Darko Spalević (Serbian Cyrillic: Дарко Спалевић; born 24 March 1977) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker.

Darko Spalević
Personal information
Full name Darko Spalević
Date of birth (1977-03-24) 24 March 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth Vučitrn, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1998 Trepča 33 (8)
1998–1999 Priština 10 (0)
1999 Bane 10 (2)
2000–2001 Milicionar 45 (6)
2001–2002 Red Star Belgrade 11 (0)
2003 Cherno More Varna 13 (7)
2003–2004 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 10 (4)
2004 Dynamo Makhachkala 15 (2)
2005 Zalaegerszeg 11 (0)
2006 Henan Jianye 9 (0)
2007–2009 Slavija Sarajevo 66 (44)
2009 Olimpik 13 (5)
2010 Slavija Sarajevo 13 (4)
2010–2014 Radnički Kragujevac 105 (53)
2014–2015 Donji Srem 22 (5)
2015–2016 Slavija Sarajevo 25 (9)
2016–2018 Radnički Kragujevac 27 (8)
2021 Kragujevac
International career
1999 FR Yugoslavia U23 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 July 2021

Over the course of his journeyman career, Spalević scored over 150 competitive goals in six countries, having his most prolific seasons after the age of thirty.[1]

Club career

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Born in Vučitrn, Spalević started out at Trepča, before transferring to Priština in 1998. He stayed there for only one season. After a short stint at Bane in the fall of 1999, Spalević moved to Milicionar, spending there the following year and a half.

In the summer of 2001, Spalević joined Red Star Belgrade. He failed to make an impact at the club in a year and a half, before switching to Bulgarian club Cherno More Varna. In the summer of 2003, Spalević moved to another Bulgarian club Lokomotiv Plovdiv. He won the national championship title in the 2003–04 season.

In the following three seasons, Spalević played for Russian club Dynamo Makhachkala (2004), Hungarian club Zalaegerszeg (2005), and Chinese club Henan Jianye (2006), but without notable achievements.

In early 2007, Spalević moved to Bosnia and Herzegovina and signed with Slavija Sarajevo. He spent the next two and a half years there, becoming the Premier League top scorer in 2008,[2] and 2009. Spalević also helped the club win the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup in the 2008–09 campaign. He subsequently switched to Olimpik,[3] before returning to Slavija in early 2010.

In July 2010, Spalević returned to Serbia and joined First League club Radnički Kragujevac.[4] He was their top scorer in the 2010–11 season with 19 league goals, thus leading them to promotion to the SuperLiga. In the following 2011–12 season, Spalević became the SuperLiga top scorer with 19 goals. He stayed at the club for two more years, despite having some disagreements with the club's president,[5] helping the side remain in the top flight.

After leaving Radnički, Spalević moved to fellow SuperLiga club Donji Srem in June 2014, penning a one-year contract.[6] He however failed to help them avoid relegation from the top flight in the 2014–15 season. In July 2015, Spalević officially returned to his former club Slavija Sarajevo on a one-year deal.[7]

In July 2016, Spalević returned to Radnički Kragujevac.[8] He helped the side win the Serbian League West in his comeback season, thus earning promotion back to the Serbian First League.

International career

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In December 1999, Spalević played for the FR Yugoslavia U23s in a 0–1 friendly loss against Argentina.[9]

Career statistics

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Club Season League
Apps Goals
Zalaegerszeg 2005–06 11 0
Slavija Sarajevo 2006–07 14 9
2007–08 27 18
2008–09 25 17
Olimpik 2009–10 13 5
Slavija Sarajevo 2009–10 13 4
Radnički Kragujevac 2010–11 28 19
2011–12 26 19
2012–13 25 7
2013–14 26 8
Donji Srem 2014–15 22 5
Slavija Sarajevo 2015–16 25 9
Radnički Kragujevac 2016–17 25 8
2017–18 2 0
Career total 282 128

Honours

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Player

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Lokomotiv Plovdiv

Slavija Sarajevo

Radnički Kragujevac

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Spalević: Krenulo me po stare dane" (in Serbian). b92.net. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Statistika: Spalević zlatna kopačka BiH" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Pelak i Spalević bez kluba" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Deset novih igrača na Čika Dači" (in Serbian). fkradnicki.com. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  5. ^ "Spalević: Ako Marjanović ode igraću i za džabe u Radničkom" (in Serbian). ritamgrada.rs. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Spalević pojačao Donji Srem" (in Serbian). b92.net. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Darko Spalević i Branislav Arsenijević se vratili u Slaviju" (in Bosnian). klix.ba. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Spalević se vratio u Radnički" (in Serbian). ritamgrada.rs. 26 July 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Poraz plavih" (in Serbian). glas-javnosti.rs. 29 December 1999. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
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