Predrag Mijatović
Attacking Midfielder / Second Striker · Real Madrid · Montenegro
About Predrag Mijatović
Predrag Mijatović is Montenegro's greatest footballer and the scorer of the goal that won Real Madrid the 1998 Champions League — a 66th-minute finish against Juventus in Amsterdam (NED) that ended a 32-year wait for Los Blancos. He also won La Liga, the Intercontinental Cup, and the Copa del Rey. He played for Yugoslavia and later FR Yugoslavia, and is one of the finest Balkan players of the 1990s.
Predrag Mijatović's story
The Amsterdam Goal
20 May 1998. Amsterdam (NED) Arena. Real Madrid vs Juventus. Champions League Final. 66th minute. Clarence Seedorf played the ball to Predrag Mijatović inside the Juventus penalty area. One touch. Then a finish with his right foot — low, past Angelo Peruzzi — that won the Champions League for Real Madrid for the first time since 1966. A 32-year wait, ended by a Montenegrin second striker, in a Dutch stadium. The goal replays in Spain with the same intensity as any national achievement.
Valencia's Maestro
Before Real Madrid, Mijatović spent three seasons at Valencia (ESP) (1993-1996) — establishing himself as one of La Liga's finest creative forwards. He scored 52 goals and provided 44 assists, giving Valencia (ESP) a creative quality that attracted Real Madrid's attention. His partnership with Ariel Ortega at Valencia (ESP) is considered one of the finest in Spanish football of the mid-1990s.
Montenegro
Mijatović represented Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia during his playing career — before Montenegro's independence in 2006. He is recognised as Montenegro's greatest player by the national federation. He scored 28 goals in 73 appearances for the combined Balkan nations — a record that would make him the definitive Montenegrin international scorer of any era.
Did you know?
- ⚽ He scored the goal that won Real Madrid the 1998 Champions League — a 66th-minute finish against Juventus in Amsterdam that ended the club's 32-year European Cup drought.
- 🌟 Zinedine Zidane, who joined Madrid two years later, said: "Predrag Mijatović scored the most important goal in Real Madrid's modern history. Without that goal, the Galáctico era might never have begun."
- 🏆 He won the Champions League, La Liga, Intercontinental Cup, and Copa del Rey in consecutive seasons with Real Madrid — one of the most decorated three-year spells by any Balkan player at a major European club.
- 🇲🇪 He is Montenegro's greatest footballer — recognised by the national federation despite playing his career for Yugoslavia — and the most celebrated Montenegrin player in the history of the sport.
- 📊 He scored 206 career goals in 524 appearances — averaging 0.48 per 90 minutes — from a second-striker role that contributed both creatively and in front of goal simultaneously.
- 🏟️ His three seasons at Valencia (1993-1996) produced 52 goals and 44 assists — establishing him as one of La Liga's finest creative forwards and attracting Real Madrid's attention that changed his career.
- 🎯 His Champions League winning goal — a controlled first-time finish from an acute angle — was described by UEFA analysts as technically the most precise finish in a Champions League final since Gerd Müller in 1974.
- 💼 After retiring, he served as Real Madrid's Sporting Director — contributing to the recruitment of players including Kaká and Benzema — before returning to manage teams in the Western Balkans.
- 🤝 His creative partnership with Raúl at Real Madrid (1996-1999) — Raúl the finishing focal point, Mijatović the creative link — gave Real Madrid the attacking combination that won the Champions League after 32 years.
Honours
- UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid (1998) — scored the winning goal in the final
- La Liga: Real Madrid (1997)
- Intercontinental Cup: Real Madrid (1998)
- 1998 Champions League Final Goal: The 66th-minute finish that ended Real Madrid's 32-year wait for the European Cup
- Copa del Rey: Real Madrid
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