Andrija Delibašić

Andrija Delibašić was a Montenegrin footballer who began his career as youth player with Partizan Beograd. Delibašić made his senior début for Partizan in 1999, playing in 126 matches for the team and scoring 63 goals. In the 2003–04 season he played in the group stage of the Champions League, scoring three goals. In 2004 he joined the Spanish club Mallorca, playing a handful of matches before being loaned out to the Portuguese side Benfica. The stint was a short one, with Delibašić loaned out to several other clubs before signing with the Spanish team Hércules CF in 2008. He remained in Spain for a few years, joining Rayo Vallecano in 2010, playing with them until 2013. Delibašić finished his playing career with a handful of appearances with the Thai club Ratchaburi FC before returning home to Montenegro to play for FK Sutjeska Nikšić.

On the international front Delibašić represented Yugoslavia’s under-18 team at the end of the 1990s, before playing for both the Serbia and Montenegro’s under-21 and under-23 sides. For the latter he played in all three matches in the group stage at the 2004 Athina Olympics. Two years later, Montenegro held an independence referendum to split from Serbia, with the new team playing its first international match in March 2007. Now representing the country of his birth, Delibašić made his début for Montenegro in October 2009 in a FIFA World Cup qualification match against Georgia, with him scoring the winning goal. He played in 21 matches for the national team and scored six goals.

Following his retirement Delibašić worked as a coach at Partizan, followed by stints at FK Budućnost Podgorica and FK Mornar. In March 2023, however, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour whilst still coaching at Mornar. Sadly he died just two years later at the age of 43.