Marko Pantelić

For the Serbian opera singer, see Marko Pantelić (baritone).

Marko Pantelić
Pantelić in 2009
Personal information
Full name Marko Pantelić
Date of birth (1978-09-15) 15 September 1978
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

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]

Club career

Early years

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. With only three matches for the club, he moved to Swiss club Lausanne for one season, scoring eight goals in 21 Swiss league matches. Later, Pantelić signed for Spanish club Celta Vigo, but was sent on loan to Sturm Graz in Austria.

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.

Hertha BSC

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. 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.

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

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.

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

Pantelić debuted for the national team in a friendly match against Poland in 2003,[10] 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. He scored his first World Cup goal against Australia in a 2–1 loss. Pantelić also scored three goals in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying. He has not featured for his country since their failure to qualify for the corresponding final tournament. Pantelić earned 43 international appearances and ten goals in total.[12]

Outside football

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

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.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[16]
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Iraklis 1995–96 Alpha Ethniki 8 4 2 0 10 4
Paris Saint-Germain 1997–98 French Division 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
Lausanne 1998–99 Swiss Super League 21 8 — 21 8
Sturm Graz 1999–2000 Austrian Bundesliga 3 0 2 0 5 0
Yverdon 2000–01 Swiss Super League 3 0 — 3 0
Obilić 2002–03 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 5 0 1 0 0 0 6 0
Sartid Smederevo 2002–03 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 16 5 2 1 0 0 18 6
2003–04 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 15 8 2 0 4 1 21 9
Total 31 13 4 1 4 1 39 15
Red Star Belgrade 2003–04 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 12 5 3 1 0 0 15 6
2004–05 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 29 21 5 1 6 2 40 24
2005–06 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 3 0 0 0 2 3 5 3
Total 44 26 8 2 8 5 60 33
Hertha BSC 2005–06 Bundesliga 28 11 2 1 0 0 30 12
2006–07 Bundesliga 32 14 4 0 6 2 42 16
2007–08 Bundesliga 28 13 1 1 0 0 29 14
2008–09 Bundesliga 26 7 2 2 9 4 37 13
Total 114 45 9 4 15 6 138 55
Ajax 2009–10 Eredivisie 25 16 7 3 7 2 39 21
Olympiacos 2010–11 Super League Greece 20 9 4 1 0 0 24 10
2011–12 Super League Greece 12 10 3 6 3 0 18 16
2012–13 Super League Greece 6 1 2 0 1 0 9 1
Total 38 20 9 7 4 0 51 27
Career total 295 132 39 17 42 14 376 163

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Serbia and Montenegro 2003 1 0
2004 2 0
2005 0 0
Serbia 2006 5 1
2007 7 0
2008 7 2
2009 6 1
2010 7 3
2011 8 3
Total 43 10
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 August 2006 Městský fotbalový stadion Miroslava Valenty, Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic  Czech Republic 1–2 1–3 Friendly
2 24 May 2008 Croke Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland  Republic of Ireland 0–1 1–1 Friendly
3 28 May 2008 Wacker Arena, Burghausen, Altötting, Germany  Russia 1–1 1–2 Friendly
4 10 October 2009 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia  Romania 2–0 5–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying
5 3 March 2010 Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria  Algeria 0–1 0–3 Friendly
6 5 June 2010 Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia  Cameroon 4–2 4–3 Friendly
7 23 June 2010 Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa  Australia 1–2 1–2 2010 FIFA World Cup
8 25 March 2011 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia  Northern Ireland 1–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
9 29 March 2011 A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia  Estonia 0–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
10 2 September 2011 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland 0–1 0–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Honours

Club

Lausanne

Sartid Smederevo

Red Star Belgrade

Hertha BSC

Ajax

Olympiacos

Individual

Notes

  1. ^ Including three caps for Serbia and Montenegro

References

  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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