Rajko Janjanin
FullnameRajko Janjanin
Birth date18 January 1957 (age 69)
Birth placeKarlovac, PR Croatia,
FPR Yugoslavia
PositionMidfielder
Youthyears 11969–1975
Youthclubs 1NK Karlovac
Years 11975–1980
Clubs 1Dinamo Zagreb
Caps 1108
Goals 14
Years 21980–1984
Clubs 2Red Star Belgrade
Caps 2115
Goals 222
Years 31985–1986
Clubs 3OFI
Caps 343
Goals 311
Years 41986–1988
Clubs 4AEK Athens
Caps 451
Goals 45
Totalcaps317
Totalgoals42
Nationalyears 11979–1980
Nationalteam 1Yugoslavia
Nationalcaps 12
Nationalgoals 10
Manageryears 11993–1994
Managerclubs 1Erani Filiatra
Manageryears 21995–1996
Managerclubs 2A.O. Agios Nikolaos
Manageryears 31996–2002
Managerclubs 3P.O. Atsaleniou
Manageryears 42001–2002
Managerclubs 4Panathinaikos U20
Manageryears 52002–2003
Managerclubs 5Almyros Gaziou
Manageryears 62015
Managerclubs 6Episkopi
Manageryears 72015–2016
Managerclubs 7P.A.O. Krousonas

Rajko Janjanin (Sr-cyrl: Pajкo Jaњaнин; born 18 January 1957) is a Yugoslav of Croatian Serb descent former international football player, who played as a midfielder and a manager.

Club career

Janjanin started his professional career in 1975 playing for Dinamo Zagreb, with whom he played for five years, winning the Yugoslav Cup in 1980.

Afterwards, he joined Red Star Belgrade for almost five years. His shining moment took place on 19 September 1984, when he scored a second half hat-trick in the 3–2 win over Benfica for the European Cup after Red Star was down by 0–2.[1] With Red Star he won two Yugoslav First League and a Yugoslav cup in 1982, while he became an international footballer.

In November 1984, Janjanin moved to Greece and joined OFI, where he performed very well and had a decisive contribution to the Cretan team, achieving a second place finish in the following season's championship. In December 1986 his contract was coming to an end and despite the proposal of the management for a renewal, there was a gap between the two sides, since the player was asking for 18 million drachmas for a two-year contract and he was offered much less money. AEK Athens, which were interested in the player, fully met his demands and signed him,[2] despite the opposition from OFI.[3] At AEK he didn't achieve high performances, but occasionally showed samples of his football quality. On 6 July 1988, his contract was terminated[4] and unable to find a club of his interest, Janjanin decided to retire as a footballer.[5]

International career

Janjanin was capped twice for Yugoslavia.[6]

Managerial career

As a coach, Janjanin spent a long time at the P.O. Atsaleniou and then spent many years at the academy of Panathinaikos. In 2006 and in 2012 he served as an assistant of Alberto Malesani and Giannis Vonortas respectively in the men's team. In 2015 he was an assistant of Jasminko Velić at the bench of Episkopi, while he later stayed for a short time as the head coach of the Rethymno team. Then he signed at P.A.O. Krousonas for the 2015–16 season.[7]

Personal life

His brother, Željko was also a footballer.[8]

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb

Red Star

References

  1. ^ "Crvena zvezda-Benfica UEFA Champions League 1984/85". UEFA
  2. ^ Γιώργος Βενετούλιας (2 December 1986). "Η ΑΕΚ τώρα πιο δυνατή" (in Greek). Athletic Echo. pp. 1, 5.
  3. ^ Αργύρης Κοκκινάκης (24 December 1986). "Ο Γιανγιάνιν οριστικά στην ΑΕΚ" (in Greek). Athletic Echo. pp. 1, 4.
  4. ^ "Λύθηκε το συμβόλαιο της ΑΕΚ με Γιάνγιανιν" (in Greek). Athletic Echo. 7 July 1988. p. 1.
  5. ^ "Ράικο Γιάνγιανιν". aekpedia.com
  6. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Rajko Janjanin (Player)". national-football-teams.com
  7. ^ "Ο Ράικο Γιάνγιανιν νέος προπονητής του ΠΑΟΚ". neakriti.gr. 13 October 2015.
  8. ^ Željko Janjanin Archived 10 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine at Povijest Dinama (in Croatian)