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Aleksandar Dragović

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Aleksandar Dragović
Dragović with Bayer Leverkusen in 2018
Personal information
Full name Aleksandar Dragović[1]
Date of birth (1991-03-06) 6 March 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth Vienna, Austria
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Red Star Belgrade
Number 15
Youth career
1997–2009 Austria Wien
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Austria Wien II 8 (2)
2009–2011 Austria Wien 66 (1)
2011–2013 Basel 77 (4)
2013–2016 Dynamo Kyiv 66 (0)
2016–2021 Bayer Leverkusen 71 (3)
2017–2018 → Leicester City (loan) 11 (0)
2021– Red Star Belgrade 88 (6)
International career‡
2007–2008 Austria U17 11 (2)
2008–2009 Austria U19 6 (2)
2009– Austria 100 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 March 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:20, 29 March 2022 (UTC)

Aleksandar Dragović (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Драговић, pronounced [aleksǎːndar drâɡoʋitɕ]; born 6 March 1991) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serbian SuperLiga club Red Star Belgrade and the Austria national team. He is well known for his performances as a tough-tackling centre-back.

Club career

Austria Wien

Dragović started his career by playing in the youth teams of Austrian giants Austria Wien and started playing for their B-squad in 2007. In summer 2009 he advanced to their first team, for whom he played 66 championship games. There were also 15 games in the Europa League and 10 games in the Austrian Cup, which he won with Austria in 2009.

Basel

On 1 February 2011, Swiss Super League club FC Basel announced signing Dragović on a four and a half year contract.[3] He joined Basel's first team during the winter break of their 2011–12 season under head coach Thorsten Fink. Dragović played his domestic league debut for his new club in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park on 12 February 2011 as Basel won 3–0 against FC St. Gallen. He was in the starting eleven of every match until the end of the 2010–11 Swiss Super League season and Dragović won the Swiss Championship title with Basel.

To the beginning of their 2011–12 season season Dragović was member of the Basel team that won the 2011 Uhrencup, beating both Hertha Berlin 3–0 and West Ham United 2–1 to lead the table on goal difference above Young Boys.[4] The team entered the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League in the group stage. On 7 December 2011, during the Champions League group C match at home in the St. Jakob-Park Dragović helped Basel defeat Manchester United to make his team become the first Swiss club to advance to the knockout stage of a Champions League. Basel won the match 2–1, sending United out of the Champions league.[5] But in the round of 16, despite a 1–0 home win against Bayern Munich, it was the German team who advanced to the next round.

Dragović scored his first league goal for his new club on 1 October 2011 in the 3–0 home win against Servette FC.[6] At the end of the 2011–12 season he won the Double with his new club. They won the League Championship title with 20 points advantage.[7] The team won the Swiss Cup, winning the final 4–2 in a penalty shootout against Luzern.[8]

Basel had started in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League in the qualifying rounds. But were knocked out of the competition by CFR Cluj in the play-off round. They then continued in the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League group stage. Ending the group in second position, Basel continued in the knockout phase. Dragović scored a goal in the second leg of quarter-final matches against Tottenham Hotspur, whom they beat 4–1 on penalties after a 4–4 aggregate draw to progress to the semi-finals.[9] In the semi-finals, Basel were matched against the reigning UEFA Champions League holders Chelsea. Chelsea won both games advancing 5–2 on aggregate, eventually winning the competition.[10] Basel played a total of 20 European matches that season. Dragović missed solely the second leg of the semi-final at Stamford Bridge due to a yellow card suspension, but had played in all the other European ties.

In the 2012–13 domestic championship Dragović played in 32 of the 36 games and he scored three goals. In the away game in the Stade de Genève on 3 March 2013 Dragović scored his team's first goal after Valentin Stocker played a pass from the bye-line backwards into the centre and Dragović slotted home from short range. After Servette had equalised, Dragović headed home a corner, taken by team captain Alex Frei, to the 2–1 final score. Celebrating his goal, Dragović raised his arm in gesture. But referee Sascha Amhof understood this as rude gesture against the Servette fans and showed the scorer a yellow card. Because this was his second card in the game, Dragović was dismissed.[11] His third goal of the season was ten matchdays later in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park as Basel won 2–0 against the same opponent, Servette.[12] At the end of the 2012–13 league season he won the Championship title with the team.[13] In the 2012–13 Swiss Cup Basel reached the final, but were runners up behind Grasshopper Club, being defeated 4–3 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time.[14]

On 26 July 2013 it was announced that Dragović was leaving Basel and had signed for Dynamo Kyiv.[15] During his time with the club Dragović played a total of 142 games for Basel scoring a total of nine goals. 77 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, eight in the Swiss Cup, 27 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 30 were friendly games. He scored four goals in the domestic league, one in the European games and the other was scored during the test games.[16]

Dynamo Kyiv

On 26 July 2013, Dragović had signed a five-year contract with Ukrainian club FC Dynamo Kyiv. On 17 May 2015, Dragović helped Dynamo beat Dnipro 1–0 which was the game that won Dynamo their first Ukrainian Premier League title in six years.

On 4 November 2015, Dragović scored his first ever UEFA Champions League goal in the group stage against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the 78th minute, as well as scoring an own goal on the 34th. Dynamo ended up losing that match 2–1. In that season he helped Dynamo reach the last sixteen of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 16 years, getting knocked out by Manchester City 1–3 on aggregate.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

On 22 August 2016, Dragović signed a five-year contract with German club Bayer 04 Leverkusen.[17]

Leicester City (loan)

On 31 August 2017, Dragović joined Premier League club Leicester City on a season-long loan from Bayer Leverkusen.[18]

Red Star Belgrade

On 26 May 2021, Dragović signed a three-year contract with Red Star Belgrade.[19]

International career

Dragović in action against Iceland in 2014

Dragović also used to be part of the national under-17 and under-19 Austrian teams. He was called up for the national team of Austria for their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Romania, but due to an injury he was unable to play. He was called up again by the Austrian head coach Dietmar Constantini for the match against Serbia. He made his international debut in this match on 6 June 2009. Dragović scored his first goal on 18 November 2014 in a 1–2 home defeat to Brazil.

He made the final squad for Euro 2016, where he was sent-off in the first game against Hungary,[20] and missed a penalty in the decisive match against Iceland, which ended in a 2–1 defeat.[21]

Dragović was part of the Austrian team which qualified to the Euro 2020 round of 16.[22] On 29 March 2022, he played his 100th match for Austria in a 2–2 draw against Scotland.[23]

Personal life

Dragović was born in Vienna to parents from Belgrade, Serbia.[24] His favourite team is Red Star Belgrade, which he ended up joining in 2021.[24]

In May 2012, then twenty-one-year-old Dragović attracted criticism in Swiss media for playfully slapping the Swiss defence and sport minister Ueli Maurer's bald head during FC Basel's Swiss Cup win medal ceremony.[25] After making further comments about being reluctant to apologize—stating that "on the inside everybody knows, so I believe, that it was very, very much fun doing it"—Dragović reportedly traveled to the Bundeshaus in Bern in order to personally apologize to Maurer.[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 May 2022[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Austria Wien II 2008–09 Austrian First League 8 2 — — — — 8 2
Austria Wien 2008–09 Austrian Bundesliga 16 0 0 0 — 1[a] 0 — 17 0
2009–10 Austrian Bundesliga 32 0 1 0 — 9[a] 0 — 42 0
2010–11 Austrian Bundesliga 18 1 2 0 — 6[a] 0 — 26 1
Total 66 1 3 0 — 16 0 — 85 1
Basel 2010–11 Swiss Super League 16 0 1 0 — 0 0 — 17 0
2011–12 Swiss Super League 28 1 3 0 — 8[b] 0 — 39 1
2012–13 Swiss Super League 32 3 3 0 — 19[c] 0 — 54 3
2013–14 Swiss Super League 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 — 1 0
Total 77 4 7 0 — 27 0 — 111 4
Dynamo Kyiv 2013–14 Ukrainian Premier League 21 0 5 0 — 9[a] 0 — 35 0
2014–15 Ukrainian Premier League 24 0 6 1 — 10[a] 0 1[d] 0 41 1
2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League 17 0 4 0 — 8[b] 1 1[d] 0 30 1
2016–17 Ukrainian Premier League 4 0 0 0 — — 1[d] 0 5 0
Total 66 0 15 1 — 27 1 3 0 111 2
Bayer Leverkusen 2016–17 Bundesliga 19 0 1 0 — 3[b] 0 — 23 0
2017–18 Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 — 1 0
2018–19 Bundesliga 18 2 2 0 — 8[a] 0 — 28 2
2019–20 Bundesliga 15 0 4 0 — 6[e] 0 — 25 0
2020–21 Bundesliga 18 1 3 0 — 8[a] 1 — 29 2
Total 71 3 10 0 — 25 1 — 106 4
Leicester City (loan) 2017–18 Premier League 11 0 2 0 3 0 — — 16 0
Red Star Belgrade 2021–22 Serbian SuperLiga 34 4 5 0 — 13[f] 0 — 52 4
Career total 333 14 42 1 3 0 108 2 3 0 489 17
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, thirteen appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b c Appearance in Ukrainian Super Cup
  5. ^ Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 29 March 2022[28]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Austria 2009 7 0
2010 2 0
2011 5 0
2012 4 0
2013 9 0
2014 8 0
2015 8 1
2016 11 0
2017 7 0
2018 9 0
2019 10 0
2020 6 0
2021 12 1
2022 2 0
Total 100 2
Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dragović goal.[29]
List of international goals scored by Aleksandar Dragović
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 18 November 2014 Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna, Austria  Brazil 1–1 1–2 Friendly
2 28 March 2021  Faroe Islands 1–1 3–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Austria Wien

Basel

Dynamo Kyiv

Red Star Belgrade

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Aleksandar Dragović". Red Star Belgrade. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Aleksandar Dragovic kommt zum FCB" (in German). FC Basel Internetseite. 2011. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  4. ^ Garin, Erik (2011). "Coupe Horlogère - Uhren Cup (Switzerland)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  5. ^ Ornstein, David (2011). "BBC Match Report". BBC. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  6. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (1 October 2011). "FC Basel - Servette FC 3:0 (2:0)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  7. ^ Stokkermans, Karel (2017). "Switzerland 2011/12" (in French). Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  8. ^ Swiss Football Verband (SFV) (16 May 2012). "FC Basel - FC Luzern 4:2 n.P. (1:1, 1:1, 0:0)". Swiss Football Verband (SFV) internet. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  9. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (11 April 2013). "FC Basel - Tottenham Hotspur FC 4:1 n.P. (2:2, 2:2, 1:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  10. ^ Haylett, Trevor (3 May 2013). "Basel take heart after Chelsea defeat". UEFA.com. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  11. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (3 March 2013). "Servette FC - FC Basel 1:2 (1:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  12. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (12 May 2013). "FC Basel - Servette FC 2:0 (2:0)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  13. ^ Stokkermans, Karel (2017). "Switzerland 2012/13" (in French). Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  14. ^ ASF/SFV (20 May 2013). "FC Basel - Grasshopper Club 3:4 n.P. (1:1, 1:1, 0:0)" (in German). ASF/SFV. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  15. ^ Lynnik, Igor (6 July 2013). "Dragovic heads to Dynamo Kyiv". UEFA.com. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  16. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2022). "Aleksandar Dragovic - FCB statistic". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  17. ^ "Bayer 04 sign Dragovic from Dynamo Kyiv". Bayer Leverkusen. 22 August 2016. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  18. ^ "Aleksandar Dragović Joins Leicester City On Season-Long Loan". Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  19. ^ "Mrkela: Dragović will be our star in European football". FC Crvena Zvezda. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  20. ^ "EURO 2016: Hungary beats Hungary 2–0 at Euro 2016". newindianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Iceland 2–1 Austria: Euro 2016 – as it happened!". theguardian.com. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  22. ^ "Italy vs Austria: UEFA EURO 2020 match background, facts and stats". UEFA. 24 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Dragovic knackt gegen Schottland die 100-Spiele-Marke". heute.at (in German). 28 March 2022.
  24. ^ a b Velimirović, I. (11 December 2011). "Dragović: FSS me nije zvao, teška srca sam prihvatio poziv Austrije". Blic.
  25. ^ Wegmann, Michael (19 May 2012). "Dragovic hatte keine Ahnung, wer Ueli Maurer ist". Blick. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012.
  26. ^ "Fall Dragovic eskaliert zur Staatsaffäre". 20 Minuten. 24 May 2012.
  27. ^ Aleksandar Dragović at Soccerway
  28. ^ "Aleksandar Dragović". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  29. ^ "Aleksandar Dragovic". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  30. ^ a b c "A. Dragović". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  31. ^ "Jetzt hat Basel den Titel auf sicher" (in German). football.ch. 2012. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  32. ^ Schifferle, Michael (2013). "Season review: Switzerland". UEFA. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  33. ^ "Matchtelegram FC Basel 1893 5:3 FC Luzern" (in German). football.ch. 2012. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  34. ^ "Best Defender 2012". Golden Player. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  35. ^ "Europa League team of the group stage". UEFA. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  36. ^ "Idealni tim Mozzart Bet Superlige: Petorica iz Zvezde, trojica iz TSC-a". mozzartsport.com. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
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