Preki
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| Preki | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Predrag Radosavljević | |
| Date of birth | June 24, 1963 | |
| Place of birth | Belgrade, Serbia (then Yugoslavia) | |
| Position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (goals) |
| 1983-85 1992-94 1994-95 1995 1996-2000 2001 2002-2005 |
Red Star Belgrade Tacoma Stars St. Louis Storm Everton F.C. Portsmouth F.C. San Jose Grizzlies Kansas City Wizards Miami Fusion Kansas City Wizards |
1 (0) 46 (4) 40 (5) |
| National team** | ||
| 1996-1998 | USA | 28 (4) |
|
* Professional club appearances and goals |
||
Predrag Radosavljević (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг Радосављевић), known simply as Preki (Преки) (born June 24, 1963 in Belgrade), is a Serbian-American soccer player, one of the best players in the history of Major League Soccer.
Preki's career with league football clubs began in 1983 with Red Star Belgrade, with whom he spent 2 years, winning one championship. Preki moved to the United States in 1985 to play indoor soccer in the original MISL, first with the Tacoma Stars then with the St. Louis Storm. He played until 1992 and was named an all-star for all seven seasons. Preki played in England, first for Everton of the FA Premier League (1992-1994) and then one season with Portsmouth of the First Division. From 1994 to 1995, Preki played in the CISL (Continental Indoor Soccer League) for the San Jose Grizzlies.
Preki resumed outdoor play beginning with MLS's inaugural season in 1996 when he joined the Kansas City Wizards. He played every season for the Wizards, except for one season with the Miami Fusion in 2001. After the Fusion were contracted, the Wizards re-acquired Preki in the 2002 MLS Dispersal Draft, but only after every other team in the league had passed on selecting him. Preki is the only player to have won the MLS MVP Award and the MLS Scoring Champion Award twice, winning in 1997 and 2003, and is also the current all-time league leader in points scored (270 on 79 goals and 112 assists, plus another 25 points on ten goals and five assists in the playoffs). He won the 2000 MLS Cup with the wizards. Preki retired following the 2005 season, scoring a goal in the last minute of his final game with Kansas City. He was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI after the season.
Though originally from Yugoslavia, Preki played for the American national team after acquiring U.S. citizenship in 1996. He made his debut for the U.S. on November 3rd, against Guatemala. Preki played a total of 28 games for the U.S., scoring four goals, one of them to beat Brazil at the 1998 Gold Cup. Two of those games, including one against his native Yugoslavia, came in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
After retiring as a player, Preki became an assistant coach with Chivas USA.
[edit] External links
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United States squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Friedel | 2 Hejduk | 3 Pope | 4 Burns | 5 Dooley | 6 Regis | 7 Wegerle | 8 Stewart | 9 Moore | 10 Ramos | 11 Wynalda | 12 Agoos | 13 Jones | 14 Preki | 15 Deering | 16 Sommer | 17 Balboa | 18 Keller | 19 Maisonneuve | 20 McBride | 21 Reyna | 22 Lalas | Coach: Sampson |
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Categories: 1963 births | Living people | American soccer players | Indoor soccer players | Serbian footballers | Red Star Belgrade footballers | Everton F.C. players | Portsmouth F.C. players | Kansas City Wizards players | Miami Fusion players | FIFA World Cup 1998 players | Naturalized citizens of the United States | Serbian-Americans | FA Premier League players | United States men's international soccer players
