Vladimir Jugovic played just one season for Lazio but he certainly left his mark.
He was born in Trstenik (Serbia), on August 30, 1969. He is of Serbian nationality.
He is a product of the Red Star Belgrade youth sector. He made his debut in 1989 and was then sent on loan to Rad Belgrade where he played 16 games with 7 goals.
In 1990 he was back with Red Star and over the next two seasons played 99 games with 15 goals. In this period he won two Yugoslav leagues, a European Cup (defeating Olympique Marseille) and an Intercontinental Cup. In the world club tournament he won Best Player Award and scored a brace versus Chilean Colo-Colo.
In 1992 he arrived in Serie A. He signed for Sven-Goran Eriksson's Sampdoria. He had an excellent first year playing 35 games and scoring 10 goals. He would stay with the Blucerchiati for three seasons making a total of 100 appearances with 21 goals. In 1994 he won the Coppa Italia (Samp defeated Ancona 6-1 on aggregate).
In 1995 he moved to Juventus for two years. He played 77 games with 10 goals. It was a successful period as the "Vecchia Signora" (The Old Lady) won a Scudetto (1997), a Super Coppa (1995), a Champions League (he took the winning penalty in the shootout versus Ajax in 1996), an Intercontinental Cup (1996) and a UEFA Super Cup (1996).
In 1997 he joined Lazio and was reunited with Sven-Goran Eriksson and Roberto Mancini from his Sampdoria days. His stay at Lazio was brief but intense. He had a positive season. He played 27 league games with 2 goals (Bari, Sampdoria), 9 in Coppa Italia with 3 goals (Roma x 2, Milan) and 6 in the UEFA Cup with 1 goal (Atletico Madrid).
He formed a good midfield with Giorgio Venturin, Pavel Nedved, Diego Fuser and Dario Marcolin. He scored penalties in both the cup derbies against Roma (4-1, 2-1) and again a penalty in the return leg of the final against Milan. With the score on 1-1, and Lazio needing two more goals, Jugovic took the responsibility and blasted a central shot past Rossi. Lazio went on to win 3-1 with an Alessandro Nesta winner and lifted their first trophy for 30 years.
He was also a protagonist in Lazio's run to the UEFA Cup Final. He scored the decisive goal in the away leg of the semi-final against Atletico Madrid. Alas Lazio then lost the final in Paris against Inter.
After only a year in Rome Jugovic moved to the "Colchonero" side of Madrid and joined Atletico, while Christian Vieri travelled in the opposite direction.
In Madrid too he would only stay a year. He played 17 games in the Liga with 3 goals, 2 in Copa del Rey with 2 goals and 8 in the Uefa Cup with 2 goals. Atletico changed managers twice (Arrigo Sacchi to Carlos Aguiar to Radomir Antic) and came 13th in the Liga. They again reached the semi final of the UEFA Cup (losing to eventual winners Parma) and were beaten finalists in the Copa del Rey (Valencia 3-0). Not a great year for the "Colchoneros"
In 1999-2000 he was back in Italy with Inter. He stayed two years with the Nerazzurri; 39 games in Serie A (3 goals), 4 in Coppa Italia, 6 in Europe and 1 in the Italian Supercoppa (lost 4-3 against Lazio in 2000). He played under Marcello Lippi (later to win the World Cup with Italy) and briefly Marco Tardelli (another world champion) and Inter arrived 4th and then 5th.
In 2001 he joined Monaco in Ligue 1. The first season he played 25 games with 1 goal while in his second year he did not play at all.
In 2003 he moved to Austria to play for Admira Wacker. In his one season he played 25 league games (3 goals) and 1 in the Austrian Cup.
His last club was in Germany. In 2004 he joined LR Ahlen in the second division and 21 games with 2 goals.
At almost 36 years of age he retired.
At International level Jugovic played 4 games for Yugoslavia with 1 goal (Faroe Islands) and 37 for Serbia Montenegro with 2 goals (Faroe Islands, Malta). With Serbia Montenegro he participated in the France '96 World Cup (4 appearances) and the Euro 2000 in Holland and Belgium (4 appearances).
Jugovic was an all-round midfielder. At 1.78 metre and 76 kilos he was not an imposing player but he was strong and had many qualities. He was technically gifted, elegant on the ball and had excellent vision. He always seemed to know the right pass to make and when, a good decision maker. His sense of position and timing was superb and he was famous for his sudden attacking incursions. He was also cool under pressure, as his decisive penalties can confirm.
As mentioned earlier his time at Lazio was brief but intense. It was a pity he could not stay longer as he was highly respected and appreciated. His one season coincided with a record breaking four derby wins and the lifting of silverware after 30 years. Jugovic made a major contribution with his performances, charisma and goals, nobody will forget that at Lazio.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1997-98 | 42 (6) | 27 (2) | 9 (3) | 6 (1) |
Sources