Zlatko Zahovič


Zlatko Zahovič is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
After making a name for himself in Portugal, most notably with Porto and Benfica where he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 246 matches and 54 goals over one full decade, he went on to have brief stints in Spain and Greece. He was known for dribbling and goal-scoring ability alike. Although primarily a midfielder, he scored 11 goals in 32 Champions League appearances and 35 in 80 for the Slovenian national team.
The all-time record holder in goals for Slovenia, Zahovič was an essential member of the squad as they qualified for the first time ever to a European Championship and a World Cup, in the early 2000s.

Club career

Partizan

Zahovič was born in Maribor, SFR Yugoslavia. In 1989, at the age of 18, he was noticed by Partizan's Milko Ǵurovski, at the time doing his mandatory military service in the town, who recommended the youngster to the club.
With the Belgrade team, he was relatively used over the course of three seasons, and also played on loan for Mladost Petrinja and Proleter Zrenjanin. For Partizan, he made 15 appearances and scored three goals during the 1992–93 league season as they won the national championship.

Portugal

In the summer of 1993, aged 22, Zahovič moved to Portugal and joined Vitória de Guimarães. On matchday 32 of the 1995–96 campaign, he scored the winning goal in a 3–2 away win over FC Porto. This performance convinced the former to sign him that summer, after an acrimonious transfer saga; he led his side to two UEFA Cup qualifications during his three-year spell.
Zahovič was equally important while at Porto, forming a formidable attacking partnership with Capucho, Ljubinko Drulović and Mário Jardel and winning three consecutive league titles whilst rarely missing a match. In his last year he netted a career-best goals, and 22 across all competitions. He added seven during the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League, thus finishing third in the competition's scoring charts behind FC Dynamo Kyiv's Andriy Shevchenko and Dwight Yorke of Manchester United, who both scored eight – the northerners, however, did not make it past the group stage.

Olympiacos

In 1999, Zahovič signed for Olympiacos F.C. for a transfer fee of €13.5 million, at the time the highest sum ever paid for a Slovenian footballer. However, his season in Greece was marred by fines and suspension. Zahovič first fell out with the club's head coach, Dušan Bajević, for returning late from a holiday.
In November 1999, as Olympiacos failed to progress out of the UEFA Champions League group stage, head coach Bajević was sacked and replaced with Alberto Bigon. Zahovič's relationship with the incoming head coach was similarly fraught, as the player questioned the coach's tactics.
Years later, Zahovič claimed in interviews that the real reason for his contentious season at Olympiacos was the club's continual refusal to properly set up his legal and administrative status in Greece as a professional athlete. He further accused the club of using the administrative matters as leverage when trying to avoid honouring his contract terms pertaining to income tax on his salary.

Valencia

After only one season, Zahovič moved to Spain's Valencia CF for a fee of £5.5 million. His new team [2001 UEFA UEFA Champions League|Champions League Final|reached the final] of the 2000–01 Champions League, lost after a penalty shootout against FC Bayern Munich where he had his attempt saved by Oliver Kahn.
Again Zahovič clashed with his manager, Héctor Cúper, claiming he was not being given enough opportunities. Additionally, in October 2000, he was not picked up for a game at his former club for fear of reprisals from its supporters.

Benfica

In June 2001, Zahovič returned to Portugal and joined S.L. Benfica, as Carlos Marchena moved to Valencia. He was an important first-team member in his first three seasons, but lost his importance when manager Giovanni Trapattoni arrived at the Estádio da Luz, a situation which was aggravated in January 2005 with the purchase of Nuno Assis. This in part resulted in a mutual termination of his contract, five months before it was due to expire.

International career

Zahovič's first match for Slovenia was on 7 November 1992, a friendly match with Cyprus. The national team qualified for UEFA Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands, with Zahovič scoring nine goals in 15 games. In the finals he continued to excel, netting three of the side's four goals in an eventual group stage exit where his performances earned him comparisons to David Beckham.
Slovenia also managed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, another first. However, after being replaced by manager Srečko Katanec in the 63rd minute of the first group fixture against Spain, Zahovič insulted the coach, who immediately sent him home following the match.
Zahovič retired from the national team in December 2003, but reversed his decision two months later. He made his last appearance for the national team on 28 April 2004 against Switzerland, totaling 80 caps and 35 goals, which made him the most successful Slovenian footballer since the country's independence in 1991 and the inception of its football association into FIFA the following year; his international appearances total was surpassed by Boštjan Cesar on 15 November 2014.

Administrative career

Immediately after his retirement from professional football, in June 2005 at the age of 34, according to an interview with Pozareport.si, Zahovič was offered a head coach position of the Benfica juniors, but opted for a return to his homeland where, in 2007, he became the director of football at NK Maribor. He remained in that position until March 2020. Under his guidance, the club won eight Slovenian PrvaLiga titles, reached the UEFA Champions League group stages twice and the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League in 2013–14.

Personal life

Zahovič's son, Luka, is also a footballer. A striker, he too represented Slovenia at international level. When Luka scored a late equaliser in a Champions League group stage match between Maribor and Sporting CP, on 17 September 2014, the two became only the second father and son pair – first among Europeans – to have both scored in the competition since 1992 when the competition was established in its current format.
In his young years, Zahovič played chess and practised ski jumping.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia1–01–2[UEFA Euro 1996 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira|1996 qualifying Group 4|UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying]
2Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia1–03–0UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
3Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia3–13–1UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
4Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia2–23–2UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
5Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia1–21–21998 FIFA World Cup qualification
6Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia1–31–31998 FIFA World Cup qualification
7Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus1–03–2Cyprus International Football Tournament
8Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus2–13–2Cyprus International Football Tournament
9Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus1–01–1Cyprus International Football Tournament
10Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece1–02–2UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
11Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece2–22–2UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
12Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia1–01–2UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
13Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman5–07–0Oman International Tournament
14Ljubljana Sports Park, Ljubljana, Slovenia1–11–1Friendly
15Daugava Stadium, Riga, Latvia1–12–1UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
16Daugava Stadium, Riga, Latvia2–12–1UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
17Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania1–01–0UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
18Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia1–02–0UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
19Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia2–12–1UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
20Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia1–12–1UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
21Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman2–04–0Oman International Tournament
22Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia1–02–0Friendly
23Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium1–03–3UEFA Euro 2000
24Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium3–03–3UEFA Euro 2000
25Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands1–11–2UEFA Euro 2000
26Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg1–02–1[2002 FIFA FIFA World Cup|World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]
27Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia1–11–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification
28Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia2–02–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
29Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia2–02–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
30Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia2–22–2Friendly
31Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong1–11–52002 Lunar New Year Cup
32Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia1–02–0Friendly
33Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia3–14–1UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
34Ta' Qali National Stadium, Attard, Malta1–03–1UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
35Stade de Genève, Lancy, Switzerland1–01–2Friendly

Honours

Partizan
Porto
Olympiacos
Valencia
Benfica
Limbuš-Pekre