Mladen Božović

Mladen Božović
	Božović with Montenegro in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth	1 August 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	Titograd, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1993–2002	Zabjelo
Senior career*
Years	Team
2002–2003	Zabjelo
2003	Budućnost Dobanovci
2004–2007	Budućnost Podgorica
2004	→ Mladost Podgorica (loan)
2005–2006	→ Kom (loan)
2008–2010	Partizan
2010–2013	Videoton
2013–2015	Tom Tomsk
2014	→ Khimik Dzerzhinsk (loan)
2016–2017	Zeta
2017–2018	Larissa
2020	Drezga
2021	Zora Spuž
2021	Zeta
International career
2007–2017	Montenegro
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mladen Božović (Serbian Cyrillic: Младен Божовић, pronounced [mlâden bôːʒoʋitɕ]; born 1 August 1984) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Internationally, he earned over forty caps for the Montenegro national team.^[1]

Club career

Beginnings

Light enough on his feet, and quick enough with his reflexes to dominate between the sticks, Božović started out with his local club Zabjelo, and joined Budućnost Podgorica in the 2004 winter transfer window. He was later loaned to Mladost Podgorica and Kom, before returning to the club and becoming the first-choice goalkeeper in the 2006–07 season.

Partizan

On 14 January 2008, Božović was transferred to Partizan, on a four-year deal.^[2] He made his competitive debut for the club in a 2–0 home league win over Bežanija on 22 March 2008, replacing his compatriot Darko Božović in the 87th minute of the game. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, Božović became the first-choice goalkeeper, as Partizan won the double.

He played the full 90 minutes in all of his team's league fixtures in the 2008–09 campaign. In April 2009, he first broke the club record (previously held by Ivica Kralj) in consecutive minutes without conceding a goal (840 minutes),^[3] after which he became the record holder in Serbian football after not conceding a goal for 916 consecutive minutes. The previous record holder was former FK Obilić goalkeeper Nenad Lukić who did not concede a goal for 903 consecutive minutes in the 1998–99 season.^[4] He was eventually named in the team of the season and also helped Partizan win the 2008–09 Serbian Cup, collecting the double for the second year in a row.^[5] He briefly lost his place in the team to Aleksandar Radosavljević between late September and early November 2009,^[6] before again becoming Partizan's undisputed first-choice goalkeeper. In May 2010, Božović celebrated his third Serbian championship title with the club.^[7]

During his tenure with Partizan, Božović played with the club twice in the UEFA Europa League group stage: in 2008–09 and 2009–10.

Later career

On 4 June 2010, Božović moved to Hungarian side Videoton.^[8] He was a regular starter in his debut season at Sóstói Stadion, helping the club win their first championship title ever. In the following two years, Božović added three more trophies to his collection, one Ligakupa and two Szuperkupa trophies (2011 and 2012).

On 23 June 2013, Božović joined Russian club Tom Tomsk on a free transfer. He was the first-choice goalkeeper at the beginning of the 2013–14 season, before losing his place in the starting lineup. In August 2014, Božović was loaned to Khimik Dzerzhinsk. He returned to the Siberian club in December 2014, making one league appearance until the end of the 2014–15 season.

In the 2016 winter transfer window, Božović returned to his homeland and signed with Zeta. He spent the next 18 months at the club, making 50 official appearances (league and cup).^[9]

On 20 June 2017, Božović moved to Greece and signed with AEL on a two-year deal.^[10]

International career

On 3 June 2007, Božović made his international debut for Montenegro in a 0–1 loss to Colombia at the Kirin Cup. He then served as a backup goalkeeper for Vukašin Poleksić during the team's unsuccessful qualification campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Subsequently, Božović played the full 90 minutes in all of his team's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying games, including a play-offs tie against the Czech Republic. However, Montenegro failed to reach the final tournament.^[11]

During the World Cup 2014 qualifying stage, Božović maintained his role as Montenegro's first-choice goalkeeper, appearing in eight games (out of 10), as the team finished in third place behind England and Ukraine.

In August 2016, Božović was called up to the national team after more than a year of absence.^[12] He helped Montenegro make a successful start of the World Cup 2018 qualifying phase, winning seven points in the first three games.

Personal life

After his playing career ended, Božović began suffering from poverty and depression.^[13] On 8 March 2022, he attempted suicide but survived.^[14]

Statistics

As of 20 June 2017

Club

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Super Cup		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Zabjelo	2002–03	17	0	0	0	—		—		—		17	0
Budućnost Podgorica	2003–04	12	0	0	0	—		—		—		12	0
	2006–07	31	0	0	0	—		—		—		31	0
	2007–08	14	0	0	0	—		—		—		14	0
	Total	57	0	0	0	—		—		—		57	0
Partizan	2007–08	10	0	3	0	—		—		0	0	13	0
	2008–09	33	0	3	0	—		—		10	0	46	0
	2009–10	25	0	2	0	—		—		9	0	36	0
	Total	68	0	8	0	—		—		19	0	95	0
Videoton	2010–11	25	0	4	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	34	0
	2011–12	13	0	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
	2012–13	25	0	3	0	3	0	1	0	11	0	43	0
	Total	63	0	13	0	6	0	2	0	13	0	97	0
Tom Tomsk	2013–14	7	0	0	0	—		—		—		7	0
Khimik Dzerzhinsk (loan)	2014–15	9	0	1	0	—		—		—		10	0
Tom Tomsk	2014–15	1	0	0	0	—		—		—		1	0
Zeta	2015–16	16	0	0	0	—		—		—		16	0
	2016–17	32	0	2	0	—		—		—		34	0
	Total	48	0	2	0	—		—		—		50	0
Larissa	2017–18	27	0	0	0	—		—		—		27	0
Career total		297	0	24	0	6	0	2	0	32	0	361	0

International

National team	Year	Apps
Montenegro^[9]	2007	2
	2008	3
	2009	2
	2010	8
	2011	8
	2012	7
	2013	4
	2014	3
	2015	1
	2016	4
	2017	1
Total		43

Honours

Club

Budućnost Podgorica

Second League of Serbia and Montenegro: 2003–04

Partizan

Videoton

Individual

Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season: 2008–09

References

^ "Montenegro - Record International Players". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^ Todorović, Miloš (14 January 2008). "Još jedan Božović u Partizanu" (in Serbian). B92. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Rekorder Božović i "udarač" Dijara" (in Serbian). mondo.rs. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
^ B92 (26 April 2009). "Partizan proslavio titulu uz rekord" (in Serbian). Retrieved 14 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Trofeji ostaju tamo gde im je i mesto!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 21 May 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Pobeda raduje, igra baš ohrabruje!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 7 November 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Puna srca na radnoj proslavi 22. titule" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 16 May 2010. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Mladen Bozsovics a Videoton FC új kapusa!" (in Hungarian). vidi.hu. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Mladen Božović" (in Montenegrin). fscg.me. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Ανακοίνωση" (in Greek). aelfc.gr. 20 June 2017. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Czech cheer as Jiráček ends Montenegro bid". UEFA. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
^ Vijesti (27 August 2016). "Božović: Srećan sam zbog reprezentacije, Zeta može dosta" (in Montenegrin). Archived from the original on 2 November 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
^ "DETALJI POKUŠAJA SAMOUBISTVA GOLMANA PARTIZANA: Popio šaku tableta i uzeo lovačku pušku". kurir.rs. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
^ B92 (8 March 2022). "Bivši golman Partizana pokušao samoubistvo" (in Serbian). Retrieved 10 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)