Rajko Brežančić (Serbian Cyrillic: Рајко Брежанчић; born 21 August 1989) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

Rajko Brežančić
Personal information
Date of birth (1989-08-21) 21 August 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Vlasenica, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Left-back
Youth career
Radnički Nova Pazova
2002–2007 Partizan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Partizan 10 (0)
2007–2008Teleoptik (loan) 15 (0)
2008Bežanija (loan) 13 (0)
2010Teleoptik (loan) 9 (0)
2010–2011 Metalac Gornji Milanovac 7 (0)
2011Bežanija (loan) 13 (0)
2011–2013 Bežanija 58 (2)
2013–2015 Čukarički 61 (2)
2015–2016 AZ 8 (1)
2016–2019 Huesca 55 (0)
2019 Málaga 0 (0)
2019–2022 Partizan 16 (1)
2022–2023 Radnički Beograd 17 (0)
International career
2005–2006 Serbia and Montenegro U17[note 1] 7 (0)
2007 Serbia U19[note 1] 2 (0)
2009 Serbia U20 1 (0)
2009–2010 Serbia U21 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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After coming through the youth system at Partizan, Brežančić signed his first professional contract with the club on 1 June 2007, penning a five-year deal.[1] He subsequently went on loan to Teleoptik and Bežanija in order to get experience. In January 2009, Brežančić returned to Partizan and made seven league appearances until the end of the 2008–09 season, as the club won the title. He recorded three more during the first part of the 2009–10 season, before moving on loan to Teleoptik again in January 2010.

In the summer of 2010, Brežančić signed with Serbian SuperLiga club Metalac Gornji Milanovac. He would be loaned to Serbian First League side Bežanija in the 2011 winter transfer window. Six months later, Brežančić signed a permanent contract with Bežanija and stayed there for the next two seasons.

In the summer of 2013, Brežančić was transferred to newly promoted SuperLiga club Čukarički. He made 29 league appearances and scored once in the 2013–14 campaign. In the following season, Brežančić again missed only one out of 30 league games and scored one goal, as Čukarički finished in third place. He also helped the team win the 2014–15 Serbian Cup.[2]

On 4 August 2015, Brežančić signed a three-year contract with Dutch club AZ.[3] He made his official debut for the team in a 3–1 away league win over De Graafschap on 12 September 2015, scoring the opener early in the game.

In August 2016, Brežančić was transferred to Spain and joined Segunda División club Huesca.[4] He contributed with 30 appearances during the 2017–18 season, as the club gained promotion to the top flight for the first time ever. On 11 November 2018, Brežančić made his La Liga debut in a 2–1 away loss to Alavés, replacing injured Pablo Insua.

On 31 January 2019, Brežančić terminated his contract with Huesca and signed an 18-month deal with Málaga.[5][6]

On 21 June 2019, Brežančić signed a three-year contract with Partizan, returning to the club after nine years.[7] He made 16 appearances across all competitions in his first season back at the club, scoring a goal in a 2–2 away league draw against Napredak Kruševac. After the appointment of Aleksandar Stanojević as manager in September 2020, Brežančić appeared in only two official matches over his last two seasons.

International career

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Brežančić represented Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 UEFA Under-17 Championship. He also played for Serbia U19 in the team's unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. In early 2009, Brežančić participated with the under-20 team at the Qatar International Friendship Tournament.[8][9]

Brežančić made his debut for the Serbia national under-21 team in a 4–1 friendly win over the Macedonia U21s on 7 June 2009.[10] He was subsequently a member of the team at the 2009 UEFA Under-21 Championship, but failed to make any appearance at the tournament. Brežančić gained his second cap for the under-21 side in a 1–0 home friendly win over Israel U21 on 11 August 2009. His third and last appearance for the team came in another friendly, a 1–3 loss away to Romania U21 on 26 May 2010.[11]

Career statistics

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As of 4 October 2022[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Partizan 2007–08 Serbian SuperLiga 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008–09 Serbian SuperLiga 7 0 1 0 0 0 8 0
2009–10 Serbian SuperLiga 3 0 2 0 2 0 7 0
Total 10 0 3 0 2 0 15 0
Teleoptik (loan) 2007–08 Serbian League Belgrade 15 0 1 0 16 0
Bežanija (loan) 2008–09 Serbian First League 13 0 1 0 14 0
Teleoptik (loan) 2009–10 Serbian First League 9 0 0 0 9 0
Metalac Gornji Milanovac 2010–11 Serbian SuperLiga 7 0 7 0
Bežanija (loan) 2010–11 Serbian First League 13 0 0 0 13 0
Bežanija 2011–12 Serbian First League 30 2 0 0 30 2
2012–13 Serbian First League 28 0 1 0 29 0
Total 58 2 1 0 59 2
Čukarički 2013–14 Serbian SuperLiga 29 1 1 0 30 1
2014–15 Serbian SuperLiga 29 1 4 0 4 0 37 1
2015–16 Serbian SuperLiga 3 0 0 0 4 0 7 0
Total 61 2 5 0 8 0 74 2
AZ 2015–16 Eredivisie 8 1 2 0 2 0 12 1
Huesca 2016–17 Segunda División 24 0 2 0 2[a] 0 28 0
2017–18 Segunda División 30 0 0 0 30 0
2018–19 La Liga 1 0 2 0 3 0
Total 55 0 4 0 2 0 61 0
Málaga 2018–19 Segunda División 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Partizan 2019–20 Serbian SuperLiga 12 1 1 0 3 0 16 1
2020–21 Serbian SuperLiga 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2021–22 Serbian SuperLiga 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 16 1 1 0 3 0 20 1
Career total 265 6 18 0 15 0 2 0 300 6
  1. ^ Appearances in promotion and relegation playoffs

Honours

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Partizan

Čukarički

Individual

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Official UEFA matches only

References

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  1. ^ "Četiri prinove u crno-belom taboru" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 1 June 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Čukarički make history with Serbian Cup success". uefa.com. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  3. ^ "AZ haalt Brežančić" (in Dutch). az.nl. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Presentación oficial de Rajko Brežančić" (in Spanish). sdhuesca.es. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Rescisión del contrato con Brezancic" (in Spanish). sdhuesca.es. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Brezancic complementará el lateral izquierdo del Málaga CF" (in Spanish). malagacf.com. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Brežančić se vratio u Partizan" (in Serbian). b92.net. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  8. ^ ""Orlići" putuju u Katar" (in Serbian). sportskacentrala.com. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Remi "orlića" na startu turnira u Kataru" (in Serbian). sportskacentrala.com. 11 January 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  10. ^ ""Orlići" tek u drugom poluvremenu "dodali gas"" (in Serbian). sportskacentrala.com. 7 June 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Avem speranţe! România U21 - Serbia U21 3-1" (in Romanian). prosport.ro. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  12. ^ Rajko Brežančić at Soccerway
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