If there is any truth in the rumour that God loves a trier, Mateja
Kezman's place in heaven is already assured; however, if he prefers his
strikers to possess guile and subtlety, the Serbian front-man's
long-term future appears a little less certain. Signed from PSV
Eindhoven for £5m in the summer of 2004, Kezman's pre-season form was
such that it was he rather than £24m partner Didier Drogba who stole all
the headlines, but it was as a substitute that he made his debut,
replacing Drogba as Manchester United were beaten on the opening day of
the 2004/05 season. His first start came at Crystal Palace in the third
match of the campaign, but he failed to impress, and embarked on a
wretched spell of form as, in both a literal and metaphorical sense,
Kezman failed to capitalise on the opportunities that came his way. He
eventually broke his duck in front of goal with a neat strike as West
Ham were beaten 1-0 in a Carling Cup clash at the end of October, but it
was another six weeks before he finally struck his first league goal,
converting a last minute penalty in a 4-0 triumph over Newcastle.
As
Chelsea marched to the top of the table in the early winter - a position
they never once relinquished after hitting the summit - Kezman remained
a frustrated spectator for much of the time, and his irritation often
showed as he collected yellow cards with impressive regularity in light
of the little time he actually spent on the pitch. The highlight of the
Serbian's brief Stamford Bridge career came at the Millennium Stadium,
when his two-yard toe-poke won the Carling Cup for the Blues at the
expense of Liverpool, and his best performance for the club came nine
days later when he led the line superbly in the absence of the suspended
Drogba as Barcelona were humbled spectacularly in the Champions League.
A vital goal in a victory at Norwich and a late brace in a 4-1 win over
Crystal Palace a fortnight later had the Blues' fans speculating that
Kezman was on the verge of finally making his mark, but it was to prove a
false dawn, and his second goal against Palace was his last in a
Chelsea shirt. With a Premiership and Carling Cup winner's medal to show
for his one season in London, Kezman left for Atletico Madrid in June
2005, complaining bitterly that he couldn't understand why he was not
considered a superstar at Chelsea.
His return of four goals in 24 league
appearances might go some way to answering his query, but the Spanish
side saw enough that they, surprisingly, were prepared to pay the Blues
£5.3m (£300, 000 more than Chelsea had paid 12 months earlier) to secure
his services. There can be no doubt that the Blues' faithful will be
hoping that the industrious Kezman can rediscover his best form in the
red and white stripes of Madrid's second club. (Kelvin Barker).
1996–1997 Radnički Pirot 17 (11)
1997 Loznica 13 (5)
1998 Sartid Smederevo 14 (4)
1998–2000 Partizan 54 (33)
2000–2004 PSV 122 (105)
2004–2005 Chelsea 25 (4)
2005–2006 Atlético Madrid 30 (8)
2006–2009 Fenerbahçe 46 (20)
2008–2009 Paris Saint-Germain (loan) 21 (3)
2009–2010 Paris Saint-Germain 14 (2)
2009 Zenit Saint Petersburg (loan) 10 (2)
2011 South China 6 (2)
2011 BATE Borisov 6 (0)
2012 South China 0 (0)
Total 378 (199 goals)
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