From Atléticopedia
Mateja Kežman Personal information Full name Mateja Kežman Date of birth April 12, 1979 Place of birth Belgrade, Serbia Height 180 cm Weight 74 kg Nickname Keža, Batman Club information Current club Fenerbahçe SK Position Striker Number 9 Youth clubs Professional clubs* 1997 - 1998
1998 - 2000
2000 - 2004
2004 - 2005
2005 - 2006
2006 - present Sartid
FK Partizan
PSV Eindhoven
Chelsea
Atletico de Madrid
Fenerbahçe SK 17 (9)
60 (34)
122 (105)
25 (4)
30 (8)
6 (3) National team 2000 - 2003
2003 - 2006
2006 - present Yugoslavia
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia 49 (17) * Professional club appearances and (goals)
counted for the domestic league only.
Mateja Kežman (Serbian Cyrillic: Маtеја Кежман) (born 12 April 1979 in Zemun, Yugoslavia) is a Serbian footballer, playing predominantly as a striker. He made his name at FK Partizan in his homeland and marked his international debut for FR Yugoslavia against China in May 2000 where he opened the scoring. Kežman currently plays for Turkish side Fenerbahçe.
Player profile
Mateja Kežman began his career in his homeland Serbia, first with lower-league clubs and then in the first division with Sartid from Smederevo. He continued his rise to the big time with a move to Partizan Belgrade, where he came to the attention of Europe’s footballing elite. So, Mateja made his name as a predatory goalscorer with Partizan Belgrade and opened the scoring on his international debut for Serbia and Montenegro against China in May 2000. After that he became essential for his national team, scoring on the average in every third game (17 in 49 matches).
However, in 2000, the international language of goals brought him to the Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven; a force to be reckoned within the Eredivisie and beyond. Here, over four seasons, the striker became a veritable goal machine, also proving himself in European competition. The first year he moved, he justified the large investment (10.500.000 €) of the Dutch, and became the top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie, scoring incredible 24 goals from just 33 games in his first season.
While at PSV, Kežman also became extremely close with the liking, and picked up the nickname “Batman” - the famous theme song was played at the Philips Stadium everytime he scored! What a support!
That tune was heard plenty of times as he proceeded to score 81 goals over the following three seasons with PSV (105 goals in 122 league matches + other competitions), before finally moving to Chelsea for £5,3 million in the summer of 2004. where he had an one-year spell before being lured to Spain’s La Liga by Atletico Madrid. There was a great deal of expectation surrounding the forward's arrival at Chelsea, especially after a good pre-season, but he never quite clicked with the Blues.
Despite being part of the Blues' Premiership-winning squad, Kežman struggled in England, often finding it hard to hold down a spot in the side given coach Jose Mourinho's preference for playing one striker, preferably a “big man”. He mainly played as a substitute in the last minutes of the game, and scored only 7 goals in all competitions. That was extremely frustrating, and the main reason why he is still struggling for self-confidence for club football to be back on track, and in height of his scoring fame.
After crossing to the great club of Madrid, Kežman openned his list of goals with a strike for Atletico’s first Liga victory against Barcelona. Everybody was crying for more. But soon after Kežman suffered a bad injury of his right knee, and the club was already in deep psychological crisis led by Carlos Bianchi. Sacrifying himself for the club’s sake, he worked hard to recover and get back to the pitch twice faster then the doctors have predicted. He has, however, shown signs of being back on track at Atletico and has produced some fine performances for his national side. Speaking of qualificatons for the 2006. FIFA World Cup, of the five goals he scored in his seven appearances, the one against Spain at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid was particularly memorable, as was the decisive goal against Bosnia-Herzegovina in his side’s final group game. That strike officially sealed Serbia and Montenegro's place at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™.
Mateja Kežman is reserved and uncomfortable in the limelight, a family man who has not forgotten his roots. He is married with Emilia, and has three children. He is a man of faith too, and a true believer. Every time he scores, he praises the Lord, reminding that his talent is a gift from above.
Mateja Kežman is a player who lives for goals. A poacher supreme, he is always ready to pounce on the slightest mistake by the opposition defence.
Kežman is a winner and a big-game player, particularly in a supportive atmosphere. He thinks only to win, and can’t stand when his team-mates surrender without a true fight. Those are the moments when you can see his temper. His experience marks him out as a veteran, but he is still only 27 years old and will continue to improve. His main qualities are pace, opportunistic instincts and the ability to drop off and find space in deep areas. He is not a great technician, but when he gets the ball in the area, he is a master in finding it’s way to the net.
His motto is: “The ball is rounded, so everything is possible.”
He has come to Spain’s capital with big expectations, and with great desire to manage great things with Atletico de Madrid…
In August of 2006, Mateja was transferred to Turkish side Fenerbahçe SK.
His potential of 177 goals in 303 league and national team matches (without other competitions) speaks for itself. Some of that potential can be seen by visiting some of the following web links.
Web links
Serbia and Montenegro international, Mateja Kežman, will sign a three year contract with Fenerbahçe today. The striker spent an unsuccessful season with Chelsea and all three parties have agreed to this 7 million Euro transfer.

Kežman started his career in Serbia and Montenegro, where he became popular while playing for Partizan, Belgrade. He was bought by the Dutch team PSV, where he was a prolific striker, setting a record number of goals per season. His year in Chelsea was not as successful, as he mostly started games as a substitute and managed to score only seven goals in official games.

Other teams that demonstrated an interest in Kežman this summer included Sevilla, Olympique de Marseille and Schalke 04.

Kežman led Serbia and Montenegro's scoring during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifications with 5 goals, including the only goal in the final game against Bosnia and Herzegovina which in turn allowed Serbia and Montenegro to qualify directly, having come first in their group.  He has managed 16 goals in 45 caps for Serbia and Montenegro, as of December 2005.

He failed to make an impact with the London club, and only started 14 games for Chelsea, leaving for Atlético de Madrid after just one season.  Despite his disappointing year, Chelsea made a transfer profit on the player. After a short spell in Madrid, Fenerbahçe SK trusted in "Batman" and signed him to a three year contract in August 2006. The management and fans knew he was a risky transfer, especially considering he was to fill the void of departed superstar Nicolas Anelka. The management's faith seemed to pull through as Kežman quickly found his PSV-form back again and scored in consecutive matches early into the season. Kežman scored 3 crucial goals in his first 3 matches (2 were Game-winning and 1 was Game-tying). All three were beautiful strikes and won weekly honours.