Dejan Stanković
Dejan "Deki" Stanković (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Станковић, Serbian pronunciation: [dɛ̂jan stǎːŋkɔʋit͡ɕ], born 11 September 1978) is a former Serbian footballer, who is currently the assistant coach of Inter. He captained the Serbian national football team until 2011, when he announced his retirement from international football. He played as an attacking midfielder, who could also play out wide on the wings, or track back in a defensive midfield role. A tenacious and hard-working player, "Deki", as he is nicknamed, was best known for his efficient, accurate passing, versatility and creativity, as well as his ability to score goals from long distance; he was also effective in the air, and known for his influence on the pitch. Stanković began his career at Red Star Belgrade, before joining Lazio in 1998. He spent more than five years with the latter club before joining Inter.
On 13 June 2010, Stanković became the first player to have represented three different national teams in the FIFA World Cup: FR Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.
Stanković grew up in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade. Both of his parents, Borislav and Dragica, have strong football backgrounds.
