Marko Perović (footballer, born 1984)

Marko Perović (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Перовић; born January 11, 1984 in Pristina) is a Serbian footballer who most currently plays for Hong Kong Premier League club South China.

Club

Perović came through the ranks of FK Priština before moving to Red Star Belgrade or Crvena Zvezda in 2000. He made an impact at Red Star, proving to be an energetic and skillful player. On January 31, 2008 Perović signed for Swiss giants FC Basel on a 6-month loan deal, hoping for a permanent deal after coming back from an injury plagued year at Red Star. He scored on his Basel debut, on 9 February, in a 3–0 win over Neuchâtel Xamax. On June 2, it was announced that he had signed a permanent contract with Basel until 2011. He also scored on his full Basel debut, in a 2–1 win over BSC Young Boys on 18 July, and followed up the next week by scoring the winner in a 1–0 home win over Grasshopper Club Zürich. He was also named as Man of the Match for that game. When Christian Gross was sacked as Basel manager, Perović saw little first-team football under successor Thorsten Fink and was demoted to the U-21 reserve team.

The 2009/10 season saw him play just 12 minutes of football, and in January 2010 he was called in for a trial with Major League Soccer side New England Revolution. After a successful trial, the New England Revolution elected to sign Perović. Basel committed to a free transfer. He signed with New England on March 26, 2010. and made his MLS debut as a substitute in the second half of the Revolution's 4–1 victory over Toronto FC on April 10, 2010. Despite being voted the 2010 Revolution MVP by the club's fans, New England declined on their option to extend his contract on July 1, 2011.

On 16 December 2011, he returned to Red Star. He signed a contract with Iranian side Persepolis on 20 December 2012 but he was released at the end of the season.

International

Perović was also a member of the Serbia U–21. He broke his leg in May 2007 against Mladost Apatin during Red Star's second-last game of the season. This injury caused him to miss the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, in which Serbia eventually reached the final, losing to the Netherlands.

Club

Red Star

• Serbian Superliga: 3

2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07

• Serbian Cup: 4

2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2011–12

Basel

• Swiss Super League: 1

2007–08

• Swiss Cup: 1

2007–08

Persepolis

• Hazfi Cup Runner-up: 1

2012–13