Radovan Pankov (; born 5 August 1995) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Polish club Legia Warsaw.
As a youth player, Pankov developed under the supervision of Vojvodina youth coach Milan KosanoviÃÂ. He was a member of one of the most talented generations in Vojvodina's youth ranks, as his teammates at the time included Sergej MilinkoviÃÂ-SaviÃÂ, Mijat GaÃÂinoviÃÂ, SrÃÂan BabiÃÂ, Nebojà ¡a KosoviÃÂ, Emil Rockov, and Milan Spremo. He emphasized that Spremo was "by far the greatest talent of that generation".
Pankov made his professional debut for Vojvodina on 10 May 2014 in 1-0 home loss to Jagodina. In the summer of 2015, Pankov participated in Vojvodina's 2015âÂÂ16 UEFA Europa League qualifying campaign. On 30 July 2015, he played in a historic 0-4 away win against Sampdoria in the first leg of the third qualifying round for the Europa League. In an interview with Mozzart Sport in August 2019, Pankov claimed that the best striker he ever played against was Luis Muriel from the 2015 Europa League duel with Sampdoria. The first leg win against Sampdoria ultimately helped Vojvodina make the play-off against Viktoria Plzeà Â, after which Vojvodina was eliminated.
On 23 May 2016, Pankov signed a long-term contract with Russian side Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast. He was the second player from Vojvodina to join Ural that spring, after Dominik Dinga. Shortly after joining Ural, he suffered an adductor injury.
On 30 June 2017, Pankov signed a one-season loan deal with Cypriot side AEK Larnaca.
On 20 June 2018, Pankov signed a three-year contract with Serbian club RadniÃÂki Nià ¡. He played as a starter under coach Nenad LalatoviÃÂ, and RadniÃÂki Nià ¡ went on to finish second overall in the 2018âÂÂ19 Serbian SuperLiga. He was named by Zajednica Super lige among the best eleven players in the entire league that season.
On 31 May 2019, Pankov signed a three-year contract with Red Star Belgrade. On 13 August 2019, he played a memorable match in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the 2019âÂÂ20 UEFA Champions League against Copenhagen. He marked Dame N'Doye throughout the match and scored the winning penalty in a penalty shoot-out after overtime. Second round of the 2022-23 season he spend on loan in FK ÃÂukariÃÂki.
On 13 June 2023, Pankov signed a three-year contract with Polish Ekstraklasa club Legia Warsaw. On 5 October 2023, Radovan Pankov was arrested by Dutch police alongside teammate Josué Pesqueira after an altercation with security staff following a match against AZ Alkmaar in the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League. They were released the following day. On 29 November, a spokesperson of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security confirmed that Public Prosecution Service would be prosecuting Pankov for (attempted) serious assault of a member of AZ's security staff. On 15 December 2023, UEFA charged AZ with a â¬40,000 fine for failing to provide security for the Polish side.However, in June 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the decision, ruling that AZ was not responsible for the incidents and had taken all reasonable measures together with the police to ensure a safe match. As a result, the club no longer has to pay the fine.
On 15 August 2024, he contributed significantly to Legia Warsaw's advancement from the third qualifying round to the play-off stage of the UEFA Conference League, as they faced Norwegian club Brøndby. He equalized with a header to make it 1âÂÂ1, which resulted in an aggregate score of 4âÂÂ3, thereby ensuring the club's progression in the competition.
Pankov was selected by coach Veljko PaunoviÃÂ to Serbia's squad for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which Serbia ended up winning.
Pankov's mother hailed from Herzegovina. His father, Miloà ¡ Pankov, was originally from Tovarià ¡evo and played as a playmaker for Proleter Zrenjanin in Yugoslavia's third tier. At one point he was a teammate with Darko KovaÃÂeviÃÂ. He was killed in a car accident when Pankov was 11 years old.
AEK Larnaca
Red Star Belgrade
Legia Warsaw
Serbia U20
Individual