Aleksandar Stanojević

Aleksandar Stanojević (Александар Станојевић, ; born 28 October 1973) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player.

Stanojević started his playing career in Partizan youth squad.

From 1993 until 1997 he spent three seasons in Obilić and one season in Spanish Segunda División playing for Mallorca.

In 1997, he joined OFK Beograd for two seasons.

He rejoined Partizan in 1999, and was part of the squad that won 2001 national cup.

After returning to OFK Beograd for a season, he moved to Hungarian National Championship club Videoton, where in 2003 he ended his professional career at the age of 29.

Stanojević began his coaching career as a youth coach at OFK Beograd.

His first job as a head coach was in Serbian First League club Srem.

For almost two years he was the assistant coach for Miroslav Đukić in Partizan and later Serbia national team.

On 3 September 2008, he was appointed the head coach of Serbia national under-19 team that finished 3rd in 2009 European Under-19 Championship in Ukraine.

Stanojević was named the most prospective Serbian coach by the Football Association of Serbia for the year 2010.

On 15 April 2010, Goran Stevanović resigned from Partizan following a disappointing result in national cup semi-finals.

Within 24 hours, Stanojević was promoted as new Partizan head coach, and at the age of just 36 became the youngest manager in the club history.

With Stanojević in position, Partizan won all seven remaining league fixtures, including the Eternal derby and defended the title.

The team carried good momentum from the league finish into Champions League qualifying phase and managed to go all the way and qualify for the group stage.

Stanojević, who was largely credited for this success, thus became the first Serbian coach to lead one Serbian team into the UEFA Champions League group stage.

He managed the team through another successful campaign as Partizan won the 2010–11 double.

In late May 2011, Stanojević signed new 2-year contract with Partizan.

However, start of 2011–12 season brought disappointing results in qualifications for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, when Partizan did not succeed to reach the group stage in either of those competitions.

Despite lack of success in international competitions, performance in domestic competition in the first half of the 2011–12 season was successful, as Partizan ended the half-season on the first place with 10 points ahead of its first rival.

During the mid-season break, Partizan director of football Mladen Krstajić attacked club president Dragan Đurić over the media, following Đurić's claim that director of football and coach were solely responsible for unsuccessful campaign in UEFA competitions for the 2011–12 season.

Krstajić stated that he and Stanojević did not have full control over the sale and acquisition of players during summer transfer window, which affected the results on the field.

Stanojević openly said he would resign as head coach if they were to sack Krstajić.

Stanojević and Krstajić gained wide support from Partizan fans, who asked Đurić to step down.

The day before Krstajić was released, Partizan fans Grobari chanted Krstajić's name during a basketball game against arch rivals KK Crvena zvezda as a sign of support.

Krstajić advised Stanojević over the media to stay as the head coach of Partizan, adding his opinion that Stanojević was the best football coach in Serbia.

Stanojević postponed his decision until 6 January 2012, when he confirmed he decided to continue his work as the head coach of Partizan.

Despite this fact, the board of directors of Partizan dismissed Stanojević on 13 January 2012 and appointed Avram Grant as the new coach.

Stanojević was not allowed to hold a press conference the next day at the stadium, but given the popularity he has among the fans, they gathered in front of the stadium to show their support to him and protest against the decision of the club.

On 17 January 2012, Stanojević organized a press conference in Belgrade when he spoke in detail about his engagement at Partizan, the way the club was organized and worked during that period and his vision of the club.

On 4 April 2012, Stanojević was appointed as the new manager of Chinese Super League side Dalian Aerbin, replacing Chang Woe-ryong who resigned from the club the day before.

He led Dalian Aerbin from the bottom of Super League to reach the fifth place at the end of the season.

Stanojević officially announced his resignation on 9 November 2012.

On 15 December 2012, Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan officially presented Stanojević as their new manager.

He led Beijing Guoan to the third place in the Chinese Super League and semi-finals in the FA Cup.

Stanojević, also led Beijing Guoan to their first Asian Champions League win over a club from South Korea, a home victory against FC Pohang Steelers in the Asian Champions League and guided the team through the group stage of the Champions League for the second time in the club history.

However, his coaching style was questioned by the club and the media of Beijing at the last months of the season, especially after losing to Guangzhou Evergrande in the semi-finals of FA Cup.

He was sacked at the end of the season.

On 25 April 2014, it was announced that Stanojević was appointed as the new manager of Israeli club Maccabi Haifa.

Under Stanojević the team reached semi-final of Toto Cup, after winning first place in group phase of competition.