Slobodan Rajković (, ; born 3 February 1989) is a Serbian retired footballer who played as a centre back.

Club career Born in Belgrade, Rajković started his career with OFK Beograd. He was included in the club's first team at the age of 15. During his second season in the first team, Rajković's reputation grew so such that in November 2005, English Premier League club Chelsea decided to pay €2 million for the 16-year-old centre-half.

Under the terms of the deal, Rajković stayed at OFK Beograd as a loaned player from Chelsea until the end of the 2006–07 Serbian SuperLiga season.

Loans in the Eredivisie In June 2007, Chelsea decided to loan Rajković to PSV ahead of the 2007–08 season, as part of the deal surrounding Alex's move to Chelsea.

After the year-long loan spell at PSV, the Dutch club wanted to extend the loan period for another year, but Chelsea declined due to the lack of playing time Rajković was receiving in his season at Eindhoven. Rajković, however, returned to the Eredivisie on 9 July 2008, joining Twente on a one-year loan deal.

After spitting at a referee at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Rajković was banned for 12 months by FIFA. In June 2009, his loan was extended until June 2010.

On 23 August 2010, Rajković transferred to another Eredivisie club, Vitesse, together with his former Chelsea teammates Nemanja Matić and Matej Delač on a season-long loan.

Chelsea Having returned to Chelsea prior to the 2011–12 season at the request of new manager André Villas-Boas, Rajković played his first game in a Chelsea shirt in a friendly against Wycombe Wanderers on 12 July 2011 at Chelsea's Cobham Training Centre. He played the second half and scored his side's third goal, volleying home a Yuri Zhirkov corner.

Four years after signing for Chelsea, Rajković still remained ineligible for either a work permit or an EU passport, precluding his ability to play in matches open to the public (hence why he played in the closed door game with Wycombe, but could not play against Portsmouth). However, he finally made his debut in a pre-season friendly game against a Malaysian XI, in which he played the whole of the first half. He also played against Kitchee SC in the 2011 Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong.

Hamburger SV On 23 August 2011, Rajković joined Bundesliga club Hamburger SV from Chelsea on a four-year deal for €2 million. He did not manage to secure the starter's position in his four years at the club, making only 46 appearances in all competitions.

Darmstadt 98 On 29 September 2015, Rajković signed for Darmstadt 98 on a two-year deal.

Palermo On 1 August 2016, he was signed by Serie A club Palermo. He played a total three seasons for the Rosanero (one in Serie A, and two in Serie B).

Following Palermo's exclusion from the Serie B, he was released together with all other players in July 2019.

Perugia On 27 January 2020, after six months of inactivity, Rajković signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Serie B club Perugia as a free transfer.

Lokomotiv Moscow On 13 August 2020, he signed a one-year contract with Russian Premier League club FC Lokomotiv Moscow. On 19 January 2021, his Lokomotiv contract was terminated by mutual consent.

MTK Budapest On 10 January 2022, Rajković signed with MTK Budapest in Hungary.

International career By the age of 16, Rajković was a regular in the Serbia under-21 national team, later becoming the youngest player ever to appear in a qualifying match of the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.In May 2010, Rajković was called up to the Serbia senior team for the first time when he was announced in the nation's preliminary 30-man squad for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup. U21 Championship: Facts and figures by UEFA On 17 June 2007, during the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, which the Serbia U21 team eventually finished as runners-up in, Rajković was part of a controversial second goal for England. He was lying on the ground, injured, and while Serbian players expected their rivals would kick the ball out of the field, Matt Derbyshire went on against a bewildered Serbian defence to score the second goal of the night for England, provoking a turbulent reaction from the Serbian players. Rajković was called for a national team match in 2016, after more than two years.

He earned a total of 19 caps (no goals) and his final international was a June 2016 friendly match against Russia.

Style of play Rajković is known as a highly aggressive player. After his arrival to Hamburger SV, he stated in an interview, "I like to play more aggressive than the referees like."

Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsOFK Beograd2004–05First League of Serbia and Montenegro600000–602005–062011020–2312006–07Serbian SuperLiga1100010–120Total371103000411PSV (loan)2007–08Eredivisie1300050–180Twente (loan)2008–09Eredivisie1314030–2012009–101001030–140Total231506000341Vitesse (loan)2010–11Eredivisie24030––270Hamburger SV2011–12Bundesliga16110––1712012–1313000––1302013–142000––202014–1511120––131Total422300000452Hamburger SV II2012–13Regionalliga Nord41–––412014–1510–––10Total51–––51Darmstadt 982015–16Bundesliga15120––171Palermo2016–17Serie A4010––502017–18Serie B12100–401612018–1930222––324Total463320040535Perugia2019–20Serie B12000––120Lokomotiv Moscow2020–21Russian Premier League500040–90TSC2021–22Serbian SuperLiga510000–51MTK Budapest2021–22Nemzeti Bajnokság I1110000–111Career total238111721804027713

International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSerbia200820200900201020201170201220201310201400201500201650Total190

Honours PSV Eredivisie: 2007–08

Twente Eredivisie: 2009–10

References

External links