The Montenegrin Footballer of the Year is an annual award chosen by the team captains and the coaches of the Prva crnogorska fudbalska liga — 1. CFL to determine the best player in Montenegro. It is published by the Football Association of Montenegro. The most successful players is inaugural holder Mirko Vučinić and Stefan Savić, who each won the award for seven times. Stevan Jovetić is the youngest player to receive this honour so far; he was 20 years old when he won the award. The most recent footballer of the year is Nikola Krstović for 2024. Before 2006, two Montenegrin footballers were named Yugoslav Footballer of the Year; Dejan Savićević in 1995, and Predrag Mijatović (for three times) in 1992, 1993 and 1998.
Winners
edit
| Year | Player | Club | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Mirko Vučinić |  Lecce, Roma | Forward |
| 2007 | Mirko Vučinić (2) | Roma (2) | Forward |
| 2008 | Mirko Vučinić (3) | Roma (3) | Forward |
| 2009 | Stevan Jovetić | Fiorentina | Forward |
| 2010 | Mirko Vučinić (4) | Roma (4) | Forward |
| 2011 | Mirko Vučinić (5) | Roma (5), Juventus | Forward |
| 2012 | Mirko Vučinić (6) | Juventus (2) | Forward |
| 2013 | Mirko Vučinić (7) | Juventus (3) | Forward |
| 2014 | Marko Baša |  Lille | Defender |
| 2015 | Stevan Jovetić (2) | Internazionale | Forward |
| 2016 | Stefan Savić |  Atlético Madrid | Defender |
| 2017 | Stefan Savić (2) | Atlético Madrid (2) | Defender |
| 2018 | Stefan Savić (3) | Atlético Madrid (3) | Defender |
| 2019 | Stefan Mugoša |  Incheon United | Forward |
| 2020 | Stefan Savić (4) | Atlético Madrid (4) | Defender |
| 2021 | Stefan Savić (5) | Atlético Madrid (5) | Defender |
| 2022 | Stefan Savić (6) | Atlético Madrid (6) | Defender |
| 2023 | Stefan Savić (7) | Atlético Madrid (7) | Defender |
| 2024 | Nikola Krstović | Lecce (2) | Forward |
Statistics
editWins by player
edit| Rank | Player | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mirko Vučinić | 7 | 2006–2008, 2010–2013 |
| Stefan Savić | 7 | 2016–2018, 2020–2023 | |
| 3 | Stevan Jovetić | 2 | 2009, 2015 |
| 4 | Marko Baša | 1 | 2014 |
| Stefan Mugoša | 1 | 2019 | |
| Nikola Krstović | 1 | 2024 |
Wins by club
edit| Rank | Club | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlético Madrid | 7 | 2016–2018, 2020–2023 |
| 2 | Roma | 5 | 2006–2008, 2010, 2011 |
| 3 | Juventus | 3 | 2011–2013 |
| 4 | Lecce | 2 | 2006, 2024 |
| 5 | Fiorentina | 1 | 2009 |
| Lille | 1 | 2014 | |
| Internazionale | 1 | 2015 | |
| Incheon United | 1 | 2019 |
Wins by position
editControversy
editIn 2013, Mirko Vučinić won the Montenegrin Footballer of the Year for the seventh time. However, the public opinion was that in 2013, Dejan Damjanović should have been given the award. Damjanović scored four goals in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers (two against England and one against Poland and Ukraine), became the top goalscorer of the 2013 K League Classic, and led FC Seoul to the 2013 AFC Champions League final. The media agreed that Vučinić was the best overall Montenegrin footballer, however, Damjanović's performances in 2013 were far better than Vučinić's, who was injured during the decisive qualification matches of the national team.[1][2] Finally, Montenegrin website CG-Fudbal awarded Damjanović "Best Montenegrin Footballer of the Year", according to a poll voted by the fans.[3]
References
edit- ↑ Bozo Jankovic (21 December 2013). "Boske zaslužio crnogorsku zlatnu loptu". Cafe del Montenegro. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ↑ Danilo Mitrović, Aleksandar Radović (21 December 2013). "Glasali po automatizmu i inerciji". Vijesti. Archived from the original on 23 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ↑ "CG fudbal: Damjanović fudbaler godine". Portal Analitika. 21 December 2013. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.