Mateja Kezman Bio Send To Friend  

Kezman began his career in somewhat nomadic fashion, turning out for FK Zemund and Radnicki Pirot before hitting the headlines with FK Loznica as an 18-year-old.

He began the 1997/98 season in style, leading to a Christmas move to Sartid Smederovo. The player was onto his fifth club at the age of 19 when, at the end of the campaign, he joined boyhood heroes Partizan Belgrade.

The striker struggled to make an impact in his first season in top flight football, but in 1998/99 he exploded in the Yugoslav league, scoring 28 goals in 38 league games and alerting Europe's top scouts to his potential.

Partizan finished second, behind Red Star Belgrade, but Kezman was the league's top scorer.

His internatinal debut came in an international friendly against China in May 2000 - and he marked it with the opening goal on 22 minutes.

At the age of 21, Kezman is lured away to PSV Eindhoven and his first season, 2000/01, goes like a dream. With 24 goals from 33 games, he is the Eredivisie's leading marksman and PSV are crowned champions.

The 2001/02 season is not quite the same success. Kezman nets 15 goals as PSV finish second in the Eredivisie, behind Ajax.

With pressure on Kezman to bag the goals to restore PSV to the top of the Dutch game in 2002/03, he blasts 35 in 33 appearances as the title returns to the Philips Stadion.

Kezman again finished as top scorer in 2003/04, in what turned out to be his final year with PSV. He bagged 31 goals in 29 games, but PSV fail to retain their title and Ajax are crowned once more.

Newcastle United, Birmingham City and Charlton Athletic had all been strongly linked with the striker over the course of the close season.

But the prolific marksman joined Chelsea from PSV Eindhoven for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £5million, in July 2004.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said of the striker: 'I like Kezman because he is a team player. He has the motivation to come to the top league in the world and that, along with his scoring record, makes him a good player for me.'