic comments, which were used to dissolve tension during post-match interviews; these led him to become a popular figure with football fans during his time in Italy. FC Vujadin Boškov, Vojvodina's training facility in Veternik, was named after him in 1996 and in February 2022, he was posthumously admitted to the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

6. Miloš Milutinović (1933 - 2003)

With an HPI of 58.10, Miloš Milutinović is the 6th most famous Serbian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Miloš Milutinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Милош Милутиновић; 5 February 1933 – 28 January 2003) was a Serbian professional footballer and manager from Yugoslavia. Milutinović is regarded as one of the most talented players in his country's history, being nicknamed Plava čigra (The Blond Buzzer) for his skills.

7. Velibor Vasović (1939 - 2002)

With an HPI of 57.89, Velibor Vasović is the 7th most famous Serbian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Velibor Vasović (Serbian Cyrillic: Велибор Васовић; 3 October 1939 – 4 March 2002) was a Serbian footballer and manager, also one of the legendary players of Partizan Belgrade and Ajax and is regarded one of greatest defenders of his generation. A sweeper who could play in midfield, Vasović was renowned for his defensive positioning, never-say-die attitude and tactical awareness.

8. Nemanja Vidić (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 56.24, Nemanja Vidić is the 8th most famous Serbian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 68 different languages.

Nemanja Vidić (Serbian Cyrillic: Немања Видић, Serbian pronunciation: [němaɲa ʋǐːditɕ]; born 21 October 1981) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Widely considered to be one of the greatest defenders in history, Vidić is best known for his time at Manchester United, where he won 15 trophies and served as club captain. He is one of only four players to win the Premier League Player of the Season award twice, alongside Thierry Henry, Kevin De Bruyne and Cristiano Ronaldo. After establishing himself at Red Star Belgrade during the early 2000s, Vidić moved to Spartak Moscow in the summer of 2004. He completed a £7 million transfer to Manchester United in January 2006, where he established a formidable defensive partnership with Rio Ferdinand. Vidić spent eight years at United, during which time he won five Premier League titles, three Football League Cups, five FA Community Shields, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Champions League. He was appointed club captain in 2010, a position he held for four years until his departure. In 2014, Vidić joined Serie A club Inter Milan on a free transfer. He mainly featured as a rotational player for two seasons before retiring in January 2016 due to injury problems. A Yugoslavian youth international, Vidić made his senior debut on 12 October 2002 against Italy in UEFA Euro 2004 qualification. He was part of Serbia and Montenegro's "Famous Four" defence that conceded just one goal during the ten 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, setting a record for the fewest goals conceded. Vidić retired from the Serbia national team in October 2011.

9. Dejan Stanković (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 55.93, Dejan Stanković is the 9th most famous Serbian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 53 different languages.

Dejan Stanković (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Станковић, Serbian pronunciation: [dějan stǎŋkoʋitɕ], born 11 September 1978) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He captained the Serbia national team from 2007 until 2011, when he announced his retirement from international football. He is the manager of Russian team Spartak Moscow. Stanković began his career at Red Star Belgrade before joining Lazio in 1998. He spent more than five years with the latter club before joining Inter Milan, where he remained until his retirement in 2013. Stanković is renowned for being the only man to represent three differently named nations at FIFA World Cups – Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.

10. Todor Veselinović (1930 - 2017)

With an HPI of 55.31, Todor Veselinović is the 10th most famous Serbian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Todor "Toza" Veselinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Тодор "Тоза" Веселиновић, pronounced [tôdor ʋeselǐːnoʋitɕ]; 22 October 1930 – 17 May 2017) was a Serbian footballer and coach. He was one of the most renowned goalscorers in Yugoslavian history. He was the last surviving member of Yugoslavia's 1954 World Cup squad.

People

Pantheon has 257 people classified as Serbian soccer players born between 1898 and 2004. Of these 257, 200 (77.82%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Serbian soccer players include Dragan Džajić, Bora Milutinović, and Nemanja Vidić. The most famous deceased Serbian soccer players include Radomir Antić, Rajko Mitić, and Vujadin Boškov. As of April 2024, 46 new Serbian soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Abdulah Gegić, Milorad Milutinović, and Aleksandar Petaković.