Radivoje "Rajko" Lekić (born 3 July 1981 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

) is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er who currently plays for Ballerup-Skovlunde as a playing forward coach. He has played for

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

, B 93,

BK Avarta Boldklubben Avarta is a Danish Association football, football club currently playing in the Danish 2nd Division Group 1, which ranks as the third highest league in Denmark. Avarta's home ground is Espelundens Idrætsanlæg in Rødovre, Copenhagen ...

Herfølge BK Herfølge is a suburb of the town of Køge, Denmark, located about 5 kilometers south of Køge, and is a part of Køge Municipality. The suburb is connected to Køge and Næstved by the Lille Syd railway line. Residential areas Holmebækhus ...

, Fremad Amager,

Silkeborg IF Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...

Odense BK Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...

Lyngby BK Lyngby Boldklub () is a Danish professional football club founded in 1921. It is based at Lyngby Stadion in Kongens Lyngby, Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, a northern suburb of Copenhagen. From 1994 to 2001 the club was known as Lyngby FC. The club ...

and

Esbjerg fB Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (; commonly known as Esbjerg fB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional football club based in Esbjerg, West Jutland, that plays in the 2nd division, the third-tier of the Danish football league system. Foun ...

in Denmark, as well as Spanish club Xerez CD and Hungarian

Zalaegerszegi TE Zalaegerszegi Torna Egylet Football Club (), commonly known as Zalaegerszegi TE, Zalaegerszeg or ZTE, is a football club from the city of Zalaegerszeg in Hungary. Zalaegerszeg has won one Hungarian League title in 2002. History ZTE traces its r ...

. Lekić is of Montenegrin descent but was born and raised in Denmark.

Career

Club

Lekić began his career with Danish side B 93 in 1998 and remained at the club for 3 years, getting his professional debut in the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...

on 16 June 1999 in a 2-1 win again

AGF Aarhus Aarhus Gymnastikforening (; commonly known as AGF ), is a professional sports club based in Aarhus, Jutland, Denmark. Founded in 1880, it is one of the oldest clubs in the country and gymnastics and fencing are featured as its main sports. Howev ...

. But it became his only league game for the club. So during the 2001 season he joined the Danish 4th tier club

and became an instant success, as he tallied 16 goals in just 15 matches, making him topscorer in the

Denmark Series The Denmark Series ( da, Danmarksserien) is the fifth tier in the Danish football league system. Teams are divided into four groups of ten. The top team in each group is promoted to the Danish 3rd Division. The bottom three teams in each group are ...

and earning him a contract as full-time professional for

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991 the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the forma ...

side

in January 2002. He continued to be a topscorer netting 9 goals in 13 matches, but in the second half of the season he was showing poor form. So in 2003 he signed a half-year contract with Danish 2nd Division side Fremad Amager and appeared in 12 matches scoring 6 goals and helping the club to win promotion to the

. But he did not get his contract extended. So he chose to join another Danish 1st Division side

, the club with which he would have his greatest success. In his first spell with Silkeborg Lekić would net 30 goals in just 34 appearances. He became Danish 1st Division topscorer, helped Silkeborg to promotion to the Danish Superliga and his goal scoring prowess did not go unnoticed on the Continent. In 2004 Lekić was signed by Xerez CD of Spain's

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

. In two season with Xerez Lekić appeared in 38 league matches and scored 6 goals. The following seasons he would join OB, Zalaegerszegi, and

but struggled to find the form that had made him a highly regarded striker. In 2008, he returned to

on loan and quickly recaptured his scoring form tallying 15 goals in 15 appearances. As a result,

purchased his contract and he remained at the club on a permanent basis. During this second spell with

Lekić appeared in 76 league matches and scored 37 goals. During his two stints with

Lekić appeared in 121 official matches and scored 76 goals. Lekić signed with

on 8 April 2011, contract terms were not disclosed. He made his first start for the

on 17 April 2011 in a game against the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

. After the season, he could not agree terms with New England and instead signed with Lyngby Boldklub of the

on 31 January 2012. On 10 August 2012, Lekic was released from

International

Lekić was born in Denmark and is of Montenegrin descent. He made his debut for the Danish national team against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in which he came on as a 61st-minute substitute for

Nicklas Bendtner Nicklas Bendtner (; born 16 January 1988) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a forward. His preferred position was centre-forward, but he has also played on the right side of attack, and occasionally on the left. A large, ...

References

External links

Rajko Lekić
official

statistics at danskfodbold.com *
Rajko Lekic Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lekic, Rajko 1981 births Living people Footballers from Copenhagen Danish men's footballers Denmark men's international footballers Danish people of Montenegrin descent Boldklubben af 1893 players Herfølge Boldklub players Silkeborg IF players Xerez CD footballers Odense Boldklub players Esbjerg fB players New England Revolution players Lyngby Boldklub players Danish Superliga players Danish 1st Division players Major League Soccer players Danish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football forwards Boldklubben Avarta players Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold players Danish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Danish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Danish expatriate sportspeople in Hungary