Milenko Ačimovič
Milenko "Mile" Ačimovič (pronounced [miˈleːŋkɔ aˈtʃiːmɔʋitʃ]; Serbian: Aćimović [atɕǐːmoʋitɕ]; born 15 February 1977) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Besides Slovenia, he has played in FR Yugoslavia, England, France, Saudi Arabia, and Austria.
| Ačimovič playing for Austria Wien in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 February 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Ljubljana, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Slovenia U21 (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Olimpija[2] | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–1996 | Železničar Ljubljana | ||
| 1996–1998 | Olimpija | 36 | (7) |
| 1998–2002 | Red Star Belgrade | 102 | (34) |
| 2002–2004 | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 | (0) |
| 2004 | → Lille (loan) | 16 | (6) |
| 2004–2006 | Lille | 31 | (6) |
| 2006–2007 | Al-Ittihad | (3) | |
| 2007–2010 | Austria Wien | 101 | (30) |
| International career | |||
| 1997 | Slovenia U20 | 1 | (1) |
| 1995–1997 | Slovenia U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 1998–2007 | Slovenia | 74 | (13) |
| 2003 | Slovenia B | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2020– | Slovenia U21 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career edit
Born to Serbian parents in Ljubljana, Ačimovič started his career in the youth ranks of Železničar Ljubljana. He made four first division appearances for Železničar when he was 18 years old.[3] From 1996 until 1998 he scored seven league goals in 36 matches for Olimpija.[4] He then joined Red Star Belgrade, where he played for four and a half years. After successful appearances for the Slovenian national team in Euro 2000 and World Cup 2002, several bigger European clubs expressed interest in him. In the summer of 2002, he joined Tottenham Hotspur.[5] In his first season in London, he made a few appearances, but never established himself as a first team player. In his second season, he became a fringe player.
In January 2004 he joined the French club Lille on loan until the end of the season.[6] When he arrived, the club was in 14th place in the Ligue 1, but Ačimovič contributed to an eventual second-place finish, enough to qualify for the Champions League. Also, in his first year at Lille, he was part of the team's UEFA Cup campaign, when Lille reached the last sixteen before being eliminated. The following year, he played in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, when Lille reached the group stages. Ačimovič scored Lille's only goal of the campaign against Manchester United in Lille's 1-0 victory in Paris.[7]
After two-and one-half seasons in Lille, he fell out of favour and joined Al-Ittihad for the 2006–07 season. After failing to adapt to life in Saudi Arabia, he agreed on a mutual termination of the contract, subsequently moving back to Europe to join Austria Wien. On 15 September 2010, his ended his football career following a persistent right knee injury.
Ačimovič returned to Slovenia and was appointed the Director of football at Olimpija Ljubljana, in January 2011, where he stayed until September 2012 when he resigned his position, due to poor results of the team in the Slovenian PrvaLiga.
International career edit
He debuted for the Slovenia national team on 22 April 1998 in Murska Sobota against the Czech Republic.[8] During the first leg of the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers against Ukraine, he scored a winning goal from near the halfway line, helping his team to qualify for their first ever major tournament.[9] At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ačimovič scored in Slovenia's 3–1 defeat to Paraguay in Seogwipo.[10] His final appearance for the national side came on 28 March 2007 in Celje, during a 1–0 home defeat to the Netherlands in a Euro 2008 qualification match.[11] He announced his retirement from international football that August.[12] He earned a total of 74 caps for Slovenia, scoring 13 goals.[13]
Honours edit
Lille
See also edit
References edit
- ^ . UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 11 July 2000. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ Zupan, Miha (21 November 2019). "Dvajset let po Bežigradu: Kako in kje je rasel Mile Ačimović?" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- ^ "Milenko Ačimovič – 1994/95 season" (in Slovenian). Slovenian PrvaLiga. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ "Milenko Ačimovič – all seasons" (in Slovenian). Slovenian PrvaLiga. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ "Hoddle hails new signing". BBC. 1 May 2002. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "Acimovic joins Lille". BBC. 28 January 2004. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "Lille 1–0 Man Utd". BBC. 2 November 2005. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "Milenko Ačimovič – Nogometna zveza Slovenije" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- ^ "Slovenia face Ukraine with Milenko Acimovic's great goal fresh in the mind". ESPN. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- ^ "Domov brez točke". 24ur.com (in Slovenian). 12 June 2002. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- ^ "Milenko Ačimovič, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Ačimovič bids Slovenia adieu". UEFA. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ "Milenko Acimovic – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ . UEFA. Archived from the original on 11 October 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
External links edit
- NZS profile (in Slovene)
- at FIFA (archived)
- Milenko Ačimovič at UEFA
- Milenko Ačimovič at Premier League
- Milenko Ačimovič at 11v11.com
- Milenko Ačimovič at BDFutbol
- Milenko Ačimovič at EU-Football.info
- Milenko Ačimovič at FBref.com
- Milenko Ačimovič at kicker (in German)
- Milenko Ačimovič at National-Football-Teams.com
- Milenko Ačimovič at WorldFootball.net