Dragan Žilić

Dragan Žilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Драган Жилић; born 14 December 1974) is a Serbian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for German amateur club SG Knopp/Wiesbach.^[1]

Dragan Žilić

Personal information
Full name	Dragan Žilić
Date of birth	(1974-12-14) 14 December 1974 (age 49)
Place of birth	Kikinda, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	SG Knopp/Wiesbach
Youth career
1985–1992	OFK Kikinda
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1996	OFK Kikinda	70	(0)
1996–2000	Vojvodina	49	(0)
2000–2001	CSKA Sofia	1	(0)
2001–2005	Sartid Smederevo	112	(0)
2005–2008	Rijeka	79	(0)
2009–2010	Gorica	19	(0)
2015	Gençlerbirliği Homburg	10	(0)
2015–2017	SpVgg Einöd-Ingweiler	33	(0)
2017	SV Beeden	16	(0)
2018	Gençlerbirliği Homburg	28	(0)
2019	ASV Kleinottweiler	11	(0)
2019–2021	SV Schwarzenbach	23	(0)
2022–	SG Knopp/Wiesbach	8	(0)
International career
1998–2003	Serbia and Montenegro	8	(0)
Managerial career
2015–2017	SpVgg Einöd-Ingweiler (player-manager)
2018	Gençlerbirliği Homburg (player-manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 December 2022

Club career

Žilić joined his hometown club OFK Kikinda as a trainee in 1985.^[2] He made his senior debut in the 1992–93 First League of FR Yugoslavia, as the team finished in the lower half of the standings. In the summer of 1996, Žilić was transferred to Vojvodina. He was a regular member of the team that reached the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Werder Bremen.

In June 2000, Žilić moved abroad to Bulgaria and signed with CSKA Sofia on a three-year contract.^[3] He left the club by mutual agreement in February 2001,^[4] having played just two official games for the team. In July 2001, Žilić returned to his homeland and joined ambitious Sartid Smederevo.^[5] He spent four seasons with the Oklopnici, winning the Serbia and Montenegro Cup in 2003.^[6]

In July 2005, Žilić completed a controversial move to Croatian side Rijeka.^[7] The transfer caused a minor sensation in the region as it marked the first occasion that a Serbian-born player joined a Croatian club after the Yugoslav Wars. Despite being exposed to severe verbal abuse by the nationalist supporters of Rijeka,^[8] Žilić immediately established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper and gradually earned the support of fans with his consistent performances.^[9] He played an important role in helping them win the 2005–06 Croatian Cup. On 29 November 2006, Žilić scored a 92nd-minute header against Konavljanin that pushed Rijeka into the 2006–07 Croatian Cup semi-finals.^[10] He would lose his place in the first team by the fall of 2008, being demoted to as low as training with the youth team.^[11] In the 2009 winter transfer window, Žilić signed with Slovenian club Gorica on a free transfer. He retired from professional football after the 2009–10 season.

In early 2015, at the age of 40, Žilić came out of retirement to play for German amateur club Gençlerbirliği Homburg in the Bezirksliga.^[12] He became player-manager of Landesliga club SpVgg Einöd-Ingweiler in October of the same year.^[13]

International career

Žilić made his international debut for FR Yugoslavia in a 1–1 away friendly draw against Brazil on 23 September 1998. He came on as a second-half substitute for Ivica Kralj and kept a clean sheet in the process. After nearly four years of absence, Žilić returned to the squad in a 2–1 friendly win over Mexico at Bank One Ballpark on 13 February 2002. He earned a total of eight caps for the national team between 1998 and 2003.^[14]

Post-playing career

Following his initial retirement in 2010, Žilić served as president of his parent club OFK Kikinda.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[15]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
OFK Kikinda	1992–93	First League of FR Yugoslavia	2	0			—		2	0
	1993–94	First League of FR Yugoslavia	8	0			—		8	0
	1994–95	Second League of FR Yugoslavia	30	0			—		30	0
	1995–96	Second League of FR Yugoslavia	30	0			—		30	0
	Total		70	0			—		70	0
Vojvodina	1996–97	First League of FR Yugoslavia	4	0			4	0	8	0
	1997–98	First League of FR Yugoslavia	13	0			0	0	13	0
	1998–99	First League of FR Yugoslavia	23	0			10	0	33	0
	1999–2000	First League of FR Yugoslavia	9	0			4	0	13	0
	Total		49	0			18	0	67	0
CSKA Sofia	2000–01	Bulgarian First League	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
Sartid Smederevo	2001–02	First League of Serbia and Montenegro	33	0			0	0	33	0
	2002–03	First League of Serbia and Montenegro	33	0			4	0	37	0
	2003–04	First League of Serbia and Montenegro	27	0			4	0	31	0
	2004–05	First League of Serbia and Montenegro	19	0			3	0	22	0
	Total		112	0			11	0	123	0
Rijeka	2005–06	Croatian First League	29	0	7	0	2	0	38	0
	2006–07	Croatian First League	27	0	6	1	2	0	35	1
	2007–08	Croatian First League	23	0	1	0	—		24	0
	Total		79	0	14	1	4	0	97	1
Gorica	2008–09	Slovenian First League	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2009–10	Slovenian First League	16	0	0	0	0	0	16	0
	Total		19	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
Gençlerbirliği Homburg	2014–15	Bezirksliga	2	0	—		—		2	0
	2015–16	Landesliga	8	0	—		—		8	0
	Total		10	0	—		—		10	0
SpVgg Einöd-Ingweiler	2015–16	Landesliga	13	0	—		—		13	0
	2016–17	Landesliga	20	0	—		—		20	0
	Total		33	0	—		—		33	0
SV Beeden	2017–18	Landesliga	16	0	—		—		16	0
Gençlerbirliği Homburg	2017–18	Landesliga	11	0	—		—		11	0
	2018–19	Landesliga	17	0	—		—		17	0
	Total		28	0	—		—		28	0
ASV Kleinottweiler	2018–19	Landesliga	11	0	—		—		11	0
SV Schwarzenbach	2019–20	Verbandsliga	14	0	—		—		14	0
	2020–21	Verbandsliga	2	0	—		—		2	0
	2021–22	Verbandsliga	7	0	—		—		7	0
	Total		23	0	—		—		23	0
Career total			451	0	14	1	34	0	499	1

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[16]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
FR Yugoslavia	1998	1	0
	1999	0	0
	2000	0	0
	2001	0	0
	2002	3	0
Serbia and Montenegro	2003	4	0
Total		8	0

Honours

Sartid Smederevo

• Serbia and Montenegro Cup: 2002–03

Rijeka

• Croatian Cup: 2005–06

References

1. "Zilic Dragan" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
2. "Bavite se sportom" (in Serbian). pancevac-online.rs. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
3. ""Lale" od milion maraka" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 15 June 2000. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
4. "Dragan Žilić otišao iz CSKA" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 9 February 2001. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
5. "Žilić u Sartidu" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 14 July 2001. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
6. "Sartid pobednik Kupa!" (in Serbian). srbija.gov.rs. 29 May 2003. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
7. "Žilić priželjkuje ovacije Armade" (in Croatian). index.hr. 22 July 2005. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
8. "Armada izvrijeđala Žilića" (in Croatian). index.hr. 24 July 2005. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
9. "Dragan Žilić: "Pobedio sam karakterom"" (in Serbian). b92.net. 27 March 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
10. "Žilić pogotkom u nadoknadi spasio Rijeku od debakla" (in Croatian). index.hr. 29 November 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
11. "Ćutim i čekam kraj ugovora s Rijekom" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 12 October 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
12. "Ein Ex-Nationalspieler in der Bezirksliga" (in German). saarbruecker-zeitung.de. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
13. "Spvgg. Einöd-Ingweiler verpflichtet mit Zilic einen neuen Trainer" (in German). saarbruecker-zeitung.de. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
14. "Žilić Dragan" (in Serbian). reprezentacija.rs. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
15. "Dragan Zilic" (in German). fupa.net. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
16. "Dragan Žilić, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 20 December 2022.

External links

• Dragan Žilić at WorldFootball.net
• Dragan Žilić at FootballDatabase.eu
• Dragan Žilić at National-Football-Teams.com