Anto Drobnjak (Cyrillic: ÃÂýÃÂþ ÃÂÃÂþñÃÂðú; born 21 September 1968) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was one of two top scorers of the First League of Yugoslavia in 1993 when he played for Red Star Belgrade. Internationally, he played for FR Yugoslavia national team in the qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, although he was not selected to the country's squad for the final tournament.
Drobnjak joined BuduÃÂnost ahead of the 1987âÂÂ88 season. He made his professional debut under coach Stanko "à  paco" PoklepoviÃÂ, during a time when BuduÃÂnost fielded their most accomplished generation at the time; Drobnjak's teammates at BuduÃÂnost included Dragoje LekoviÃÂ, Branko BrnoviÃÂ, à ½eljko PetroviÃÂ, Predrag MijatoviÃÂ, and Dejan SaviÃÂeviÃÂ. Drobnjak later attributed his early development to "à  paco" PoklepoviÃÂ:
Drobnjak joined Red Star Belgrade ahead of the 1992âÂÂ93 season, after which he was the league's top scorer along with Vojvodina's Vesko MihajloviÃÂ. On 15 May 1993, he scored the winning goal in the final of the 1993 Yugoslav Cup, in which Red Star beat Partizan 1âÂÂ0. He was Red Star's top scorer in the 1993âÂÂ94 season along with teammate Ilija IviÃÂ, and was fifth highest goal scorer in the league that season.
Amidst international sanctions against Yugoslavia, Drobnjak asked Red Star's sports director Dragan Dà ¾ajiàif there was any opportunity could leave both the club and country. Dà ¾ajiàgot word of Bastia's search for a classic center forward, and after negotiations through Dà ¾ajiÃÂ, Drobnjak signed a three-year contract with Bastia in 1994. Under coach Frédéric Antonetti, he spent the following three seasons at the club, scoring 50 goals in 100 league games. On 3 May 1995, Drobnjak scored a goal in the 1995 Coupe de la Ligue Final against Paris Saint-Germain, although it was denied by the referee. He signed a new three-year contract with Bastia in 1996. At the end of the 1996âÂÂ97 season, Drobnjak was the sixth highest goal scorer in the league and Bastia finished in seventh overall. As a result, he received offers from Olympique de Marseille and Lens, but he ultimately chose Lens due to Bastia's bitter rivalry with Marseille.
In 1997, Drobnjak switched to fellow French club Lens, helping them win the league in his debut season under coach Daniel Leclercq. On 22 August 1997, Leclercq gave Drobnjak the green light to start against Olympique de Marseille in spite of a lingering back injury; Drobnjak went on to score a hat-trick in a 2âÂÂ3 away win for Lens. On 15 November 1997, he scored a hat-trick in a 5âÂÂ4 win against AS Cannes. He was the fourth highest goal scorer in the league that season.
He subsequently moved to Japan and played for Gamba Osaka. After a year, Drobnjak returned to France and joined Sochaux. He also spent one season at Martigues, before retiring in 2002.
Between 1996 and 1998, Drobnjak earned seven caps and scored three times for FR Yugoslavia. He made his debut on 6 October 1996 in a 8âÂÂ1 away win against Faroe Islands under coach Slobodan Santraàduring the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 24 February 1998, Drobnjak scored a goal in a 3âÂÂ1 friendly loss against Argentina at Estadio José MarÃÂa Minella. However, he was not selected to Yugoslavia's final squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Multiple newspapers at the time expressed surprise at Drobnjak's absence in Yugoslavia's squad at the 1998 World Cup. His final international was an April 1998 friendly match against South Korea.
Drobnjak served as assistant manager to Branko BrnoviÃÂ at Montenegro from 2011 to 2015.
Red Star Belgrade
Lens
Individual