Rade Bogdanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Раде Богдановић; born 21 May 1970) is a Serbian football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker.
Early life Born in Sarajevo to a father employed as a driver at Energoinvest and a homemaker mother, Bogdanović was raised in the village of Tilava on the city outskirts. He attended the Primary School in the Vraca neighbourhood and was a fan of Hajduk Split in his youth.
Youth football at Željezničar Bogdanović began playing organized football at the age of twelve, getting invited to try out for hometown side Željezničar's youth system in June 1982 after being noticed at a local primary school tournament by the club scout and former goalkeeper Ruda Bulić. After passing the tryout, Bogdanović was attached to the Željezničar cadet (under-16) squad coached by Duško Bajić; among the youngsters joining the club's youth system at the same time was Goran Gutalj.
Progressing up the age groups within Željezničar's youth system, Bogdanović was coached by Josip Bukal, then Sulejman Kulović, and finally Vasilije "Čiko" Radović.
By spring 1987, the teenager was set to make his full squad debut away at NK Osijek on 24 May 1987 due to the team's established defensive midfielder Edin Ćurić serving a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards. However, a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury—sustained four days earlier during the SR Bosnia-Herzegovina provincial youth (under-18) cup final versus FK Sarajevo under-18s—forced Bogdanović into a six-month layoff that included surgery followed by months of regaining match fitness.
Club career Željezničar Recovered from knee injury and surgery, teenage Bogdanović was attached to the Željezničar full squad under manager Blagoje Bratić in January 1988, joining players such as Dragan Škrba, Branislav Berjan, Mirsad Baljić, Vlado Komšić, Edin Bahtić, Edin Ćurić, Zoran Slišković, Edim Hadžialagić, Radmilo Mihajlović, and Milan Pavlović with the team stuck in the bottom half of the table throughout the league season. Three years removed from their storied UEFA Cup run—with goalkeeper Škrba, full backs Berjan and Baljić, midfielder Ćurić, returnee midfielder Bahtić, and forward Mihajlović as the holdovers from the great season—Željezničar were struggling to replicate that success.
The seventeen-year-old defensive midfielder was given his debut on 27 March 1988 at Titograd's Pod Goricom Stadium in a Yugoslav First League match away at Budućnost. Entering the contest in the 65th minute with visiting Željezničar up 0-1, Bogdanović was brought on in an effort of protecting the lead, however, the match ended 1-1 as Dejan Savićević tied the score for the home team. One week after making his league debut in Titograd, the youngster was given a start by coach Bratić at home versus Hajduk and managed to score a spectacular goal, Željo's third, on Hajduk's goalie Zoran Varvodić as the rampant Željezničar squad routed the struggling visitors 3-0.
Over the summer 1988 transfer window, head coach Bratić got replaced by his assistant Josip Bukal as Željezničar underwent a squad overhaul with the team's twenty-three-year-old star striker Mihajlović sold to Dinamo Zagreb, its best defender—twenty-six-year-old left back Baljić—sold to FC Sion, and its thirty-four-year-old veteran right back Berjan moving on to Karlstad BK in the Sweden second division after fourteen seasons at Grbavica. The departures opened up more space for the team's youth system prospects—including Bogdanović, Suvad Katana, Siniša Nikolić, Srećko Ilić, and Mario Stanić—who had already been set to start getting regular first team opportunities. The offseason also saw the return to the club of the thirty-two-year-old fan-favourite veteran Nikola Nikić after four seasons abroad as well as the acquisition of young winger Simo Krunić from the Second League team Famos Hrasnica.
In 1990, twenty-year-old Bogdanović got called up to serve his mandatory Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) service. Serving in Belgrade at the Topčider barracks as part of the sporting company, a unit formed for professional athletes, among the athletes serving at the same time was Vladan Milojević, a Red Star Belgrade prospect who would go on to a notable head coaching career. As a result of being in the army, Bogdanović missed the entire 1990-91 league season.
Bogdanović stayed at Grbavica until April 1992, fleeing Sarajevo as the Bosnian War broke out. The twenty-two-year-old fled to Belgrade along with several other Željezničar first team players such as Simo Krunić, Gordan Vidović, Suvad Katana, Siniša Nikolić, Srećko Ilić, and Jasminko Velić. Once in Serbia, they were accommodated by the FK Partizan technical director Nenad Bjeković and general secretary Žarko Zečević who took care of the players' basic living needs by putting them up at Hotel Mladost near the Banjica forest while allowing them to take part in FK Partizan's training sessions in order to maintain fitness while looking for new clubs. Within months, Krunić started playing with OFK Beograd, Nikolić found a club in Portuguese lower divisions, Ilić moved to Slovenian NK Mura, Gutalj also eventually ended up at Mura after not passing his trial in Korea while Katana ended up at K.R.C. Genk in Belgium and Vidović moved to Switzerland's FC St. Gallen.
South Korea Though having a verbal agreement with Bjeković about signing with FK Partizan ahead of the upcoming season, in June 1992, Bogdanović moved to the Far East, joining the South Korean club POSCO Atoms from Pohang midway through the 1992 K League season. Initially arriving on a month-long trial, Bogdanović appeared in eight competitive matches before the Pohang Iron and Steel Company-owned club offered him a full contract, which he accepted. The terms of his deal in Korea included receiving a US$120,000 advance along with a US$5,000 monthly salary plus achievement-based bonuses.
Playing in the modest league consisting of only six teams, he quickly established himself as one of its best players. Though spending the initial four years of his professional career in the Yugoslav First League with Željezničar as a defensive midfielder, Bogdanović started being deployed as a striker upon arriving to Korea. With the Yugoslav up front and twenty-three-year-old Korean rising star Hong Myung-bo in defence, POSCO Atoms edged out Ilhwa Chunma from Seongnam to win the 1992 K League title.
At the end of the 1994 K League season, Bogdanović made the league top eleven squad as the best forward in the competition.
After completing the 1996 K League season in early November 1996 as the Pohang Steelers failed to qualify for the league championship playoff, Bogdanović signed with the Japanese J.League side JEF United Ichihara for the following season. Before leaving the Pohang Steelers for good, he played for the team at the start of the 1996–97 Asian Club Championship in late November 1996.
Japan and failed transfer to Ajax In mid-November 1996, after spending four and a half seasons at Pohang, Bogdanović signed with the Japanese club JEF United Ichihara from Chiba, citing better pay and higher level of competition in the Japanese league as motivation for the move. Bidding his farewell to Pohang upon appearing in three round-robin matches at the start of the 1996–97 Asian Club Championship, he went back home to Belgrade to await the commencement of the upcoming J.League season.
While in Belgrade, the player received a dream offer from Louis van Gaal's Ajax, reigning Dutch champions and Champions League finalists. Traveling to Amsterdam with his wife, along with the Serbian sports journalist Mile Vjetrović who was brought along for translation, Bogdanović met with van Gaal and was one of the guests of the club for its league derby match versus PSV Eindhoven on 22 December 1996 at the recently opened Amsterdam Arena. Seeing it as a chance to finally come back to Europe, the twenty-six-year-old Yugoslav decided to sign for the Amsterdam club in late December 1996 without making them aware that he had already committed to JEF. After signing a preliminary agreement with Ajax, Bogdanović arrived at the Dutch team for a January 1997 trial that included joining their winter training in La Manga, Spain during the Eredivisie winter break. Bogdanović was hoping for a compensation agreement with JEF that would allow him to go stay with Ajax's talented squad featuring Edwin van der Sar, Danny Blind, Winston Bogarde, de Boer brothers (Frank and Ronald), Richard Witschge, Marc Overmars, Tijani Babangida, Jari Litmanen, and Patrick Kluivert, but the UEFA arbitration committee got involved and the twenty-six-year-old was forced to honour the contract he had signed in Japan. Unbeknownst to Bogdanović at the time, while training with Ajax in La Manga, he was noticed by the Atlético Madrid assistant coach Rešad Kunovac who was there on a scouting trip assessing the Dutch team, his club's next opponent at the upcoming Champions League quarterfinals.
Begrudgingly going back to the Far East, Bogdanović spent five months with JEF alongside compatriot Nenad Maslovar, playing the first part of the 1997 J1 League season.
Return to Europe: Atlético Madrid, Breda loan During summer 1997, Bogdanović's wish of returning to Europe finally came true as compatriot Radomir Antić signed him to a contract with the Spanish club Atlético Madrid on a squad featuring fellow Yugoslavs Milinko Pantić and Veljko Paunović—along with a slew of high-profile players such as the expensive new signings Christian Vieri and Juninho Paulista, additional new signings Daniel Prodan, Andrei Frascarelli, Jordi Lardín, José Mari, and veteran returnee Paulo Futre as well as established holdovers from the club's league-and-cup-winning double two seasons earlier Kiko, Toni Muñoz, José Luis Caminero, Santi Denia, José Francisco Molina, and Juan Vizcaíno. Arriving to Madrid, Bogdanović's living accommodations were taken care by the club that arranged for him to move into the apartment owned by Diego Simeone who had just gotten sold to Inter Milan. Moving into the apartment complex, Bogdanović became neighbours with fellow Yugoslav professional athlete, basketball player Dejan Bodiroga, who had been playing for Real Madrid Baloncesto.
Bogdanović's transfer to Atlético was the fourth most expensive of 1997, after those of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Atlético's own signing of Vieri, costing the equivalent of €17.4 million. Bogdanović said that his contract had said that he had left JEF United for US$2 million, but Atlético Madrid president Jesús Gil vastly inflated the fee due to money laundering. Gil, who died in 2004, was convicted of financial crimes relating to the club.
After not being included in the squad for the opening day of the league season away at Real Madrid, Bogdanović made his debut in the week 2, partnering Kiko up front at home versus Real Valladolid on 6 September 1997 and scoring two first half goals as los Colchoneros routed the visitors 5–0 by the end. The dream start prompted Atlético's impulsive president Jesús Gil to buy him a brand new BMW 316i as a reward. However, the presence of Vieri and Kiko meant few playing opportunities for Bogdanović: in the very next league match, 1-0 away loss at Athletic Bilbao, he was reduced to only twelve minutes of action plus injury time, coming on for Vieri in the 78nd minute, followed by four league contests completely out of the matchday lineup.
Bogdanović would reappear in late October 1997 for a 0-2 home loss versus Espanyol with another full 90 minute performance next to Kiko as Vieri was given a rest by head coach Antić following the Italian's UEFA Cup hat-trick versus PAOK four days earlier. With Atlético taking a 5-2 advantage into the return leg in Thessaloniki, Vieri was again rested by Antić while Bogdanović started and got a goal in the high-scoring contest that ended 4-4, his very first European continental club match.