Dejan Stanković

Serbian former midfielder who is known to play for the likes of Red Star Belgrade and Internazionale, Dejan Stanković has also displayed his natural talent as a footballer and leader as the captain of the Serbian national team and is now reflecting on his nearing 30-year long career as a captivating and dynamic after dinner speaker.

With his youth career beginning in 1985, Dejan began playing for his local football team, Teleoptik. With his undeniable skill capturing the attention of the Red Star cadet squad coach almost immediately, he entered the Red Star Belgrade’s youth system where he played alongside the likes of Nikola Lazetic and Nenad Lalatovic.

Since making his debut senior appearance against rivals OFK Beograd in 1995, Stanković has made over 450 league appearances and has scored a staggering total of 80 goals across three domestic clubs. With some of his career highlights including becoming the youngest ever captain in Red Star’s history at the age of 19, being transferred to Lazio for an incredible 24 million Libra and scoring the opening goal for Internazionale at a memorable defeat in the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup semi-final, it comes as no surprise that Dejan also has a prolific international career under his belt.

A versatile, creative and hard-working attacking midfielder made his international debut against South Korea in 1998. Since this day he has been capped more than 100 times and has managed to score 15 goals for his country whilst also acting as the captain in important games including the 2010 World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches.

Voted Serbian Player of the Year on two separate occasions and inducted into the Inter Hall of Fame in 2019, Dejan has remained tied to football even after his retirement in 2013. Delving into a career in management, he became the assistant manager of Udinese alongside Andrea Stramaccioni before making a grand return to Internazionale in 2015 where he assisted Roberto Mancini.

For a captivating and insightful talk surrounding football and the valuable skills that can be learnt from the game, there is no doubt that Dejan Stankovic can deliver the most inspiring and effective speech at any corporate event, conference or function. With the ability to entertain even those with little to no interest in football, Dejan can relate his incredible advice to business as well as sport organisations leaving the most powerful impact on any variety of audience.