Aleksandar Luković

Aleksandar Luković

Luković with Udinese in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Aleksandar Luković
Date of birth	23 October 1982
Place of birth	Kraljevo, Yugoslavia
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Centre-back / Left-back
Club information
Current team	Red Star Belgrade
Number	3
Youth career
	Red Star Belgrade
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1998–2001	Sloga Kraljevo	66	(8)
2002–2006	Red Star Belgrade	64	(3)
2003–2004	→ Jedinstvo Ub (loan)	23	(2)
2006–2010	Udinese	97	(0)
2006	→ Ascoli (loan)	10	(0)
2010–2014	Zenit St. Petersburg	40	(1)
2012–2014	→ Zenit-2 (loan)	28	(2)
2015–	Red Star Belgrade	25	(1)
National team
2005–2012	Serbia	28	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 April 2016. † Appearances (goals)

Aleksandar Luković (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Луковић; born 23 October 1982) is a Serbian footballer who played as a defender for the Serbian national team and currently plays for Red Star Belgrade. He appeared in the 2010 World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Luković started his career at hometown club Sloga Kraljevo. In 2002 he was signed by Crvena Zvezda. He played his first UEFA Cup match on 15 August 2002 after he substituted Nemanja Vidić at second half. Crvena Zvezda won 2–0 to FC Kairat.

Udinese

In mid-2006, after signing a pre-contract with Udinese, Luković was on loan to Ascoli from Red Star Belgrade in order for the club to "borrow" the non-EU registration quota from Udinese.^[1] He was "loaned" to Udinese from Ascoli in January transfer window.

On 27 January 2007, he played his first Serie A match for Udinese against Torino.^[2]

He was signed permanently in mid-2007.

Zenit St. Petersburg

On 29 July 2010 it was officially announced that Luković signed a four-year contract with FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for undisclosed fee.^[3] Initially he was a constant starter for the team but eventually got reduced playing time with the arrival of Domenico Criscito to the club for left-back position.

Return to Red Star Belgrade

After several consecutive transfer windows of rumors regarding his return, it was announced on 29 December 2014 that Luković signed a 2.5-year contract with Red Star.^[4] On February 6, 2015, in a friendly match against Rubin Kazan, Luković suffered a serious injury which sidelined him until the summer of 2015.^[5] On August 23, 2015, Luković finally made his first appearance for Red Star since his injury, and was applauded by the whole stadium when he came in as a substitute for Savo Pavićević.^[6]

International career

He made his international debut against Poland on 15 August 2005. He played a part during 2010 World Cup qualifying and mostly partnered Nemanja Vidić in central defense as Aleksandar Kolarov was preferred at left back. He was sent off in Serbia's opening 2010 World Cup match against Ghana on 13 June 2010.^[7]

In March 2011, two weeks before a crucial Euro 2012 qualifier against Northern Ireland, Luković surprised everyone by deciding to retire from the national team at the age of 28, choosing to focus on his club Zenit. On the same occasion, his teammate Danko Lazović also made the same announcement.

Career statistics

Club

As of April 2016 ^[8]

Club	Season	League		Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sloga Kraljevo	1998–99	21	3	?	?	0	0	0	0	21	3
	1999–00	11	1	?	?	0	0	0	0	11	1
	2000–01	19	1	?	?	0	0	0	0	19	1
	2001–02	15	3	?	?	0	0	0	0	15	3
	Total	66	8	?	?	0	0	0	0	66	8
Red Star	2001–02	6	0	?	?	0	0	0	0	6	0
	2002–03	6	0	?	?	1	0	0	0	7	0
Jedinstvo Ub (loan)	2003–04	23	2	?	?	0	0	0	0	23	2
Red Star	2004–05	25	0	?	?	5	0	0	0	30	0
	2005–06	27	3	?	?	8	0	0	0	35	3
	Total	64	3	?	?	14	0	0	0	78	3
Ascoli	2006–07	10	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
	Total	10	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
Udinese	2006–07	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	2007–08	32	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	36	0
	2008–09	27	0	1	0	7	0	0	0	35	0
	2009–10	33	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	35	0
	Total	97	0	7	0	7	0	0	0	111	0
Zenit	2010	11	0	2	0	9	0	0	0	22	0
	2011–12	19	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	21	1
	2012–13	9	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	13	0
	2013–14	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	3	0
	Total	40	1	5	0	11	0	3	0	59	1
Red Star	2014–15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2015–16	25	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	26	1
	Total	25	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	26	1
Career total		353	17	15	0	32	0	3	0	403	17

International

• As of 29 December 2014^[9]

Serbian national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2005	5	0
2006	3	0
2007	0	0
2008	3	0
2009	7	0
2010	9	0
2011	0	0
2012	1	0
Total	28	0

Honours

Club

Red Star Belgrade

• Serbian SuperLiga (2): 2005–06, 2015–16
• Serbian Cup (2): 2001–02, 2005–06

Zenit St. Petersburg

• Russian Premier League (2): 2010, 2011–12
• Russian Super Cup (1): 2011

References

1. "Udinese sign Lukovic". Sky Sports. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
2. "Tactical Formation". Football Lineups. Retrieved 1 February 2007.
3. Лукович – в "Зените"! [Luković in Zenit]. FC Zenit Saint Petersburg (in Russian). 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
4. Novosti: Luković i Anđelković nove uzdanice Zvezde: Kumovska veza čuva Rajkovića - 29 December 2014 (Serbian)
5. B92: Luković ipak teže povređen? (Serbian) February 9, 2015
6. Mozzart Sport: Luković: Očekivao sam podršku, ali ne ovakvu! Ovo retko koji klub u Evropi ima... (Serbian) August 23, 2015
7. Soneji, Pranav (13 June 2010). "Serbia 0–1 Ghana". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
8. "A.Lukovic". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
9. National Football Teams | Aleksandar Luković

External links

• Aleksandar Luković at National-Football-Teams.com
• Aleksandar Luković – FIFA competition record
• Aleksandar Luković – FIFA competition record
• Profile on Serbian National Team Page