Ljubomir Fejsa (, ; born 14 August 1988) is a Serbian former professional footballer. He competed for Serbia at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
From 2008–09 to 2016–17 seasons, Fejsa won ten consecutive league titles across three clubs: three with Partizan, three with Olympiacos and four with Benfica, winning both the Super League Greece and the Primeira Liga in the 2013–14 season.
Club career Partizan On 1 July 2008, Fejsa signed for FK Partizan after the club had been interested in him for over one year. He signed a five-year contract and was given the number 5 shirt. For the three seasons he spent in Partizan, Fejsa won three Serbian Championship Titles as well as two trophies in the Serbian Cup, including the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons. He was included in the ideal club of the domestic championship. In an April 2010 friendly match between Serbia and Japan, which ended in a 3–0 victory for the former, Fejsa suffered anterior cruciate ligament injury, after which he spent more than one year out of the field. Fejsa only returned to play at the end of the 2010–11 season.
Olympiacos On 21 June 2011, Fejsa signed with Olympiacos with a transfer fee of €3 million and signed a four-year contract. He debuted in a friendly 1–0 victory against Galatasaray. Fejsa scored his first goal against Inter Milan during another friendly match. He showed good form at the beginning of 2011–12 season, and had impressive performances during the early stages of Champions League group stages. However, Fejsa was injured during training, leading him to miss the rest of the season.
During the 2012–13 season, when Leonardo Jardim was named head coach of Olympiacos, Fejsa was regularly benched and barely made any appearance during the Portuguese coach stay at the club. In February 2013, when Jardim was sacked by Olympiacos due to the crowds dismay from playing style of the team, coach Míchel was hired and he immediately made Fejsa one of the starters. He made decent appearances despite being benched for most of the season and was called back to Serbia national football team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Benfica On 23 August 2013, Fejsa signed a five-year contract with Benfica for a reported fee of €4.5 million.
Fejsa made his debut on 19 September in a Champions League match against Anderlecht. He appeared sporadically in the first half of the season, but with Nemanja Matić's transfer to Chelsea, he became the sole option to the position, appearing far more regularly. However, an injury in early April 2014 sidelined him for the next months.
On 2 February 2015, Benfica registered Fejsa at the LPFP, enabling him to play the rest of the season. He returned to competition, debuting for the reserve team in Segunda Liga on 11 March. A month later, he returned to Benfica's first-team, as a substitute, and scored the fifth goal of the match against Académica (5–1) in Primeira Liga.
On 29 January 2020, Fejsa moved to Spanish La Liga club Alavés on loan until the end of the season.
Later career and retirement Fejsa left Benfica on 24 September 2020, signing with Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli for two seasons. He returned to Partizan in January 2022, only to leave the club after his contract expired at the end of the 2022–23 season. Fejsa officially announced his retirement on 9 October 2024.
International career On 24 November 2007, Fejsa made his senior debut for the Serbia national team under head coach Javier Clemente as a substitute during the rescheduled UEFA Euro 2008 qualification at home against Kazakhstan. He also made substitute appearances against Northern Ireland, Faroe Islands, and Italy in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying. He earned a total of 25 appearances, scoring no goals. His final international match was a June 2019 European Championship qualification match away against Ukraine.
Personal life Fejsa is married and has two children.
Career statistics Club
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsHajduk Kula2005–06Serbian SuperLiga4000––402006–07Serbian SuperLiga 2210000–2212007–08Serbian SuperLiga 3210020–341Total5820020–602Partizan2008–09Serbian SuperLiga2703050–3502009–10Serbian SuperLiga 2023090–3222010–11Serbian SuperLiga 200000–20Total49260140–692Olympiacos2011–12Super League Greece401030–802012–13Super League Greece 1508140–2712013–14Supe league Greece 100000–10Total2009170–361Benfica2013–14Primeira Liga1602070202702014–15Primeira Liga 51000010612015–16Primeira Liga 1901060202802016–17Primeira Liga 2501071203512017–18Primeira Liga 2802040103502018–19Primeira Liga 18020120103302019–20Primeira Liga 3000200050Total114180381901692Benfica B2014–15Segunda Liga20———20Alavés (loan)2019–20La Liga13000——130Al Ahli2020–21Saudi Pro League22110—002312021–22Saudi Pro League1000—0010Total23110–00241Partizan2021–22Serbian SuperLiga200000–202022–23Serbian SuperLiga2300090–320Career total3046241701904078
International
SerbiaYearAppsGoals200710200800200900201010201130201250201360201410201550201610201700201810201910Total250
Honours Partizan Serbian SuperLiga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11 Serbian Cup: 2008–09, 2010–11 Olympiacos Super League Greece: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14 Greek Cup: 2011–12, 2012–13 Benfica Primeira Liga: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19 Taça de Portugal: 2013–14, 2016–17 Taça da Liga: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2016, 2017 UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2013–14
Individual Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season: 2008–09, 2009–10
References
External links
Ljubomir Fejsa stats at Utakmica.rs (archived)