Saša Ćurčić
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Saša Ćurčić | ||
| Date of birth | 14 February 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 25. maj Kovilovo | |||
| Pionir Besni Fok | |||
| Trudbenik | |||
| OFK Beograd | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1991–1993 | OFK Beograd | 59 | (5) |
| 1993–1995 | Partizan | 74 | (14) |
| 1995–1996 | Bolton Wanderers | 28 | (4) |
| 1996–1998 | Aston Villa | 29 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Crystal Palace | 23 | (5) |
| 1999 | MetroStars | 9 | (2) |
| 2000 | Motherwell | 5 | (0) |
| Total | 227 | (30) | |
| National team | |||
| 1991–1998 | SFR Yugoslavia / FR Yugoslavia | 14 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Saša Ćurčić (Serbian Cyrillic: Саша Ћурчић; born 14 February 1972) is a Serbian former football midfielder.
Known for his eccentricity, Ćurčić played for OFK Beograd (1991–93), Partizan (1993–95), Bolton Wanderers (1995–96), Aston Villa (1996–98), Crystal Palace (1998–99), MetroStars (1999), and Motherwell (2000). In Serbia, he goes by the nickname Đani (Gianni).
He also turned out 14 times for the national team of Yugoslavia.
Growing up on the banks of Danube in the Belgrade suburb of Besni Fok, Ćurčić was a lively kid who took to football very early. His involvement with the sport came at the expense of everything else, including school as he only completed primary education.
After playing youth football with several local area clubs, he caught the attention of OFK Beograd, a more established club that included Ćurčić in their youth system.
In a 1991 interview for Tempo, Ćurčić admitted that he had cheered for Red Star Belgrade since he was a small child - however, later on, he repeatedly stated that he was a supporter of FK Partizan.
Nineteen-year-old Ćurčić cracked OFK Beograd's first team towards the end of 1990–91 season while the club played in the Yugoslav Second League under head coach Ilija Petković. Ćurčić featured in 3 matches that season.
Despite failing to gain promotion on the pitch OFK still got to play in the Yugoslav First League for the following 1991–92 season due to the withdrawal of Slovenian and Croatian teams (a season that would turn out to be the last in SFR Yugoslavia). Against the backdrop of a country falling apart, Ćurčić became first team regular, playing 24 league matches and scoring 2 goals. His talent and exuberance turned some heads, including the national team head coach Ivica Osim who gave Ćurčić his international debut on 30 October 1991 in an away friendly versus Brazil.
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