Aleksandar Katai ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Катаи; born 6 February 1991) is a Serbian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger for Serbian club

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

Club career

Vojvodina

Katai started playing football for his hometown club

FK Vojvodina Fudbalski klub Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Војводина), commonly known as Vojvodina and colloquially as Voša ( sr-Cyrl, Воша), is a Serbian professional football club based in Novi Sad, Serbia, the second large ...

youth squad. After a six- month loan to lower league team FK Palić at the start of 2009–10 season, he was promoted to Vojvodina's first team. His debut in Serbian SuperLiga was on 14 March 2010, when he came in as substitute against

FK Čukarički Fudbalski klub Čukarički () is a Serbian professional football club from Belgrade, more precisely from the Čukarica municipality, that currently plays in the Serbian SuperLiga, the top tier of Serbian football. Founded in 1926, the club spe ...

, and he scored his first goal just seven days later in a match against Mladi Radnik. On 28 June 2011, he left FK Vojvodina and went to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

to join

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

Olympiacos

On 24 June 2011, Olympiacos agreed to sign Katai on a four-year contract. At his first trainings with the club, coach

Ernesto Valverde Ernesto Valverde Tejedor (born 9 February 1964) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of La Liga club Athletic Bilbao. Over ten seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 264 games and 68 ...

told Katai that he did not defend enough and that he needed to improve as a player. Katai did not play a single match for Olympiacos, but was instead sent on loan four times. He was first loaned to OFI, with whom he made his debut on 5 November 2011, against

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

. The loan spell to Crete was unsuccessful, and so Olympiacos loaned him back to his hometown club FK Vojvodina. While on loan at Vojvodina, in 2012 after one game with Spartak Subotica, he fell very ill and was admitted to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with

thrombocytopenia In hematology, thrombocytopenia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of platelets (also known as thrombocytes) in the blood. Low levels of platelets in turn may lead to prolonged or excessive bleeding. It is the most common coag ...

. He had to have some blood removed, and stayed in the hospital for two weeks before he was allowed to finish his recovery from home. During his recovery, he gained over 20 pounds, and he did not return to play football until the end of the year. He remained a loaned player for Vojvodina until the club president Ratko Butorović died unexpectedly on 8 June 2013, which led to a period of instability in the club during which Katai left. He subsequently was loaned to

Platanias Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platani ...

, for whom he scored a total of eight goals and six assists, until his loan there expired in the summer of 2014.

Red Star Belgrade

2014–15 season

On 31 August 2014, in a last-minute deal before the transfer window closed, Katai devoted to a one-year loan to

. Throughout autumn 2014, Katai was reported to be out of shape, and Red Star's coach

Nenad Lalatović Nenad Lalatović (, ; born 22 December 1977) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. Club career Lalatović came through the youth system of hometown club Red Star Belgrade. He also spent a few seasons on loan at OFK Beogr ...

was said to have claimed that Katai "had a problem in his head".

2015–16 season

On 18 June 2015, it was announced that Katai terminated his contract with Olympiacos and forgave a debt of €300,000 which was owed to him by Red Star from the loan contract, and subsequently signed a two-year contract with Red Star Belgrade. For the 2015–16 season, Miodrag "Grof" Božović was hired as the new coach, and Katai played a good game against Kairat in the

first qualifying round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

for the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, although Red Star failed to qualify. By the end of October 2015, Katai had scored 10 goals and made 6 assists in 15 league matches, ranking him one of the most effective midfielders in all of Europe at the time surveyed. Katai ended the season with the title of the best scorer of the

Superliga Superliga (''super league'') may refer to: Sports Superliga can refer to different sports leagues: Association football *Albanian Superliga, the Albanian top-flight men's division * Argentine Superliga, the Argentine top-flight men's division *D ...

, scoring his 21st in the last round against Radnički for the 27th title celebration.

2016–17 season

In the first competitive match of the 2016–17 season, Katai scored an equalizer and assist for win against Valletta FC in the first match of the

second qualifying round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

for the Champions League in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

and winner in rematch, in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. In the first game of the third round of qualification for the Champions League against Bulgarian

Ludogorets Razgrad Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 (), commonly known as Ludogorets Razgrad or simply Ludogorets, is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Razgrad, which currently competes in the First Professional Football League ...

, Katai continued his goal-scoring series with a 12th consecutive goal, when he dribbled past three players and scored. Red Star were ultimately eliminated.

Alavés

On 31 August 2016, Katai signed a three-year contract with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

, for an undisclosed fee.

Chicago Fire

On 6 February 2018, Katai was loaned by Alavés to Chicago Fire of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. The loan was for the 2018 MLS season and included a purchase option at season's end. On 11 July 2018, the Chicago Fire acquired Katai on a permanent basis from Alavés for an unknown amount. The deal had Katai signed through the 2019 season, with a club option for 2020. It also had him remaining a TAM player for the 2018 season, but would change to a DP in 2019.

LA Galaxy

On 31 December 2019, after leaving the Chicago Fire, Katai joined the

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

through the use of Targeted Allocation Money. Katai was expected to be an important part of the Galaxy’s attack in 2020. Katai was released by LA Galaxy on 5 June 2020, following controversial Instagram posts by Katai's wife, Tea, in the wake of the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

and looting across the United States. Katai's wife, writing in

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

, had compared protestors to "disgusting cattle", called for violent action against them in a caption under a photo of

New York Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

officers driving an SUV into a crowd of protesters ("shoot those shits"), and captioned an image of what appears to be a looter running off with boxes of

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

sneakers with "Black Nikes Matter". The LA Galaxy requested the removal of his wife’s posts and issued a statement condemning "racism of any kind". Tea then took down the posts. In an Instagram post, Katai condemned his wife's posts as "unacceptable", rebuked her insensitivity, issued a personal apology, and indicated his support for the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement. Two days after the team became aware of the wife's posts, which also was two days after his post condemning her statements, and following a day of protests against Katai, the LA Galaxy released him.

Return to Red Star Belgrade

On 9 July 2020, Katai signed a two-year contract with Red Star Belgrade.

International career

Katai played two games for Serbia U21 national team. He made his debut for

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

in a 4–1 friendly loss to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

on 13 November 2015. He earned a total of 10 caps (no goals) and his final international was a November 2020 European Championship qualification match against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Personal life

Born in

Srbobran Srbobran (, ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town is located on the north bank of the Danube-Tisa-Danube canal. The town has a population of 10,496, and the m ...

, a village in northern Serbia, his paternal grandfather was of Ukrainian origin and his grandmother was Hungarian. His surname is Hungarian, adopted from his grandmother.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Red Star *

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

: 2015–16,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2021–22,

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2023–24, 2024–25 *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

, 2021–22,

, 2023–24 Individual *

top goalscorer: 2015–16 *

Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season The Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season is an annual award given to a set of 11 footballers in the top tier of Football in Serbia, Serbian football, the Serbian SuperLiga, SuperLiga, who are seen to be the best 11 players of the calendar season. S ...

: 2015–16,

Player of the Week:

(Round 6), 2021–22 (Round 8, Round 17, Round 26, Round 29, Round 34),

(Round 19, Round 28, Round 29), 2023–24 (Round 29)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Katai, Aleksandar 1991 births Living people People from Srbobran Footballers from South Bačka District Serbian people of Hungarian descent Serbian people of Ukrainian descent Men's association football wingers Serbian men's footballers Serbia men's under-21 international footballers Serbia men's international footballers FK Palić players FK Vojvodina players Olympiacos F.C. players OFI Crete F.C. players Platanias F.C. players Red Star Belgrade footballers Deportivo Alavés players Chicago Fire FC players LA Galaxy players Serbian League players Serbian SuperLiga players Super League Greece players La Liga players Major League Soccer players Designated Players (MLS) Serbian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Serbian expatriate sportspeople in the United States