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Aleksandar Kolarov

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Aleksandar Kolarov
Kolarov playing for Manchester City in 2012
Personal information
Full name Aleksandar Kolarov[1]
Date of birth (1985-11-10) 10 November 1985 (age 38)
Place of birth Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Left back
Team information
Current team
 Manchester City
Number 13
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Čukarički 44 (2)
2006–2007 OFK Beograd 38 (5)
2007–2010 Lazio 82 (6)
2010– Manchester City 81 (5)
International career‡
2006–2007 Serbia U21 11 (1)
2008– Serbia 46 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 April 2014
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 March 2014

Aleksandar Kolarov (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [alɛksǎːndar kɔlǎrɔʋ]; born 10 November 1985) is a Serbian professional association football defender who plays for Premier League side Manchester City and the Serbian national team. Although primarily a left back, Kolarov can also operate anywhere along the left flank and is known for his overlapping runs on the wing and his ball striking ability.[3][4] He was named Serbian Player of the Year 2011.

Club career

Kolarov's football career started in the Red Star Belgrade youth system. He spent five years in the club, but never made the first team.

Čukarički

During January 2004, eighteen-year-old Kolarov moved across town to Čukarički, which played in the top-tier Serbia-Montenegro League. Signing a three-year contract, he finished out the 2003–04 season in the club's youth setup and during summer 2004 got introduced to full squad. Making 27 league appearances in his debut season, the youngster left a good impression, but couldn't help the beleaguered team avoid relegation.

He started the 2005–06 campaign for Čukarički in the second-tier league competition, but during the winter break controversially transferred to top-tier league club OFK Beograd.

OFK Beograd

Kolarov joined OFK Beograd in February 2006 and finished out the season with them, scoring his first league goal.

Lazio

In the summer of 2007, OFK Beograd sold Kolarov to Italian side Lazio (the third placed team in previous season's Serie A standings) for €925,000.[5]

Kolarov's first goal for Lazio came at the Stadio Oreste Granillo in Reggio Calabria on 30 September 2007, as he hit a rocket from 38 meters to secure a draw against lowly Reggina.[6] During his first season in Rome, the 21-year-old Serb also got to play in the UEFA Champions League for the first time, making his debut on 24 October 2007 away at Werder Bremen.

In his second season in Italy, Kolarov established himself as Lazio's first choice at left back, scoring a spectacular goal against Lecce at the Stadio Via del Mare.[7] It got even better for the Serbian in the second Derby della Capitale of the season. With Lazio 3–2 up, Kolarov received the ball in defence from goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and proceeded to run the length of the pitch virtually unopposed. Having run 85 metres, Kolarov then slotted the ball past a hepless Doni in the Roma goal. Scoring in the penalty shootout in the 2009 Coppa Italia Final, thus helping Lazio win the trophy, capped a great season for the Serbian.

As the 2009–10 season drew to an end, Kolarov was instantly linked with a move away from Lazio with Manchester City and Real Madrid interested.

Manchester City

On 24 July 2010 it was announced that he had signed for Manchester City[8] for £19 million.[9] On 17 August 2010, Kolarov made his Premier League debut in a 0–0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.[10] On 18 January 2011, Kolarov scored his first goal for the club in a 4–2 victory over Leicester City in the FA Cup while on 2 February 2011, Kolarov recorded his first Premier League goal from a free kick in a 2–2 draw against Birmingham City. He played the full 90 minutes as City won the 2011 FA Cup Final.

The summer 2011 arrival of Gaël Clichy to the club marginalized Kolarov's role in the squad and he saw his first team opportunities greatly reduced. On 14 September 2011, he scored an equaliser for City in the 1–1 draw against Napoli in their first 2011–12 UEFA Champions League Group Stage match. On 1 October 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes in the left-back slot against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in a 0–4 away victory in the Premier League. He then added another with a long-range swing which earned City a point against Sunderland at home. He ended that season with 12 league appearances, enough for a medal, as Manchester City won the 2011-12 Premier League in dramatic circumstances on the last day of the season.[11] On 18 September 2012, he scored a free kick in the 3–2 defeat at Real Madrid. He scored in the League Cup loss to Aston Villa and in the game against Sunderland, he scored another free kick just five minutes into the match.

International career

Kolarov was a part of the successful Serbia under-21 side which reached the final of the 2007 U-21 Championships held in the Netherlands. As a key member of that side, Kolarov was named in the UEFA Team of the tournament. In the semi-final clash with Belgium, he scored a free-kick from long range.

He also represented Serbia at the 2010 World cup and played a major role in Euro 2012 qualifiers and friendlies. Kolarov was eventually rewarded for an impressive 2011 with the Serbian footballer of the year award.[12]

On 11 September 2012, he scored his first goal for Serbia during a 6–1 win against Wales in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.[13] On 7 June 2013, he scored from a free kick against Belgium in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.

Outside football

Transfer controversy

Kolarov's switch from FK Čukarički to OFK Beograd in February 2006, during the 2005–06 season winter break, was highly controversial. Under contract with Čukarički at the time, Kolarov filed a request to be released dated 31 January 2006 on the grounds of "contract expiry" even though it was good until January 2007. Soon after handing in his request to Čukarički, Kolarov publicly stated his desire to join OFK Beograd. Seeing that they had a disgruntled player on their hands, Čukarički set a €300,000 transfer fee for Kolarov due to the fact he still had one more year left on his contract with the club. OFK for their part simply ignored this fact and simply signed Kolarov without paying a fee. Over the coming years Čukarički took the case in front of Serbian Football Association (FSS), where all of their official complaints got rejected.

Year and a half later, during summer 2007, when Kolarov was sold by OFK Beograd to S.S. Lazio for €800,000, Čukarički president Aleksandar Mihajlović went public with an accusation that Kolarov "was stolen from Čukarički by OFK Beograd". For that, he was punished by Serbian FA on the verbal offence grounds and given a year-long ban on performing any functions in Serbian football.

The entire Kolarov case was featured in early 2008 on B92 television's investigative journalism programme Insajder that focused on criminal activities in Serbian football. The programme claims that Kolarov's case was part of a wide initiative by Serbian FA president Zvezdan Terzić (formerly the president of OFK) who made sure young promising players signed for OFK and then raise their transfer price by making sure they get playing time in the U-21 national team.[14]

Christmas videos

In December 2012 Kolarov appeared in a Christmas video uploaded to Manchester City's website, reciting the carol 'Jingle Bells' in a deadpan style that went viral on the internet.[15] Following the popularity from last year's video, in December 2013 Kolarov delivered his rendition of 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' which also went viral following much anticipation.[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of 05 April 2014.
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
2007–08 Lazio Serie A 24 1 4 2 3 0 31 3
2008–09 25 2 5 1 0 0 30 3
2009–10 33 3 2 1 5 1 40 5
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2010–11 Manchester City Premier League 24 1 8 1 0 0 5 1 37 3
2011–12 12 2 1 1 5 0 8 1 26 4
2012–13 20 1 3 1 1 1 5 1 29 4
2013–14 25 1 2 1 5 1 7 1 39 4
League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Total Italy 82 6 11 4 0 0 8 1 101 11
England 81 5 14 4 11 2 25 4 131 15
Career total 164 11 24 8 11 2 33 5 233 26

International

Serbia national team
Year Apps Goals
2008 2 0
2009 7 0
2010 8 0
2011 10 0
2012 11 1
2013 7 3
2014 1 0
Total 46 4

International goals

Score and Result lists Serbia's goals first
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 11 September 2012 Karađorđe Stadium, Novi Sad, Serbia  Wales 1–0 6–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 7 June 2013 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Belgium 2–1 2–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 10 September 2013 Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales  Wales 0–2 0–3 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4. 15 October 2013 Jagodina City Stadium, Jagodina, Serbia  North Macedonia 3–0 5–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Lazio
Manchester City

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. ^ "Player Profile: Aleksandar Kolarov". Premier League. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Manchester City new boy Aleksandar Kolarov has an amazing shot on him – even referees should beware!". Daily Mail. UK. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  4. ^ "Video: Meet Manchester City's new signing Aleksandar Kolarov – Nine great goals and one great shot into the ref's kisser". Daily Mirror. UK. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Relazione trimestrale separata e consolidata al 30–09–07" (PDF). SS Lazio (in Italian). 14 November 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2010. [dead link]
  6. ^ "Football Italia-Reggina 1–1 Lazio". Channel 4 – Sport – via Internet Wayback Machine. 30 September 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  7. ^ Kolarov Goal On Lecce "Kolarov Goal On Lecce". Lazio4Arab.com – via YouTube. Retrieved 24 July 2010. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  8. ^ "Us Tour:Kolarov deal is done". Manchester City F.C. official site. 24 July 2010. Archived from the original on 28 July 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Manchester City complete signing of Aleksandar Kolarov". BBC. 24 July 2010. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Tottenham Hotspur 0 – 0 Manchester City". ESPN Soccernet. 14 August 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Man City 3-2 QPR" BBC Sport. 13 May 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  12. ^ "Dream team Under 21". UEFA – Magazine – via Google translate. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  13. ^ "Serbia 6–1 Wales" BBC Sport. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  14. ^ Insajder, Pravila igre, 2008
  15. ^ "Man City star sinks Jingle Bells". 3 News NZ. 4 December 2012.
  16. ^ "Aleksander Kolarov delivers scary rendition of Santa Claus is coming to town". 4 Daily Mail. Retrieved 24 December 2013.

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