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You simply do not make more than 50 appearances for a country like
Yugoslavia unless you are an outstanding footballer, so when Claudio
Ranieri made Slavisa Jokanovic his first signing for Chelsea in October
2000 there was every reason to believe he would be a valuable addition
to the Italian's squad. Perhaps if the rangy midfielder's close range
header against Coventry on his debut had found the net rather than
cannoning off the bar, Jokanovic's fortunes may have been indelibly
altered, but with the Blues cantering to a 6-1 win, nobody was really
too concerned at the time! However, it wasn't long before the supporters
were beginning to ask questions of the man who had cost £1.7m from
Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna, as he clearly stuggled to come to
terms with the pace of the English game.
Of his 19 appearances that
season, 12 were from the subs' bench, and unfortunately his entry onto
the field of play was regularly met with cat calls aimed in the
direction of both player and manager from the Stamford Bridge faithful.
To make matters worse, Ranieri sold two hugely popular midfield
stalwarts - Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet - in the summer of 2001,
increasing the pressure on the struggling Yugoslav to justify his price
tag. Ironically, Joka - or Joker, as he was cruelly, if somewhat
inevitably, re-named by a section of the Chelsea supporters - flourished
briefly in a clash with Wise's new side, Leicester City, in October
2001, which the Blues won 2-0, but his best performance for the club
came in a magnificent 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, as
the unlikely central midfield combination of Joka and Samuele Dalla
Bona destroyed their much-vaunted United counterparts with a truly
magnificent display. Sadly, that performance proved something of a false
dawn, and the Yugoslav remained little more than a squad player for the
remainder of the season, before retiring from professional football
that summer.
However, if his Chelsea career wasn't exceptional, the way
Joka handled his departure certainly was, and the humble midfielder
actually made a statement on leaving Stamford Bridge for the last time,
in which he apologised to the Blues' supporters for his disappointing
performances whilst at the club. It was a classy touch from a classy man
who deserved better fortune - and treatment - during his time in SW6. (Kelvin Barker)
1986–1988 Novi Sad 35 (5)
1988–1990 Vojvodina 54 (10)
1990–1993 Partizan 61 (20)
1993–1995 Oviedo 62 (12)
1995–1999 Tenerife 123 (17)
1999–2000 Deportivo La Coruña 23 (2)
2000–2002 Chelsea 39 (0)
2003–2004 Ciudad Murcia 6 (0)
Teams manged.
2007–2009 Partizan
2012–2013 Muangthong United
2013 Levski Sofia
2014 Hércules
2014–2015 Watford
2015 Maccabi Tel Aviv
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