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Born on 15th November 1977 in Ljubljana,
Slovenia.
Position : Midfield
Height : 1.86m (' ")
Weight :
Signed
by Glenn Hoddle before the 2002 World Cup,
Slovenian international Milenko did not arrive
until after the competition and has found his time at White Hart Lane
a frustrating experience.
As a talented youngster, he was snapped up
from Olympic Ljubljana before making the first team by Zeliznicar at17,
but he made only three appearances for them before rejoining his old
club. Realising his potential, he was bought by Crvena Zvezda (Red
Star Belgrade) of Serbia and he starred in the national side for
Slovenia in both the Euro 2000 and the World Cup 2002 finals. It
was these performances which brought him to Tottenham's attention, along
with his good strike rate from midfield for his club side.
A
stylish midfielder, who might have been cut from a template of Hoddle
himself, Acimovic had a range of passing and can get forward to finish
too. He had tricks in his locker to lose his marker, but found the Premier League a physical environment which
was difficult to
come to terms with. In the Reserves, he showed how he can
glide over the grass with the ball and pick out a colleague with
accurate passing to open up a game. However, there was been
little opportunity to show what he is capable of in the first XI.
When
he has played, he was inevitably been introduced from the bench and
played a bit part role. His most notable contribution was a shot
against Fulham, which hit the bar from about a yard out and went over
the top. The ball did bobble as he hit it, but in front of a
live TV audience, he had this to live down.
A
long-standing shoulder injury had produced a difficulty in reaching
full fitness, but even when 100%, he was still not included in
Hoddle's team. When Hoddle was sacked, it looked as though he was not
in David Pleat's plans and may be only called upon if injury hit the
midfield. It was a shame that we ever saw the best from Milenko
in a Spurs shirt, as he could have been the creative hub that the
midfield needed.
This
proved to be the case when he was allowed to go to Lille (France) on
loan in January 2004 and the move was made permanent on a free
transfer in April 2004. Starring in the UEFA Cup and Champions
League campaigns, he scored a winner against Manchester United in
France. Acimovic subsequently went on to play for Saudi club
Al-Ittihad and then back to Europe where he signed for FK Austria
Vienna.
NICKNAME : "Milo"
Career Record
| Club |
Signed |
Fee |
Debut |
Apps |
Goals |
|
Zeliznicar (Slovenia) |
1996 |
?? |
?? |
3 |
0 |
|
Olympic Ljubljana (Slovenia) |
1996 |
?? |
?? |
34 |
7 |
|
Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) |
1998 |
?? |
?? |
103 |
34 |
| TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR |
June
2002 |
?? |
?? |
17 |
0 |
|
Lille (France) |
January 2004 |
Loan |
?? |
47 |
12 |
|
Lille (France) |
April 2004 |
Free |
?? |
?? |
?? |
|
Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) |
2006 |
Free |
?? |
?? |
?? |
|
FK Austria Vienna (Austria) |
2007 |
Free |
?? |
?? |
?? |
Honours
Slovenian international
Debut 22 April 1998 at Murska Sobota v Czech Republic
69 full caps; 13 goals (as of 06.12.2006)
Under-21 caps; goals
- Cup winners medal 19---
Milestones
- appearance |