Aleksandar Prijović


Aleksandar Prijović is a Serbian footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad and for the Serbian national team. Prijović had also played for both Serbia and Switzerland in youth levels.

Club career

Early career

Prijović started his career as a youth player with his home town club St. Gallen but moved to Italy at the age of 16 to start his football career with Italian side Parma, making the first appearance of his career as a substitute for Parma on 27 April 2008 in a match against Reggina. Prijović's contract with Parma finished at the end of the 2007–08 Serie A season and he rejected the offer of a new one-year deal with the club.

Derby County

Prijović went on trial with English Championship side Derby County where he caught the eye by scoring a hat-trick as Derby's academy side beat Arsenal youth 4–1. Derby offered Prijović a two-year contract. He provisionally signed for Derby on 7 August 2008, subject to international clearance. His full signing was delayed by issues over international clearance, firstly following disagreements over the player's registration which was sorted when Derby agreed to pay Prijović's former club, Parma, an undisclosed amount as compensation and then by the Swiss army, who made Prijović return home to complete his spell with them. On 27 January 2009, Prijović joined League One Yeovil Town on a months loan, playing four times before returning early due to illness.
On 16 March, Prijović joined Northampton Town on loan for a month. He made his debut in the 4–0 win over Stockport County and impressed the fans. He scored his first professional goal in the 3–2 defeat to Southend United. He then scored his second in the 3–1 victory away at Leyton Orient.
On 6 July 2009, he was called for a trial period with Germany-based club MSV Duisburg before he joined OB Odense on a similar deal in November 2009, where he impressed with a goal in a trial match. Of Prijović, Derby boss Nigel Clough said "They are very interested in taking him in January so we are just trying to get a deal done if they want to do one. If not, we will probably look to get him out on loan. If we can do it before the deadline, we will do. If not, in January." He eventually signed for FC Sion for a nominal fee on 1 February 2010.

Sion

While on loan at Lausanne, he went on a trial with the Norwegian club, Molde at their training camp in Marbella, Spain in February 2012. He played one match for Molde, the pre-season match against the Spanish club Xerez CD, but was not offered a contract.
On 31 July 2012, Tromsø signed Prijović on a one-year loan deal, with an option to buy. Tromsø's head coach Per-Mathias Høgmo stated that Molde's manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær and coach Mark Dempsey had recommended Prijovic after the trial. Prijović got his debut coming in off the bench for the last 22 minutes of an away loss to Fredrikstad on 5 August. Four days later he made his first start and scored his first goal in the away leg of the third qualifying round of the 2012-13 UEFA Europa League against Metalurh Donetsk, ensuring a 2–1 aggregate win for Tromsø.
Tromsø could not afford to extend Prijović' loan-deal, and he returned to Sion when the loan-deal expired on 1 July 2013.

Djurgårdens IF

On 15 August 2013, Prijović signed a -year contract with the Stockholm-based club Djurgårdens IF, where he was reunited with his coach from Tromsø, Per-Mathias Høgmo. In his starting debut for Djurgårdens IF Prijović scored a hattrick, when IFK Norrköping was beaten 3–2.

Legia Warsaw

On 9 July 2015, Prijović joined Legia Warsaw on a four-year deal. During the 2015–16 Polish Cup Final on 2 May 2016, he scored the match winner in the 69th minute to defeat Lech Poznan 1–0. On 22 November 2016, he scored two goals in the 2016–17 Champions League group match against Borussia Dortmund as his team lost 8–4 away from home.

PAOK

2016-2017

On 16 January 2017, Prijović left Legia Warsaw to join Greek Super League club PAOK on a -year contract. The reported transfer fee paid to Warsaw was €1.9 million plus 10% of a future transfer fee, receiving an annual income of €850,000.
He started being the undisputed leader of the club's offense. He scored on his debut in a Greek Cup game against Panetolikos. On 19 February 2017, he scored a brace, PAOK won easily 4–0 against Veria at Toumba Stadium.
On 16 March 2017, Prijovic suffered a shoulder injury and underwent a successful operation, the club confirmed. The Serbian striker picked an injury in his shoulder and he is set to miss the next six weeks. PAOK confirmed that Prijovic went under knife successfully and he will start rehabilitation imminently. Prior to his injury, has only featured in 10 games, but he is already leading the scoring charts of PAOK with seven goals.

2017–2018

On 17 August 2017, he helped PAOK to complete a remarkable turnaround to defeat Östersunds FK 3–1 at Toumba Stadium scoring a brace in the second half of the 1st leg of the UEFA Europa League play-offs. On 28 August 2017, he scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season in a 3–1 home win game against Kerkyra. On 16 September 2017, thanks to a header by Serbian international striker, PAOK won 1–0 Panetolikos at Toumba Stadium. A week later, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 home win game against PAS Giannina. On 15 October 2017, he scored a brace in a 4–0 home win game against Lamia
On 10 December 2017, came as a late substitute, he scored in a 4-0 home win game against rivals Panathinaikos.
During the 2017-18 season, Prijovic's brilliant form for both club and country has attracted interest from foreign teams. Rumours are circling that Prijovic is in demand, but it's doubtful that PAOK would be willing to sell, especially given the difficulty of finding a worthy replacement. PAOK fans are hoping that Prijovic can continue firing on all cylinders as the Greek title race heats up. On 6 January 2018, he scored a brace in a glorious 5-0 home win game against Levadiakos On 9 January 2018, Prijovic netted home a penalty in the fourth minute of second half stoppage to give PAOK a 2-1 victory over Trikala in their second leg fixture in the Greek Cup, scoring for second time in the game. On 21 January 2018, Prijović scored in the first minute of added time in a hammering 3-0 home win game against Apollon Smyrni. On 28 January 2018, PAOK managed to gain a 1-0 away win against Panetolikos thanks to a late penalty which was converted by Aleksandar Prijovic. The Serbian striker slotted home from 12 yards past Dimitris Kyriakidis after PAOK's cape Verde defender Fernando Varela had been impeded by Panetolikos' Albanian defender Enea Mihaj.
On 3 February 2018, he scored a brace in a crucial 3-1 away win against PAS Giannina, and PAOK remain in first place of Super League on the road to the title of 2017-18 season. On 12 February 2018, Prijovic rounding off the scoring with a powerful finish three minutes after the half-time interval, in a 3-0 home win game against AEL. It was a crucial victory in PAOK's effort to win the title after 33 years.
On 27 February 2018, an official transfer bid from Chinese club Henan Jianye arrived at the headquarters of the Greek Cup winners about the 28-year-old Serbian for an estimated amount of €9 million, but PAOK was not interested in selling him and Aleksandar Prijović also decided to remain at Superleague, with a contract ran until the summer of 2022 worth €1.5 million per year and contained a €10 million buy-out clause, even if the Chinese team were offering him the same contract with a lucrative annual salary of €4 million.
On 28 February 2018, Prijovic deservedly doubled PAOK's advantage in a 3-1 away win against Panionios in the Greek Cup semi-final, planting a bullet header expertly beyond the helpless Matic Kotnik from Dimitris Limnios' left-wing cross. On 4 March 2017, he scored with a penalty kick against Asteras Tripoli at the delays equalizing for PAOK, but in the next minute Walter Iglesias scored and PAOK suffered a 3-2 away loss in its effort to win the Superleague title. On 14 April 2018, he scored to finish off a superb 11-pass move which started from the PAOK backline, in a 3-1 home win game against Panionios. On 29 April 2018, he scored a brace in a triumphant 3-0 away win against struggling giants Panathinaikos, essentially occupied the second place in the 2017-18 season that leads in the preliminary round of UEFA Champions League. Prijović, who scored a double against the Greens, has now scored 25 goals in all competitions this season and has surpassed former PAOK striker Stefanos Athanasiadis' record of 23 goals in one Super League season set back in the 2012-13 season. On 5 May 2018, in a comfortable 3-0 home victory over relegated Platanias at the Toumba Stadium, the Serbian marksman scored a brace and his 19th league goal of what has been an incredible season, as PAOK will join champions AEK in the Champions League qualifiers.

2018–2019

On 25 July 2018, Prijovic doubles PAOK lead from Dimitris Limnios cross late on, in a 2-1 home win game in the UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round, 1st leg against FC Basel. On 1 August 2018, Prijovic scored with a right footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal, giving a two goals lead to PAOK in a triumphant 3-0 away win against FC Basel.
On 8 August 2018, Prijovic scored with a penalty kick in a 3-2 home win game in the Champions League Third qualifying round, 1st leg against Spartak Moskva.
On 25 August 2018, he scored with a penalty kick after winning the spot-kick, sealing a 1-0 home Super League win game against Asteras Tripoli. On 23 September 2018, he scored a brace being the MVP of the game in a 2-0 derby win home game against champions AEK Athens. On 4 October 2018, he opened the score in a 4-1 away emphatic win against BATE Borisov in Belarus in the UEFA Europa League Group stage. On 21 October 2018, PAOK fought back from a goal down to clinch a 2-1 win over Aris in a pulsating Salonica derby, maintaining their 100 per cent record in the SuperLeague with a seventh straight win, as Prijovic scored twice to cancel out Mateo García's early opener. A week later, Prijovic opened the scoring six minutes after half-time after an assist from Léo Jabá in a 2-0 home win game against rivals Panathinaikos. On 25 November 2018, Prijovic scored from close range with a trademark header after an assist from Vieirinha, just seconds after coming on to replace Stelios Kitsiou, in a 2-0 home win game against Xanthi helping his club to secure a 10th win in 11 games for Razvan Lucescu's record-breaking team. On 13 December 2018, he pulled a goal back from close range after a great run from Jabá in a frustrated 3-1 Europa League home loss against BATE Borisov. Prijovic is continuing to capture the headlines in Thessaloniki, becoming the quickest player in PAOK history to score 50 goals, in just 83 appearances. He overpassed Kostas Frantzeskos who held the record with 50 markers in 99 appearances. On 17 December 2018, the Serbian international beat Vladimir Bajić with a superb volleyed effort from Jabá's lofted pass into the penalty area, opening the score in a 2-1 away win against Levadiakos.
On 20 December 2018, he scored a hat-trick in a comfortable 6-0 away win against Aittitos Spata in the Greek Cup.

Al Ittihad

On the first days of January 2019, reports suggested that Prijovic will join the Saudi Arabia club Al Ittihad. After medical in Saudi Arabia, he would travel to Thessaloniki for a crunch meeting with PAOK's owner Ivan Savvidis, but it never happened. Instead, Prijovic, decided to fly back to the Serbian capital of Belgrade, and in the next couple of days, he will travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to be officially unveiled as a player of Al Ittihad. The Saudis have met the transfer clause of €10 million from PAOK, and during negotiations in Dubai, they struck an agreement with Prijovic. According to media sources, Al Ittihad will pay the release clause in four separate installments of €2.5 million over the course of the next three months.
On 8 March 2019, he scored a brace - his first goals with the club - in a 2-0 home win game against Al-Fayha FC.

International career

Though born in Switzerland, Prijović is ethnically Serbian and has chosen to represent Serbia at both U17 and U19 level. He played 6 competitive games in total.
However, he used his chance in nationality switch in 2010. He scored in his debut with the Switzerland national under-20 football team on 28 April. He collected his second cap on 6 September 2010.
Prijović made his Swiss U21 debut on 10 August 2011. He also played in the next match on 1 September 2011, his only competitive under-21 match.
In February 2017 Prijovic made an official request to FIFA for permission to play for the Serbian national football team. On 20 March, Aleksandar has received confirmation from FIFA that he is allowed to play for the Serbian national football team, which is confirmed by the national coach Slavoljub Muslin. On 12 May, Serbian coach Slavoljub Muslin officially confirmed that Prijović is a new player for the Serbian national football team. He made his debut for Serbian team against Wales and he assisted for 1:1.
On 9 October 2017, in the last game for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Prijovic slides in an Aleksandar Mitrović cross, scored his first goal with the national team, as Serbia returned to World Cup after 8 years.
In June 2018, he was included in the final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where he appeared on a match against Costa Rica.

Personal life

He was arrested on April 3 and released on bail the next day, being under 3-month house arrest for breaking COVID-19 pandemic measures in Serbia.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goal

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
19 October 2017Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia51–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
220 November 2018Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia123–14–12018–19 UEFA Nations League D

Honours

Sion
Legia Warsaw
PAOK
Individual