Goran Pandev

Goran Pandev (Горан Пандев, ; born 27 July 1983) is a Macedonian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

He only spent one season in the local Prva Liga, however, before being signed by Serie A giants Inter Milan in the summer of 2001 when he was just 18 years old.

Inter loaned Pandev to feeder club Spezia in July 2002, where he was a regular in Serie C1.

The following year, he was again sent on loan, this time to newly promoted Serie A club Ancona.

During his time at Ancona, the team had the worst season of any club in Serie A history.

In January 2004, Serbian player Dejan Stanković was signed by Inter from Lazio and Pandev was sent to the capital in exchange on a co-ownership deal, for a nominal fee of €500, but he remained at Ancona until the end of the 2003–04 season.

Pandev impressed in his first year at Lazio, as he made 29 appearances, scoring three goals, which included a memorable effort away to Juventus where he beat Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta before beating Gianluigi Buffon with an angled shot.

In July 2005, 50 percent of his player registration rights were transferred to Udinese in exchange for David Pizarro's transfer to the Milanese club.

The following season, Delio Rossi was appointed manager of Lazio and Pandev began to form a deadly strike partnership with Tommaso Rocchi.

In June 2006, Lazio bought the remaining 50 percent of his registration rights from Udinese for €4 million.

On 11 January 2009, Pandev scored his first hat-trick in Serie A against Reggina.

On 24 March 2009, Pandev was awarded the Medal for Service to the Country by the then-President Branko Crvenkovski in acknowledgement of his sporting achievements and his contribution to developing and popularizing sport in Macedonia as well as promoting the country abroad.

In the summer of 2009, a dispute between Pandev and Lazio chairman Claudio Lotito erupted, resulting in a legal battle between Pandev and his club.

The ruling was announced on 23 December 2009.

The dispute started with Pandev indicating his desire to leave Lazio during the summer of 2009.

Chairman Lotito, apparently unhappy with Pandev's decision, froze him out of the squad.

As a result, Pandev spent the remaining four months training on his own, without making a single appearance for his club.

During this period, various clubs had indicated their interest in buying Pandev, most notably Zenit Saint Petersburg, who made an offer of €13 million for the player.

Lazio chairman Lotito rejected the offer, demanding €15 million instead.

The deal eventually fell through after both parties failed to come to an agreement on price.

On 26 September, Pandev officially filed for a termination of his contract with Lazio, having been frozen out of the squad and labelled a "rebel" by the club.

Pandev argued that by freezing him out of the squad, Lazio had violated the terms of their contract with him.

On 23 December 2009, the Lega Nazionale Professionisti ruled in Pandev's favor, ordering Lazio to release Pandev from his contract and pay him €170,000 for emotional distress.

Lotito indicated his desire to appeal the decision.

After a stint at Lazio, Pandev moved to Inter Milan in early 2010.

While playing for the Nerazzurri, Pandev collected a host of honours including winning the Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League in 2010 as part of a treble for the club.

On 22 April 2021, he became the first Macedonian to score 100 goals in one of the top five European football leagues.

He was the captain of the North Macedonia national team until deciding to retire from international football in 2021, following UEFA Euro 2020.

He is the country's all-time top scorer with 38 goals.

Pandev was born in Strumica, SR Macedonia, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time, and began his football career with FK Belasica, the club with which he progressed through the youth academy.

On 4 January 2010, Pandev signed a four-and-a-half year contract with Inter Milan, wearing the number 27 shirt.

He made his Inter debut as a starter in the 1–0 away win against Chievo on 6 January.

His first two games for the Nerazzurri resulted in him contributing to both winners — setting up Mario Balotelli against Chievo and setting up Walter Samuel to score a last minute winner against Siena.

He opened his scoring account in his third appearance for the club, pulling a goal back for Inter in an eventual 2–2 draw at Bari.

Pandev was the main protagonist in the 2–0 victory over local rivals Milan as he first assisted Diego Milito with an overhead cross and scored a curling freekick to complete the win.

He continued with his solid performances throughout the season, being an important player in Inter's winning of the first treble in the history of Italian football.

Inter won their fifth consecutive Serie A title by defeating Siena in the final match, and also defeated Roma at Stadio Olimpico to win the Coppa Italia.

On 22 May 2010, Inter won the UEFA Champions League in the final against Bayern Munich, with Pandev playing for 79 minutes and becoming the third Macedonian football player in history to ever win this championship.

He began the new season on 21 August by winning the 2010 Supercoppa Italiana under Rafael Benítez, scoring the equalizer versus Roma in an eventual 3–1 home win for the first silverware of the season.

Six days later, he made an appearance as substitute as Inter lost the 2010 UEFA Super Cup to Atlético Madrid.