Branislav Ivanovic Biography

Branislav Ivanovic, born on 22 February 1984 in Sremska Mitrovica in Yugoslavia (now

), is a Serbian international football player who plays as a defender. A solid defender with a powerful shot and a precise header, he is considered one of the best full-backs in the world, notably by former

coach José Mourinho.

Ivanovic played his first professional football match at the age of eighteen with FK Srem. After one season he left for OFK Beograd, where he played the next three years. Then he made his first foreign transfer to Lokomotiv Moscow, where he was later recruited by Chelsea. On Wednesday 15 May 2013, he headed in the winning goal (2-1) in the final of the

, which saw Chelsea win the final game against

.

He signed a contract until mid-2019 with

in January 2017, who recruited him after playing for Chelsea for a total of eight and a half seasons. He extended his contract until mid-2020 and then left on a free transfer to

in September 2020, where he signed a contract until mid-2021.

Ivanovic made his debut in the Serbian football team on 8 June 2005, against Italy. He scored his first goal for the national team on 12 September 2007 against

. On 28 February 2012, in a friendly match against Armenia, he wore the captain's armband of his country for the first time.

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All You Need to Know About Branislav Ivanovic Biography

He represented his country at the 2006 European Championships under 21, when he played for Serbia and Montenegro, and the 2007 European Championships under 21 when he represented Serbia. Ivanovic played his 100th international match on 14 November 2017, when Serbia drew 1-1 in a friendly match against South Korea.

Ivanovic was also part of the Serbian squad that took part in the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia under coach Mladen Krstajić. There, the team eliminated in the group stage after a victory over Costa Rica (1-0) and defeats against

(1-2) and

(0-2) respectively. Ivanovic played in two of the three World Cup matches for his homeland.

Branislav Ivanovic Information

Now we want to share some more general information about him in this section of

Branislav Ivanovic biography

such as

Branislav Ivanovic nationality

to let you know him even more and better.

Branislav Ivanovic Bio

• Full Name: Branislav Ivanovic

• Nickname: Bane

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Branislav Ivanovic Physical Stats

• Weight: 86 Kg

• Height: 1.85 m

• Eye Color: Hazel

• Hair Color: Light Brown

Branislav Ivanovic Football Information

• Position: Defender

• Jersey Number: 2

• Professional Debut: 2002

Branislav Ivanovic Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 22 February 1984

• Birth Place: Sremska Mitrovica, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia

• Zodiac Sign: Pisces

• Nationality: Serbian

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Branislav Ivanovic nationality

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Branislav Ivanovic Early Life

Branislav Ivanovic was born in a family with roots in football and other sports. Ivanovic inherited his football genes from his father Rade, a former Srem player, who played in the positions of libero and Center-Back. He also got some other sports genes from his mother's side, because his mother Slavica Ivanovic, a former handball player, is related to the late Dorde Milovanović, a Red Star legend and the father of Dejan Milovanović, a Lance football player and teammate from the young

.

From his early days as a footballer, he was always a quiet player who always worked hard. His youth team coaches have said that Branislav Ivanovic scored some great goals during his early days at Srem and has later scored goals of the same quality for Chelsea and other teams.

Already at the age of six, Branislav started training on the Srem playground near the Sava, within the school of coach Jovan Savić and was later taken over by Dragan Jovanović and Bogdan Radivojev.

Branislav Ivanovic Profile

In July 2002, Branislav Ivanovic began his professional playing career with the Serbian second division club FK Srem from Sremska Mitrovica. When he was 18, he made the transition from the youth team to the club's professional squad.

OFK Belgrade

Just one year later, Ivanovic moved on a free transfer to the capital club OFK Belgrade in the SuperLiga, Serbia's top football league. Ivanovic's attacking attitude and preference not to be tied to his position of right-back ensured that he often created and scored goals. In a total of 73 appearances, the defender managed to hit the opponent's goal six times.

Lokomotiv Moscow

Having played for three years in the Serbian Super League,

of Russia signed him in January 2006. At the age of 22, he made 28 appearances for the team and scored 2 goals in his first season with Lokomotiv Moscow, where he was coached by his fellow countryman Slavoljub Muslin.

The 22-year-old was only substituted twice during the entire season and played a key role in helping Lokomotiv Moscow fight for first place in the Russian Premier League, but they failed to win the title. During his time in Russia, Ivanovic won a place in the Serbian national team.

Already a key player in the team, Ivanovic went on to play 26 league matches the following season, scoring just 3 goals. His only accomplishment during his tenure with Lokomotiv Moscow is the Russian Cup won in 2007.

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Chelsea

On 15 January 2008, English Chelsea confirmed that they had agreed to Lokomotiv's £9 million transfer request for Ivanovic, following his personal agreement and a medical. According to media reports, leading European clubs wanted Ivanovic in their teams. Italian sides

,

and Internazionale as well as Dutch side

were among the bidders.

Lokomotiv wanted a transfer fee of thirteen to fifteen million euros. According to the club, it was the most expensive sale in the history of Russian football. Ivanovic signed a 3.5-year contract with Chelsea. He was given his work permit in England by a London court, which ruled on 14 January that the 23-year-old defender should be granted a British long-term work visa. It was the court that decided the case, as the player had not played 75 per cent of his matches for the national team over the past two years, as required by British employment law.

Despite the high price paid for the player, he never featured in the main squad for the 2007/08 season. However, he did play on many occasions for the reserve team. Therefore, during the summer transfer window, rumours emerged that Ivanovic would leave for Italy. Juventus and AC Milan were the most frequently cited clubs, in need of a quality defensive lineman at the time. However, following the arrival of new coach Luis Felipe Scolari, Ivanovic began appearing in friendlies and Premier League games.

After more than eight months at Chelsea, Ivanovic played his first match in the FA Cup against Portsmouth (4-0). He debuted in the Premier League in a match against Aston Villa (2-0).

Ivanovic scored his first goals on 8th April 2009, against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final at Anfield (3-1). In that match, he scored a double, which helped Chelsea progress to the semi-finals, where the team went down to Barcelona 0-0 away and 1-1 at home under the controversial refereeing of Tom Henning Evrebye.

In the 2009/10 season, Ivanovic was again a very important player for Chelsea. An injury to club defender José Bozinwa took him out for the rest of the season, and Ivanovic managed to make up for the loss of the Portuguese. He scored his only goal of the season in the league match against Bolton Wanderers on Matchday 11. This goal was originally recorded as an own goal by Zat Knight but was later transferred to the Serbian player's name. The season was a success for Chelsea, with the team managing to win a golden double, topping the league and

titles.

Ivanovic was the unchallenged starter and team leader for six seasons thereafter, winning a total of nine trophies with the team and helping Chelsea to their long-awaited

win in the 2011/2012 season, not only being a solid defensive player but also helping the team with his prolific performance.

The 2012/13 season was the most productive of the Serbian defender's career. He scored 8 goals in 59 games. On 21 April 2013, Luis Suárez bit Ivanovic in the 34th matchday between Chelsea and Liverpool. It was not the first time Suárez had bitten an opponent during a game. He had already experienced a similar prank in the autumn of 2010 when he played for Ajax and PSV midfielder Othman Bakkal became the victim, and then in 2014 at the World Cup in Brazil, Giorgio Chiellini also fell victim to the Uruguayan's unconventional football hunger.

That match between Liverpool and Chelsea ended in a 2-2 draw. The hosts managed to get back into the game in 97 minutes, with Suárez netting the equaliser.

Chelsea won the Europa League for the first time on 15 May 2013, thanks to Ivanovic's goal against Benfica in the third minute of added time. The media afterwards continued to speculate that the Uruguayan Liverpool striker had infected Branislav with the scorer's virus.

Jose Mourinho took charge of Chelsea in the 2013/14 season and Ivanovic played 50 games and scored three goals during the season, however, that season did not bring Chelsea any trophies.

In the 2014/2015 season, Ivanovic helped Chelsea win the English League Cup and become champions of England. In 49 games of the season, he scored 6 goals and gave 5 assists.

In the 2015/2016 season, Branislav Ivanovic lost his form and his status as one of the best right-backs not only in England but also in the world. The whole team also regressed and eventually, Jose Mourinho left Chelsea. Many believed that the team was pushing for the dismissal of the Portuguese manager, but even with the return of Guus Hiddink as Chelsea manager, who believed in the Serbian and gave him a place in the starting line-up in 2009, the team never regained their championship form.

Then, as Antonio Conte took charge of Chelsea, Ivanovic was no longer in the starting line-up, making most of his appearances as a substitute. "Chelsea won the English Premier League title and despite his switch to Zenit, Branislav Ivanovic won the league title.

While Ivanovic sustained minor injuries at the beginning of the pre-season, he recovered throughout Chelsea's trip to the United States and started to play through the matches with young Ola Aina right back. Ivanovic resumed his position as the right-back in the 2–1 opening game versus West Ham United.

In his last match for Chelsea against Brentford, Ivanovic made a spectacular march and scored his last goal for Chelsea and received a standing ovation from the fans. The Serbian thus ended his splendid 9-year career in England.

Zenit

On 1 February 2017, Ivanovic returned to Russia, signing a 2.5-year contract with Zenit St Petersburg on a free transfer. However, he received a €2million signing fee alone and his salary was €3.3million a year. He became the third highest-paid player in Russia. Ivanovic scored his first goal for the club in a Russian league match against the Ural - the goal was the first goal scored at Krestovskyi. In the 2019/20 season, he was captain of the team.

The defender played 125 matches for the St Petersburg side, in which he scored 12 goals and gave 5 assists. Together with Zenit, Ivanovic became a two-time champion of Russia and winner of the National Cup.

Stay tuned to this section of Branislav Ivanovic biography as we want to share some more information about his career at WBA.

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West Bromwich Albion

On 15 September 2020, Ivanovic signed a one-year contract with the English club West Bromwich Albion. He played his first competitive match for the new club on October 19, 2020, in a goalless home draw against Burnley.

Serbian National Team

On 27 May 2004, Ivanovic made his debut in the jersey of the Serbian-Montenegrin U-21 team at the 2004 European Championship in Germany in the match against the Croatian team. Ivanovic was substituted after half-time and scored the decisive 3:2 winning goal for the Serbs in the 86th minute.

His outstanding style of play secured him a regular place in the national team and he was already on the pitch from the start in the final of the 2004 European Championship in the Ruhr Stadium in Bochum.

After only a few appearances, Bane was named captain of the national team by the coach. This was followed by further appearances at the 2006 European Under-21 Championship in Portugal and 2007 in the Netherlands, where Ivanovic finished runner-up with the Serbian U-21 side.

Ivanovic made his senior debut for the Serbian-Montenegrin Football Federation on 8 June 2005 in a friendly against Italy in Toronto, Canada. He played his first competitive match on 8 September 2007 in the 2008 European Championship qualifier against Finland (for the first time in the Serbian national team,) due to the break-up of the Serbia and Montenegro confederation. Javier Clemente put Ivanovic in the starting eleven and kept him on the pitch for the entire match.

Just four days later, on 12 September 2007, Ivanovic scored the 1-1 equaliser in the closing minutes of the match against Portugal, thus keeping Serbia in the running for qualification for the 2008 European Championship. In 2009, Serbia qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Serbia was eliminated in the preliminary round, but Ivanovic played in all three preliminary round matches. He also qualified for the final round of the 2018 World Cup with Serbia, which was eliminated after the preliminary round matches, of which Ivanovic played the first two.

Ivanovic had a 2-0 friendly victory over Armenia in Cyprus in his first outing as captain of the national team on 28 February 2012. Under Siniša Mihajlovic, he played as a centre-back during some friendly games before coming back to play as a right-back frequently.

He was announced Serbian Footballer of the Year on 28 December 2013 and became the third footballer to win the award twice (others are Nemanja Vidić and Dejan Stankovic) and the first Serbian player to win the award in two consecutive seasons. [Citation Necessary] Ivanovic scored a brace for the first time at the international level on 7 June 2015, when Serbia beat Azerbaijan 4–1 in a friendly match in Austria.

He was named in the final 23-man roster for the 2018 Russia FIFA World Cup in June 2018. He featured in two games, versus Costa Rica and Switzerland, thus becoming the greatest star in the history of the Serbian football team, having already played 105 matches.

Stay tuned to this section of Branislav Ivanovic biography as we want to share some more information about his playing style.

Style of Play

Initially employed as a central defender, he often plays the role of right-back, as he combines strong defensive skills with a remarkable offensive tendency. His strong qualities are his aerial play (he scored a lot of headers) and his physical power, which allowed him to win battles both in his own area and in the opponent's, where he often made timely runs.

He is also good at intercepting opposing balls and has an excellent sense of position. He also has good technique and good dribbling. What's more, he is a player gifted with a cool head in the decisive moments where he would step in to score.

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Reception

Many football fans, pundits and fellow footballers consider Branislav Ivanovic to be amongst the best rights backs in the world during the peak days of his career and as the best defender in the history of the Serbian national team alongside Nemanja Vidic.

Goal Celebration

Despite being a defender, Branislav Ivanovic has scored many goals during his playing career. One of the goal celebrations that we frequently see from him after scoring goals is the sliding goal celebration.

Branislav Ivanovic outside Football

Because Branislav has anxiety problems, he sometimes travels to Moscow in his spare time to sit with his friends Milos Krasic and Vladimir Jovovic at the restaurant Botik Petra, where their fellow countrymen often gather.

According to the footballer, it is a place to eat (which Ivanovic has a weakness for) and to chat in interesting ways. In addition to Krasic and Jovovic, Branislav also likes to meet Andriy Shevchenko, with whom he became friends at Chelsea. The footballer does not like social media.

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Branislav Ivanovic Personal Life

In this section of Branislav Ivanovic biography, we want to take a deeper look into the footballer’s personal life and share some info such as

Branislav Ivanovic life story

and

Branislav Ivanovic religion

.

Family, Children and Relationships

In January 2008, he married his neighbour Natasha, and the wedding at the Sirmium Hotel has been talked about for a long time. The couple has 2 sons - Stefan and Dushan and 2 twin daughters.

Ivanovic is fluent not only in his native language Serbian but also in English and Russian.

With the money earned from the transfer to Lokomotiv Moscow, Bane bought an apartment in Belgrade for his sister Milica, a third-year student at the Faculty of Economics.

Stay tuned to this section of Branislav Ivanovic biography as we want to share some more information about his charitable works.

Philanthropy

Among the footballers these days we see more and more charitable works each and every day. Branislav Ivanovic is amongst the front runners when it comes to charity. In 2015, Ivanovic and other players from Chelsea attended Demba Ba’s charity event to raise funds for his foundation. The Serbian footballer has also played in many charity matches.

Legal Issues

At the time of writing this article, there are no reports on the media regarding any legal issues or disputes to Branislav Ivanovic’s name.

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Branislav Ivanovic Career Statistics

In this section of Branislav, Ivanovic biography stay tuned as we want to share some information about his career stats both on the club and international level.

Club

Since starting his career with FK Srem in 2002 and as of 3 January 2021 that he plays for West Bromwich Albion in the English Premier League, Branislav Ivanovic has played a total of 671 in all competitions for his club and managed to score 62 goals which are great for a defender. He has played a big part of his career for Chelsea between 2007 and 2017, appearing in 377 matches and scoring 34 goals for the London Blues.

International

Branislav Ivanovic is undoubtedly one of the best defenders in the history of Serbian football and has managed to play 105 matches for his country between 2005 and 2018, scoring 13 goals. Bane scored his first international goal at Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal, against Portugal in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match. His last goal for Serbia came on 9 June 2018 at Liebenauer Stadium, Graz, Austria, when they were playing in a friendly match against Bolivia.

Branislav Ivanovic Honors

As one of the most decorated Serbian players of all time, Ivanovic has won many titles at the club level including Russian Cup, English Premier League, FA Cup, Football League Cup, FA Community Shield, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and Russian Premier League, among others.

On the international level, he was runner-ups in 2004 and 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with Serbia and Montenegro U-21 and Serbia U-21 respectively.

Of his notable individual titles and awards, we can mention the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament, PFA Team of the Year, Serbian Player of the Year, UEFA Europa League Final Man of the Match, UEFA Champions League Team of the Season and many others.

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