Željko Ljubenović

Željko Ljubenović

Personal information
Date of birth	July 9, 1981
Place of birth	Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Zorya Luhansk
Number	22
Youth career
1990-1995	Partizan
1995-2001	OFK Beograd
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2000-2001	OFK Beograd	?	(?)
2001-2002	Mladost Luks	?	(?)
2002-2005	OFK Mladenovac	?	(?)
2004-(2005)	Proleter Zrenjanin	?	(?)
2005	Hajduk Kula	13	(0)
2006	Kryvbas	8	(0)
2006–2011	Tavriya Simferopol	124	(18)
2012	PFC Oleksandria	9	(1)
2012–	Zorya Luhansk	82	(16)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 August 2015. † Appearances (goals)

Željko Ljubenović (Serbian Cyrillic: Жeљкo Љубeнoвић, born July 9, 1981 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia) is a Serbian football midfielder playing for Zorya Luhansk in the Ukrainian Premier League.

Early career

He started playing in the youth squads of Belgrade giants FK Partizan, but he will move to another club OFK Beograd where he will spend a total of 6 years, being the last of them the ones in which Ljubenović started playing in the senior squad.

Strong performances at Second League

Afterward, still young and making his first steps, he moved to FK Mladost Luks from Lukićevo but after one season, he will change to Second League club OFK Mladenovac where he will consolidate himself in the club and stay for two and a half seasons having played a total of 67 matches, scored 12 goals and made an impressive 22 goal assistance. By that time, local sports press usually described him as one of the most promising players in the second league with fine technical skills, good passing game and strong shot. He was also one of the best rated players by the specialised press. All this earned him interess from many Serbian top league but there were also some strong offers from South Korean and Hong Kong clubs. After this, he decided to sign with another second league club, the historical FK Proleter Zrenjanin where he will be coached with the reputated Mr. Žarko Soldo that had already coached him 2 years earlier.

Back to top league with FK Hajduk Kula

In summer 2005 after analysing a serious of offers he decided to sign with FK Hajduk Kula a stable top league Serbian club where he will play the 2005-06 Serbia and Montenegro First League. His good exhibitions earn him a call from the Ukrainian Premier League club FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih where he moved on January 2006 signing a 3-year contract. He was one o the signings that the club made to try to maintain them in the Premier League, but they fail and the clubs ends up relegated because of the financial problems with all players being released.

FC Tavriya Simferopol

After being released by relegated Kryvbas, soon other top league clubs showe interess in signing the attacking midfielder Ljubenović. FC Tavriya Simferopol was quick in approaching him, and the positive aspects of the club such were the great working and training conditions, club's stable financial situation and the quality of the squad made Ljubenović easy the decision the join them. Initially, he had hard time to get into the starting team because of heavy competition for all places in the squad, but some bad results during Outumn 2006 made that some standard players loose manager confidence and Ljubenović begins to be a starter from that moment on. He made his debut on the 11th league round and archived to score three goals in 6 matches played, also being one of the most influential players in archiving the qualification for the semi-finals of the Ukrainian Cup. After having initially signed a contract for only one year, his great displays, and the fact that he has been at the top between the reat of the players regarding scored goals and assistances, beside receiving support from club fans, made him earn a contract prorogation.^[1]

References

1. Biografija at Željko Ljubenović personal website.

External links

• Profile on Official Tavriya website (Russian)