Daniel MajstoroviÃÂ (born 5 April 1977) is a Swedish former footballer who played as a centre back.
He started his career with IF Brommapojkarna in his native Sweden. After a year with the club, he moved to German side SC Fortuna Köln in 1997, subsequently moving back to Sweden just a year later when he signed for VästerÃÂ¥s SK. His form then earned him a move to Malmö FF, where he won his first trophy, the 2004 Allsvenskan, and his first international call-up for the Sweden national team in 2003.
In 2004, he moved to Dutch Eredivisie club FC Twente for a fee of â¬800,000, and after one season he signed for Swiss Super League side FC Basel for â¬1.3 million. He won the double of league and cup in the 2007âÂÂ08 season. He scored 11 goals in the double-winning season, and finished as the club's second top goalscorer. In 2008, then he moved to Super League Greece side AEK Athens on a free transfer. He was released in 2010 due to financial problems at the club and was then signed by Scottish Premier League team Celtic. In Scotland, he won the 2010âÂÂ11 Scottish Cup and 2011âÂÂ12 Scottish Premier League.
Before starting his football career, Majstoroviàplayed at the youth level at ÃÂvergrans IF and HÃÂ¥bo FF. He began his professional career with IF Brommapojkarna in 1995, playing 20 games in his debut season. The next year, he only played 14 games and scored once but was still spotted German side Fortuna Köln, who secured his signature in 1997. On 15 February 1998, Majstoroviàmade his debut for the club in a 2âÂÂ2 draw against KFC Uerdingen 05. Since making his debut, Majstoroviàwas a first-team regular, scoring his first goal for the club on 14 March 1998 in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against FC St. Pauli, his only goal in German professional football.
Majstoroviàdid not play many more games in Germany, where in his second year he made just seven, scoring one goal. He then returned to Sweden the following year, signing with VästerÃÂ¥s SK. The club was in the pre-season from the Allsvenskan gone and missed with a third party as a table Majstoroviàjust the direct re-emergence. The following year was only a midfield place after all of the qualifications for the new single-track second division meant. He became a fans' favourite at VästerÃÂ¥s and was watched by scouts from the Sweden national team and Malmö FF.
MajstoroviÃÂ's good performances for VästerÃÂ¥s earned him a move to Swedish club Malmö FFâÂÂjust promoted to AllsvenskanâÂÂwhere he rose to become a cult hero. There were also economic reasons behind MajstoroviÃÂ's transfer to the clubâÂÂVästerÃÂ¥s were in deep economic trouble and in risk of relegation. Malmö FF would lose six points in the league if this happened and thus made a bid to save the club and purchase a quality player simultaneously. At the club, the emergence of young talent Zlatan Ibrahimoviàled to the return to Allsvenskan in 2001.
With the club, Majstoroviàcould lay down in front of the table with 18 games of the season and he carried in his 2004 season with the championship title for the first time in 15 years. That same year he was elected by the opponents in the league at the worst possible opponent. Majstoroviàspent four years at Malmö, playing 86 games and scoring nine goals. He then sought a bigger challenge and a better league to play in so he could earn more international caps.
Majstoroviàmoved to Dutch club FC Twente in 2004 for â¬800,000, with whom he played 50 games, accompanied by four goals. His most notable moment with the club was when they won the UEFA Intertoto Cup 2006. Although he played well at Twente, his time there was shrouded in controversy â in March 2005, he was cleared of a seven-game Eredivisie ban for allegedly elbowing FC Groningen forward Martin Drent and in December of the same year he was involved in a training ground confrontation with team-mate Blaise Nkufo. A week later, Majstoroviàlater came too late for training and he was released because of this lack of discipline by the club.
In January 2006, Majstoroviàsigned for reigning Swiss champions FC Basel for a reported â¬3.3 million, despite interest from Ajax, PSV, and Newcastle United. He joined Basel's first team during their 2005âÂÂ06 season under head coach Christian Gross. After playing in two test games Majstoroviàplayed his domestic league debut for his new club in the away game in the Hardturm on 12 February 2006 as Basel played a 1âÂÂ1 draw with Zürich. He scored his first league goal for his new team one week later on 19 February in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park as Basel drew 1âÂÂ1 with Schaffhausen.
During the autumn, Basel had qualified themselves for the knock-out stage of the 2005âÂÂ06 UEFA Cup. In the round of 32 Basel were drawn against Monaco, Basel won the first leg 1-0 and in the second leg Majstoroviàscored the equaliser in the 1âÂÂ1 draw. In the round of 16 Basel advanced to the quarter-finals beating Strasbourgh 4âÂÂ2 on aggregate. In the quarter-final Basel won the first leg 2âÂÂ0 against Middlesbrough. Majstoroviàwas sent off during the second leg at the Riverside Stadium while Basel were leading still leading on the away goals rule. Middlesbrough went on to win the match 4âÂÂ1 with a last minute goal, therefore the tie 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate, and many of the Basel supporters held Majstoroviàpartly responsible.
Basel had started well into the 2005âÂÂ06 Super League season and led the championship right until the last day of the league campaign. On the closing day of the league season, Basel played a finalissima at home against Zürich. Mladen Petriàhad scored the equaliser for FCB after FCZ had taken an early lead. But then a 93rd-minute goal from Zürich's Iulian Filipescu meant the final score was 1âÂÂ2 in favour of the away team and it gave FCZ their first national championship since 1980âÂÂ81. The title for Basel was lost on goal difference. Majstoroviàhad played in all 18 league games since he joined the club, scoring five league goals. The last-minute loss of the Championship and the subsequent riots, the so-called Basel Hooligan Incident, meant that the club would suffer consequences.
FC Basel's European campaign started in the first qualifying stage of the 2006âÂÂ07 UEFA Cup, here they beat Kazakhi side FC Tobol 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate. In the second qualifying round they were drawn against FC Vaduz from Liechtenstein, narrowly progressing on the away goals rule after a 2âÂÂ2 aggregate draw. In the first round Basel won 7âÂÂ2 on aggregate against FK RabotniÃÂki to qualified for the group stage. Here Basel played their first match at home against Feyenoord, this ended in a 1âÂÂ1 draw. Their second was away and FCB lost 3âÂÂ0 against Blackburn Rovers. At home against AS Nancy the match was drawn 2âÂÂ2 and the final game ended with a 3âÂÂ1 defeat against Wisà Âa Kraków. Basel ended the group stage in last position in the table and were eliminated. Majstoroviàplayed in nine of these ten matches, scoring twice. At the end of the 2006âÂÂ07 Super League season Basel were runners-up, one point behind championship winners Zürich. Majstoroviàplayed in 35 of these 36 matches, scoring eight times. In the 2006âÂÂ07 Swiss Cup Basel advanced to the final, beating FC Liestal in the first round, Lugano, FC Baulmes, Aarau and Wil in the semi-final. In the final they played Luzern and won this 1âÂÂ0 thanks to a penalty goal, scored by MajstoroviÃÂ, in the third minute of added time. Majstoroviàhad played in all six of these games.
Basel played in the 2007âÂÂ08 UEFA Cup. Winning both matches in the qualification round and both matches in the play-off round, they team advanced to the group stage, which they ended undefeated in second position, after playing 1âÂÂ0 at home against Stade Rennes, 0âÂÂ0 away against Dinamo Zagreb, 1âÂÂ0 at home against Brann and 1âÂÂ1 away against Hamburger SV, to continue the knockout stage. But then they were eliminated here by Sporting CP. Majstoroviàplayed in all ten of these games. At the end of their 2007âÂÂ08 season he won the Double with the club. They won the League Championship title with four points advantage over second placed Young Boys. In the Swiss Cup via FC Léchelles, SC Binningen, Grasshopper Club, Stade Nyonnais and in the semi-final Thun, Basel advanced to the final this season as well, and winning this 4âÂÂ1 against AC Bellinzona they won the competition.
Majstoroviàwas also vice-captain and led the team out whenever Ivan Ergiàwas not playing. Majstoroviàhad an excellent scoring record at Basel. He regularly lingered in the opposition's penalty area when attacking corners and due to his great heading ability, he often converted high balls into the back of the net. He was also a spot-kick specialist. At the end of the 2007âÂÂ08 season, he was Basel's second top goal-scorer with 10 goals, behind 12-goal Marco Streller. The explanation for his many goals is because during his time with Basel, Majstoroviàwas the club's first choice penalty taker. On 19 May 2008 the UEFA announced that AEK Athens had signed the Swedish international Majstoroviàfrom FC Basel 1893 and that the central defender had signed on a three-year contract.
During his time with the club, MajstoroviÃÂ had played a total of 142 games for Basel scoring a total of 32 goals. 85 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, 10 in the Swiss Cup, 25 in the UEFA Cup and 22 were friendly games. He scored 23 goals in the domestic league, four in the cup, three in the European games and the other two were scored during the test games.
On 19 May 2008, Majstoroviàsigned a three-year contract with Greek club AEK Athens, having turned down an offer from Lazio. He played his first competitive match for AEK on 14 August 2008, in a 1âÂÂ0 defeat to Cypriot side AC Omonia at the Olympic Stadium in a UEFA Cup qualifying match. MajstoroviÃÂ's first goal for AEK was against Asteras Tripolis. He scored again against Asteras Tripolis giving the win to his team on 22 February 2009. He co-operated in the defence with the Greek international defender Sotiris Kyrgiakos, and Geraldo Alves. Majstoroviàscored his third goal for AEK in the Greek Cup semi-finals against Panserraikos on 18 March 2009. Majstoroviàscored the winning goal against Benfica in the Europa League on 1 October 2009.
On 16 August 2010, Majstoroviàsigned a two-year deal with Scottish Premier League club Celtic on a free transfer. Majstoroviàmade his Celtic debut in the Europa League match against Dutch side FC Utrecht on 19 August 2010 in a 2âÂÂ0 victory and his SPL debut three days later in a 4âÂÂ0 win at home against St Mirren. Majstoroviàcaptained the side to a 2âÂÂ1 victory over Kilmarnock when captain Scott Brown went off injured, captained the side again three days later against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in a League Cup tie which ended in a 6âÂÂ0 win for Celtic. Majstoroviàscored his first goal for Celtic on 9 January 2011 in a 2âÂÂ0 Scottish Cup win against Third Division side Berwick Rangers. He scored his first league goal for Celtic in a 3âÂÂ1 win over Dundee United on 13 February 2011 at Tannadice. Majstoroviàplayed the full 90 minutes, picking up a yellow card, as Celtic won 3âÂÂ0 against Motherwell in the 2011 Scottish Cup Final.
On 18 December 2011, Majstoroviàsuffered a fractured cheekbone after a collision with St Johnstone midfielder David Robertson. After nearly eight weeks out injured, he returned to the first team on 8 February 2012, playing 27 minutes in a 4âÂÂ0 win over Hearts. On 28 February 2012, Majstoroviàwas ruled out for the remainder of the Scottish Premier League, due to rupturing his cruciate ligament after colliding with Zlatan Ibrahimoviàand Anders Svensson in training. The injury threw MajstoroviÃÂ's Celtic career into jeopardy as his contract is set to run out at the end of the 2011âÂÂ12 campaign.
After a lot of speculation he decided not to extend his contract with the Glasgow club.
On 15 May 2012, it was confirmed that MajstoroviÃÂ was leaving Celtic to join Allsvenskan outfit AIK in August 2012, signing a -year deal at the Swedish club. He parted ways with them on mutual consent, 6 January 2014.
On 4 February 2014, Majstorovic announced his retirement as a player and stated that he intended to become an agent.
Majstoroviàwas selected for the Sweden squad after turning in good performances for Malmö in the UEFA Cup and Swedish Allsvenskan. He made his international debut in the 3âÂÂ2 King's Cup win against Qatar and scored in his second match against Thailand in a 4âÂÂ1 victory. Majstoroviàwas on stand-by for Euro 2004 in Portugal and the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
He made substitute appearances against Iceland in ReykjavÃÂk and Northern Ireland in Belfast during the Euro 2008 qualifiers, as well as starting against Liechtenstein in Vaduz and Latvia in Solna. MajstoroviÃÂ was finally called into the squad for a major tournament, taking part at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Sweden failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but qualified as best runner-up for UEFA Euro 2012. In scoring an own goal against England in November 2011, he became the goalscorer of the 2000th goal in England's history. While preparing for a friendly match against Croatia in Zagreb on 28 February 2012, MajstoroviÃÂ ruptured a cruciate ligament, which prevented him from playing in Euro 2012.
Majstoroviàis a father of three; he has a son, Antonio, and two daughters, Danielle and Celine. He has appeared in Swedish sport documentaries Malmö FF â Allsvenskan 2004 and Vägen tillbaka â BlÃÂ¥dÃÂ¥rar 2. He speaks seven different languages: Serbian, Danish, Dutch, English, Norwegian, German, Greek and his native Swedish. He is of Serb descent.
Malmö
Basel
Celtic
Individual