Damir Kojašević (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Дамир Којашевић; born 3 June 1987) is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays as a winger for Rudar Pljevlja.
While playing as a professional in Kazakhstan, Talgat Baysufinov called him "the little scoundrel", referring to his playing style on the field.
Club career Early career Kojašević signed his first professional contract with Montenegrin club Dečić at the age of 16. At the age of 18, he completed his first international transfer to Polish team Jagiellonia Białystok in 2008. At the age of 19, he was named the best foreign player in the Ekstraklasa. He left after a season due to a disagreement with the coach. He then returned to Montenegro and joined Zeta, with whom he played for three months.
Sarajevo In 2010, Kojašević joined Bosnian team Sarajevo after being scouted by the club president at the time, Zijad Blekić. Over the course of two seasons with Sarajevo, he was considered to be one of the best players in the Premijer Liga. After the club told him they could not afford to pay his salary, Kojašević voluntarily terminated his contract. He subsequently joined Budućnost in a free transfer in January 2012, but played for them for only three months.
Astana After only a brief period with Budućnost, Kojašević joined Kazakh side FC Astana in the spring of 2012. During his time with Astana, he enjoyed clubbing after games. In February 2015, Kojašević moved from Astana to Lokomotiv Tashkent on loan.
Mladost Podgorica In August 2015, Kojašević turned down clubs from other countries to join Mladost Podgorica, citing family reasons. At Mladost his coach was Nikola Rakojević. In November 2015 he suffered a calf injury. Although he only spent a half-season at Mladost, Kojašević contributed to Mladost winning the league that season with seven goals. Soccerway: Montenegro First League 2015/16. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
Vardar In December 2015, Kojašević signed with Vardar. He contributed in Vardar's first ever successful qualifying campaign to the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, and played in their historic upset of heavily favored Fenerbahçe in front of an audience of 45,000 at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium on 24 August 2017. Despite Vardar entering the Europa League group stage for the first time, Kojašević left the team before the group stage allegedly due to financial issues with club owner Sergey Samsonenko. Vardar ended up without a single win in Europa League Group L that season.
Vojvodina In September 2017, Kojašević signed a one-year contract with Serbian club Vojvodina. On 29 September 2017, he scored two goals against Mladost Lučani. On 28 October 2017, he scored an olympic goal in a 3–0 win against Rad. On 3 December 2017, Kojašević scored a goal in a 1–1 tie against Partizan at their stadium in snowy conditions. In the half-season he played for Vojvodina, he scored four goals over the course of 14 matches. He was a teammate with Dušan Jovančić. Although he allegedly agreed to remain in Vojvodina for the remainder of the season, he terminated his contract in late January 2018.
Shakhter Karagandy On 12 February 2018, Shakhter Karagandy announced the signing of Kojašević. At the time he joined, the team was coached by Uladzimir Zhuravel, with whom Kojašević worked well and got playing time. However, the team's record under Zhuravel experienced a period of losses in addition to Zhuravel's health problems. Later in 2018 Zhuravel was replaced by Nikolay Kostov, with whom Kojašević also saw playing time in addition to a significantly improved record during the season.
In August 2018, Kojašević went to the coal mine in Karaganda with the rest of the team. Although he was initially scared, the mine left a strong impression with him, as he had never gone down a mine before.
Radnički Niš On 16 January 2019, Kojašević joined Serbian club Radnički Niš. Coach Nenad Lalatović had insisted on Kojašević's signing, referring to him as one of the best playmakers in the Serbian SuperLiga. On 29 January 2019, he scored his first goal for Radnički Niš in a 3-0 friendly win against Russian club Avangard. On 7 April 2019, he scored two goals in a 5–1 win against OFK Bačka.
Sutjeska Nikšić On 14 June 2019, Kojašević signed a one-year contract with Montenegrin club Sutjeska Nikšić. FK Sutjeska Nikšić: Damir Piksi Kojašević novo pojačaje Plavih . 14 June 2019. On 10 July 2019, he scored a goal in a 1–1 tie against Slovan Bratislava in the first leg of the first qualifying round for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League. On 6 August 2019, he scored from a free kick in a 1–2 loss against Linfield in the first leg of the third qualifying round for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.
International career Kojašević was called up to the senior Montenegro squad for a friendly against Turkey in June 2016. However, he did not make his debut until substituting Marko Vešović in a match against Romania on 4 September 2016. Less than 10 minutes after coming on the field, Kojašević made an assist for teammate Stevan Jovetić, whose goal tied the game 1-1. On 27 March 2017, he made another assist for teammate Stefan Mugoša in his goal against Poland, although Montenegro ended up losing 1–2. As of September 2020, he has earned a total of 9 caps, scoring 1 goal.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDečić2006–07Montenegrin First League100—111112007–08Montenegrin First League314——314Total414—11425Jagiellonia Białystok2008–09Ekstraklasa23120—51302Górnik Łęczna (loan)2009–10I liga7010——80Górnik Łęczna II (loan)2009–10III liga10———10Zeta2009–10Montenegrin First League1220000—1222010–11Montenegrin First League000020—20Total1220020—142Sarajevo2010–11Bosnian Premier League26430——2942011–12Bosnian Premier League1454140—226Total4097140—5110Budućnost Podgorica2011–12Montenegrin First League1520000—152Astana2012Kazakhstan Premier League11252——1642013Kazakhstan Premier League2962120103472014Kazakhstan Premier League2143230—276Total611210550107717Lokomotiv Tashkent (loan)2015Uzbek League81204200143Mladost Podgorica2015–16Montenegrin First League14710——157Vardar2015–16Macedonian First League13300——1332016–17Macedonian First League2692020—3092017–18Macedonian First League110050—61Total40132070—4913Vojvodina2017–18Serbian SuperLiga1441100—155Shakhter Karagandy2018Kazakhstan Premier League26831——299Radnički Niš2018–19Serbian SuperLiga1022000—122Sutjeska Nikšić2019–20Montenegrin First League2484062—34102020–21Montenegrin First League710010—81Total3194072—4211Career total343743582947241488
International goals Scores and results list Montenegro's goal tally first. No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 11 November 2016 Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia 1–0 2–3 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
Honours Budućnost Podgorica Montenegrin First League: 2011–12
Astana Kazakhstan Premier League: 2014 Kazakhstan Cup: 2012
Vardar Macedonian First League: 2015–16, 2016–17
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