Veljiko Paunovic is an icon in Soccer. He is currently the manager of Chicago Fire, a leading team in the Major Soccer Organization. He became the manager and the head coach in Nov 2015, a contract that runs up to Dec 2020. Veljiko was born in 1977 in what is currently called North Macedonia in Strumica and is a dual citizen of Serbia and Spain.
During his childhood, Veljiko Paunovic mainly used to play as a striker or an attacking midfielder. He spent much of his football career in Spain, where he played for eight different football soccer clubs. Veljiko has managed to score 38 goals within 11 season, an incredible achievement that he can be proud of. Apart from spending more career in Spain, Veljiko also participated in many games in Germany, Russia, and the United States as an expert.
Veljiko Paunovic got to the climax of his career from 2002 to 2003. By then, he was part of the CD Tenerife team in the Segunda Division. Veljiko had 38 different appearances and netted eighteen times in the same year. Despite the achievement, they were at the 8th position on the insular side.
Paunovic then went back to Hannover 96 Germany for a short stay and returned to Atletico. In 2005-2006, Veljiko joined Getafe FC. It was at this particular juncture that he participated in La Liga for 30 leagues and managed to score ten goals. Through his incredible success, Madrid scoped 9th rank. In 2006, Veljiko was lucky to get a Spanish passport.
In 2007, Rubin Kazan FC signed Veljiko Paunovic. One year later, he relocated to sign 2.5 years contract with the UD Almeria. In 2008, Velijiko went back to Partizan and signed a two-year contract. Despite his great success with this team, Veljiko chose to retire from Soccer in December the same year.
Even after his decision to retire, Veljiko Paunovic played for a while with the New York Red Bulls in 2009, and in 2011, he joined the Philadelphia Union. Paunovic decided to initiate his decision about retirement from the game in 2012. Among his achievements is the UEFA PRO license to coach. He also has a degree in Sporting Director. After retire, Veljiko started a new job with TVE based in Spain as an analyst for the UEFA Championship League.
Velijiko Paunovic then began a new career with the Serbian National Team as a manager. He acquired great success and the 2015 FIFA World Cup Award. As the Manager of Chicago Fire, Paunovic managed to get the team to the AUDI MSL Cup Playoffs.
On a personal ground, Veljiko Paunovic is a family man married to a wife and has four children. Having lived and associated with people from different parts of the world, Paunovic has learned different languages. He is multilingual and can fluently speak six different languages. The list includes Serbian, Spanish, English, Russian, German, and Macedonian.
Veljiko Paunovic is and inspiration to many football enthusiasts. When he ventured into his career, he had many problems and hardships such as lack of food and walking for hours to his practice. His father, Blagoje, also used to play Soccer.
