Wikipedia

Marko Pantelić

Marko Pantelić (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Пантелић, pronounced [mâːrko pǎnːtelitɕ]; born 15 September 1978) is a Serbian football agent and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He represented Serbia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[1]

Marko Pantelić
Pantelić in 2009
Personal information
Full name Marko Pantelić
Date of birth (1978-09-15) 15 September 1978 (age 47)
Place of birth Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Striker
Youth career
Red Star Belgrade
Iraklis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Iraklis 8 (4)
1997–1999 Paris Saint-Germain 3 (0)
1998–1999 → Lausanne (loan) 21 (8)
1999–2000 Celta 0 (0)
1999 → Sturm Graz (loan) 3 (0)
2000 → Yverdon (loan) 3 (0)
2002–2003 Obilić 5 (0)
2003–2004 Sartid Smederevo 31 (13)
2004–2005 Red Star Belgrade 44 (26)
2005–2009 Hertha BSC 114 (45)
2009–2010 Ajax 25 (16)
2010–2013 Olympiacos 38 (20)
Total 295 (132)
International career
1996–1997 FR Yugoslavia U18 5 (4)
1996–1999 FR Yugoslavia U21 7 (2)
2003–2011 Serbia[note 1] 43 (10)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Early years

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As Pantelić was coming up through the Red Star Belgrade youth system, he was offered a job Thessaloniki and went there alone in Greece. Pantelić was still only 16 years old when he signed a professional contract with Iraklis.[2] At 18, Pantelić accepted an offer to sign for French club Paris Saint-Germain and found himself training and playing alongside Raí, Marco Simone, and Leonardo.[citation needed] With only three matches for the club, he moved to Swiss club Lausanne for one season, scoring eight goals in 21 Swiss league matches.[citation needed] Later, Pantelić signed for Spanish club Celta Vigo, but was sent on loan to Sturm Graz in Austria.[when?][citation needed]

After a two-year absence from professional football, Pantelić returned to Serbia and signed with Obilić in summer 2002. He was essentially starting over as many were quick to write him off as yet another prospect whose career was derailed by going abroad too soon. In January 2003, Pantelić moved to Sartid Smederevo. Upon settling in, he quickly established himself as the team's leader, earning them a Serbia and Montenegro Cup title in 2003. However, his playing time in Smederevo did not go unnoticed by Red Star, and Pantelić became the biggest mid-season signing for the latter in January 2004.[citation needed]

Hertha BSC

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Pantelić with Hertha

After securing a loan move to Hertha for €250,000 on 31 August 2005, the last day of the summer transfer window that year, he went on to score 11 goals in 28 league matches during the 2005–06 season. In April 2006, he signed for Hertha Berlin permanently for an additional €1.5 million fee and soon established himself as one of the most formidable strikers in its squad.[citation needed] Shortly afterwards, Pantelić scored 14 goals from 32 matches in the 2006–07 season and 13 goals for 28 matches in 2007–08 season. In the 2008–09 season, he had limited playing time in favour of Andriy Voronin as Hertha contended for the Bundesliga title. The club fell short, having finished fourth place.[citation needed]

On 17 March 2009, Pantelić denied that he had held talks with any other clubs and refused sign a new contract with Hertha Berlin.[3] He became a free agent in summer 2009.[4]

Later career

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On 1 September 2009, after completing several medical tests, Pantelić signed a one-year contract with Dutch club Ajax, and was given the number 9 shirt.[5] During the season, he scored sixteen goals and delivered nine assists in 25 league matches. Following the season, Pantelić expressed his desire to sign a new contract with Ajax, which the club preferred a one-year contract. He ended up refusing a one-year contract contact with an option of another to focus on his family.[6]

On 21 August 2010, Pantelić joined Olympiacos on a free transfer. He signed a two-year contract worth €1.6 million per year.[7] Pantelić scored his first goal against Panserraikos. On 11 December 2011, Pantelić scored four goals and to secure a victory against Kerkyra.[citation needed]

Pantelić retired from football in 2013.[8] In 2021, he revealed that his reason to retire was due to strained relationship with the Serbian football culture.[9]

International career

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Pantelić debuted for the national team in a friendly match against Poland in 2003,[10][better source needed] In 2010, he was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup,[11] appearing in group stage matches against Ghana and Australia.[citation needed] He scored his first World Cup goal against Australia in a 2–1 loss.[citation needed] Pantelić also scored three goals in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying.[citation needed] He has not featured for his country since their failure to qualify for the corresponding final tournament.[citation needed] Pantelić earned 43 international appearances and ten goals in total.[12]

Outside football

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"Pantelić is a miracle of a man. He's the kind of legend that I would rarely ever meet."

— Josip Šimunić, March 2013[13]

Pantelić is widely known in his home country for his alter ego "Pantela", which was created when an anonymous editor of Kurir allegedly began writing columns under the nickname "Pantela" to reflect the real Pantelić's wit and charisma. The "Pantela" meme is often accompanied by an exceptionally exaggerated style of speech in the Belgrade dialect, as defined by the columns.[14] The phenomenon became popular that anonymous fans created profiles on Twitter and Facebook to mimic Pantelić's humorous personality.[15] Pantelić himself confirmed that he is not the owner of either profiles, but admitted to Kurir that he found his alter egos funny and claimed that he would even want to meet the people behind his social networking profiles.[citation needed]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[16]
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Iraklis 1995–96 Alpha Ethniki 8420104
Paris Saint-Germain 1997–98 French Division 1 30100040
Lausanne 1998–99 Swiss Super League 218—218
Sturm Graz 1999–2000 Austrian Bundesliga 302050
Yverdon 2000–01 Swiss Super League 30—30
Obilić 2002–03 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 50100060
Sartid Smederevo 2002–03 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 1652100186
2003–04 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 1582041219
Total 311341413915
Red Star Belgrade 2003–04 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 1253100156
2004–05 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 292151624024
2005–06 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 30002353
Total 442682856033
Hertha BSC 2005–06 Bundesliga 281121003012
2006–07 Bundesliga 321440624216
2007–08 Bundesliga 281311002914
2008–09 Bundesliga 26722943713
Total 114459415613855
Ajax 2009–10 Eredivisie 251673723921
Olympiacos 2010–11 Super League Greece 20941002410
2011–12 Super League Greece 121036301816
2012–13 Super League Greece 61201091
Total 382097405127
Career total 29513239174214376163

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Serbia and Montenegro 200310
200420
200500
Serbia 200651
200770
200872
200961
201073
201183
Total 4310
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
116 August 2006Městský fotbalový stadion Miroslava Valenty, Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic Czech Republic1–21–3Friendly
224 May 2008Croke Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland0–11–1Friendly
328 May 2008Wacker Arena, Burghausen, Altötting, Germany Russia1–11–2Friendly
410 October 2009Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia Romania2–05–02010 FIFA World Cup qualifying
53 March 2010Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria Algeria0–10–3Friendly
65 June 2010Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia Cameroon4–24–3Friendly
723 June 2010Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa Australia1–21–22010 FIFA World Cup
825 March 2011Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia Northern Ireland1–12–1UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
929 March 2011A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia0–11–1UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
102 September 2011Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland0–10–1UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Honours

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Club

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Individual

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Including three caps for Serbia and Montenegro

References

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  1. ↑ Nedeljković, Darjan (8 August 2014). "Marko Pantelić, bivši fudbaler i sportski agent - Želim da budem menadžer kakvog nikad nisam imao". eKapija (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 February 2026 – via Mozzart Sport.
  2. ↑ Jovanović, Miloš (14 September 2016). "Poslednji kultni heroj: Vice u gostima kod Marka Pantelića". Vice (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  3. ↑ "Pantelic yet to discuss future". Sky Sports. Sky Group. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  4. ↑ "Abschied von zwei alternden Stars". Welt Hertha Linke (in German). 28 May 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  5. ↑ "Ajax contracteert Pantelic". AFC Ajax (in Dutch). 1 September 2009. Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "Pantelic moet 'goodbye' zeggen tegen Ajax". Football Primeur (in Dutch). 3 June 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  7. ↑ "Olympiakos snap up Pantelic". Sporting Greece. 20 August 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  8. ↑ "Pantela završio karijeru, Lane možda..." mondo.ba (in Bosnian). Bosnia and Herzegovina. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  9. ↑ Arbutina, Goran; Ninković, Dušan (14 October 2025). "Ko treba da nasledi Piksija? Pantelić se oglasio posle četiri godine ćutanja i otkrio recept". mondo.rs (in Bosnian). Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  10. ↑ "Marko Pantelić, international football player". EU-football.info. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  11. ↑ "Serbia cuts goalkeeper Brkic to make 23". ESPN. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  12. ↑ Passo Alpuin, Luis Fernando; Mamrud, Roberto; Miladinovich, Misha. "Yugoslavia (Serbia (and Montenegro)) | Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  13. ↑ "Šimunić: Marko Pantelić je čudo od čoveka". Sportski Zurnal (in Serbian). 16 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  14. ↑ "Pantelić: Hoću da upoznam Pantelu!". Kurir (in Serbian). 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 26 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  15. ↑ "Fenomen Godine: Brat Pantela". Mozzart Sport (in Serbian). 1 January 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  16. ↑ Marko Pantelić at WorldFootball.net
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