Igor Matić Explained

Igor Matić
Birth Date:22 July 1981
Birth Place:Bugojno, SFR Yugoslavia
Position:Midfielder
Years1:1998–2003
Clubs1:Zemun
Caps1:71
Goals1:11
Years2:2003–2005
Clubs2:OFK Beograd
Caps2:36
Goals2:11
Years3:2005–2006
Clubs3:Caen
Caps3:24
Goals3:2
Years4:2008
Clubs4:Banat Zrenjanin
Caps4:11
Goals4:0
Years5:2008
Clubs5:Megasport
Caps5:11
Goals5:0
Years6:2009–2010
Clubs6:Grbalj
Caps6:27
Goals6:9
Years7:2010–2012
Clubs7:Mogren
Caps7:43
Goals7:10
Years8:2012
Clubs8:Napredak Kruševac
Caps8:16
Goals8:3
Years9:2012–2017
Clubs9:Čukarički
Caps9:131
Goals9:24
Totalcaps:370
Totalgoals:70
Nationalyears1:2002–2004
Nationalteam1:Serbia and Montenegro U21[1]
Nationalcaps1:11
Nationalgoals1:3
Nationalyears2:2004
Nationalteam2:Serbia and Montenegro Olympic
Nationalcaps2:2
Nationalgoals2:0
Manageryears1:2023
Managerclubs1:Čukarički
Manageryears2:2024
Managerclubs2:Novi Pazar

Igor Matić (Serbian: Игор Матић; born 22 July 1981) is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a deep-lying playmaker. He represented Serbia and Montenegro at the men's football tournament in the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Club career

Zemun

Matić began his senior football career with FK Zemun in 1998. As a 19-year-old, he was one of the players involved in Zemun's famous drive in the semifinals of the 1999-2000 Cup of Yugoslavia.[2] He played for Zemun until 2003.

OFK Beograd

Matić joined OFK Beograd from Zemun in 2003, and played alongside Branislav Ivanović in one of the strongest generations of OFK Beograd that decade. One highlight of Matić's spell at OFK was making the 2004 UEFA Intertoto semifinals before being eliminated by Atlético Madrid.

Mogren

Matić joined Mogren from Grbalj in 2010, where he would spend two years and amass 43 appearances and contribute with 10 goals. In January 2012, Matić sued Mogren in Montenegro's arbitrage court because he wasn't paid for over five months.[3]

Napredak

After leaving Mogren on a sour note, Matić joined Napredak Kruševac in January 2012, who had just hired Aleksandar Kristić as their coach.[4] This was an important factor in Matić choosing to join Napredak, as he and Kristić had known each other since he was at OFK Beograd, as Kristić was one of OFK's youth coaches at the time.[2]

Čukarički

After only a half-season with Napredak, Matić quickly joined Čukarički, which was in 2012 the first privatized professional football club in Serbia. He would become Čukarički's playmaker and contribute to their promotion to the first-tier SuperLiga. In an October 2013 article titled "They are the 'oldies', everyone fears them", Serbia's Sportal named Matić in an 11-man selection of the best players over the age of 28 in the SuperLiga.[5] On 18 March 2015, he suffered a hamstring injury which sidelined him for two weeks.[6] After five years with Čukarički, Matić retired from playing football professionally in 2017.[7]

International career

Despite having born in Bugojno, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, he opted to represent Serbia and Montenegro internationally. Matić was part of the Serbia and Montenegro national under-21 team that finished runners-up at the 2004 European Championship. He was also part of the Serbia and Montenegro team at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Managerial statistics

As of 16 March 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure
TeamFromToRecord
Čukarički15 August 202326 December 2023
Novi Pazar5 January 2024Present
Career total

Honours

Čukarički

External links

Notes and References

  1. Only official UEFA matches included
  2. Web site: Igor Matić: 'U Napretku kao u Francuskoj'. FK Napredak. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714141214/http://fknapredak.rs/print.php?news.39. 14 July 2014.
  3. http://www.vijesti.me/sport/igor-matic-nismo-culi-nijednu-iskrenu-recenicu-sportskog-direktora-clanak-56962
  4. http://www.vijesti.me/sport/matic-pojacava-napredak-clanak-57105
  5. Web site: Oni su "starci", a plaše ih se svi - Srpski fudbal - Sportal.rs . 2014-07-03 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140816104438/http://sportal.rs/news.php?news=110931 . 16 August 2014 . Sportal: Oni su "starci", a plaše ih se svi 7 October 2013
  6. http://www.sportske.net/vest/domaci-fudbal/dobre-vesti-za-cuku-vraca-se-kapiten-219288.html
  7. Web site: Matić završio karijeru, postaje funkcioner Čukaričkog. mozzartsport.com. sr. 16 June 2017. 16 June 2017.