Miodrag "Grof" Božović (, ; born 22 June 1968) is a Montenegrin football manager, former player and current manager of Macedonian Football League club Vardar.
Playing career Club A tall central defender, Božović played alongside Yugoslav and Montenegrin legends Predrag Mijatović and Dejan Savićević at Budućnost Titograd and for fellow Yugoslav team Red Star Belgrade, whom he left in 1994 during the civil war to play in Indonesia.Miodrag 'The Count' Bozovic breaking records at Red Star Belgrade – ESPN He also played for Dutch clubs RKC WaalwijkDegradatieduel in Waalwijk giert uit de hand – RKC and RBC Roosendaal, as well as in Cyprus and Japan.
During his playing career Božović won Yugoslav Cup with Red Star Belgrade.
International He represented his U-21 national side once.
Managerial career As a coach, he had a successful spell in Budućnost in the 2006–07 season, when his team was leading in Montenegrin First League, but he resigned and joined Grbalj in February 2007, due to the disagreement with the board."Bozovic shock in Montenegro", uefa.com Božović also was successful in Borac Čačak, as he made a competitive team out of a humble club.
Russian side FC Amkar Perm qualified for the UEFA Europa League for the first time in club's history under his management. Next season, his new club FC Moscow was among the leaders in the Russian Premier League for long stretches, before fading in the end of the season and falling out of European qualification. In early 2010, FC Moscow dropped out of the Premier League due to financial considerations, and Božović became a free agent.
On 27 April 2010, Božović signed a three-year contract with FC Dynamo Moscow.
After the game against his former club, Amkar, he was questioned in the flash interview, did he feel that he was playing against the team he had built himself. His answer was: "I feel I was playing against players who made me a coach.""Браво, Миодраг!", Express Yourself (russian)
He resigned from Dynamo on 21 April 2011 after losing in a Russian Cup quarterfinal against FC Rostov (winning the Cup was the last hope for Dynamo to qualify for UEFA Europa League).
In Serbia Božović was nicknamed Grof (the Count or Earl), because of his orderly and elegant appearance., Sovetsky Sport (russian)
In June 2012 he became the manager of FC Rostov.Miodrag Bozovic takes charge of Rostov – Sports.ru The next season Rostov won the 2013–14 Russian Cup.Miodrag Bojovic resigns from Rostov
Red Star 2015-16 On 29 May 2015 it was announced that Božović would manage his former club Red Star Belgrade."Гроф Божовић нови тренер Црвене звезде" "Moja Crvena zvezda: Grof Božović novi trener Crvene zvezde" (serbian) His start as Red Star manager was turbulent. Red Star was eliminated by Kairat in the first qualifying round for the Europa League and started off the regular season with a comeback win against OFK Beograd and a draw against Metalac in Gornji Milanovac in the first two rounds of the Serbian Superliga. Serbian media and journalist were not on his side and criticized him and his team's play. After a draw against Radnički Niš in front of 22.000 fans who started to chant against the club board, Božović offered his resignation. Fans were explicit in their desire that board members must leave the club right away, not him, and gave clear support to Božović. Several board members including the vice president and the general director left the club and Božović started a "little war" with the media. After the series of bad performances, Red Star dominated throughout the match and won after a comeback against Čukarički, considered the best match of the season.
Following these incidents, Božović masterminded Red Star to 24 straight wins in the regular season, a new club record, and dominated the Serbian Superliga with 32 points ahead of their rivals. With Božović at the helm Red Star made the best start in club history. Božović lead Red Star to the 27th club league title in history, and the first in his career. Božović stated that he is very happy like never before in his life.
2016-17 After clear and unambiguous support from Red Star fans, who were chanted his name and ask to stay, Grof Božović signed new two-year contract with Red Star to lead the club to the Champions League. Božović said that chants from the fans and whole stands of Marakana are the biggest thing which happened to him in his life, after birth of his sons. He record his first European victory, which is also Red Star first in three years and five matches in a row, against Valletta in first match of second qualifying round for the Champions League in Valletta.
Return to Russia He signed with the Russian Premier League club FC Arsenal Tula before the 2017–18 season.МИОДРАГ БОЖОВИЧ – ГЛАВНЫЙ ТРЕНЕР ПФК «АРСЕНАЛ» He led the club to the 7th place in the 2017–18 Russian Premier League, the best position in club's history. He did not renew his Arsenal contract at the end of the season.
On 5 October 2018, he signed a 2-year contract with FC Krylia Sovetov Samara. He left Krylia Sovetov by mutual consent on 28 June 2020, with the team in the last position in the table.
On 3 September 2021, he returned to Arsenal Tula. Arsenal was relegated at the end of the 2021–22 Russian Premier League after taking last place.
Neftçi On 24 December 2023, Božović was announced as the new Head Coach of Azerbaijan Premier League club Neftçi following the departure of Adrian Mutu.
On 26 May 2024, a day after their season finished, Neftçi announced that they would not be extending their contract with Božović.
Other information Speaks several languages. As of 2023 – the record holder among foreign coaches in Russian Premier League in terms of the number of clubs led and seasons spent (7 and 11, respectively). The players who worked under him repeatedly noted his use of sex jokes in the training process.
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecordAmkar Perm 8 January 200831 December 2008FC Moscow1 January 20091 March 2010Dynamo Moscow27 April 201021 April 2011Amkar Perm29 September 201111 June 2012Rostov11 June 201225 September 2014Lokomotiv Moscow4 October 201411 May 2015Red Star Belgrade2 June 20157 May 2017Arsenal Tula18 June 201725 May 2018Krylia Sovetov5 October 201828 June 2020Arsenal Tula3 September 202121 June 2022Neftçi24 December 2023 26 May 2024Esteghlal Khuzestan5 July 202425 February 2025Esteghlal26 February 202523 April 2025Total
Club statistics Club performance League Cup League Cup Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsJapan League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup Total1998Avispa FukuokaJ1 League80000080Total80000080
Honours
Player Red Star Belgrade FR Yugoslavia Cup: 1992–93
Manager Rostov Russian Cup: 2013–14 Red Star Belgrade Serbian SuperLiga: 2015–16
References
External links
Miodrag Bozovic: Why Europe Should Be Out for the Count