Branislav Ivanovic

Branislav Ivanovic | Serbia & Chelsea Superstar

Branislav Ivanovic was an important part of the Serbia squad that finished runners-up at the 2007 edition of the UEFA u-21 Championship in the Netherlands. Branislav Ivanovic and Serbia went all the way to the final but the hosts had too much quality for them as they lost 4-1 to finish the tournament in second place.

In the final, Branislav Ivanovic played the entire duration and was given a yellow card for his troubles on 62 minutes. The home team led by a lone goal at the end of the first 45 minutes thanks to the 17th minute strike from Otman Bakkal. The Netherlands then scored two goals in seven second minutes courtesy Ryan Babel and Maceo Rigters.

Serbian defender BranislavIvanovic spent almost a decade as a Chelsea player, but he didn't win more than one FA Community Shield. His only Community Shield win came in 2009 following the penalty shootout win over rivals Manchester United.

The 2009 FA Community Shield was the first trophy under the Carlo Ancelotti era at Stamford Bridge. Italian tactician Ancelotti was appointed as the new Blues manager in the summer of 2009 and he went on to win three trophies in his debut season as the Chelsea manager. Apart from the Community Shield, Ancelotti also won the FA Cup and Premier League titles.

Serbian defender BranislavIvanovic represented two teams in the Premier League and he made a total of over 250 appearances. BranislavIvanovic has a return of 22 goals and 20 assists in 274 Premier League matches. The ex-Zenit St. Petersburg and Lokomotiv Moscow utility player featured for West London giants Chelsea and Midlands club West Bromin the Premier League.

Ivanovic, 37, has an impressive record of 88 clean sheets in those 274 games. He has three Premier League titles to his name with all of them coming while the Serbian was at Chelsea.

BranislavIvanovic became a Premier League winner for the first time as part of the Chelsea squad under Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti during the 2009/10 season. He scored one in 28 appearances on the way to winning the league.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has challenged Andreas Christensen to become a legend of defence at Stamford Bridge amidst his ongoing contract standoff. His manager told him to extend his Chelsea stay to become a legend of defence like John Terry, BranislavIvanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta.

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Serbian international Branislav Ivanovicspent over three years at Russian Premier League giants Zenit St. Petersburg following his move from English club Chelsea. The veteran defender had a hugely successful career at Stamford Bridge including the winner in the 2013 Europa League final. Branislav Ivanovic scored the winning goal as Chelsea beat Portuguese giants Benfica 2-1 in the final to win the Europa League title at the end of the 2012/13 campaign.

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Utility defender BranislavIvanovicdidn't win any major trophy during his national team career with Serbia. However, it must be pointed out that he was very close to winning a trophy with the u-21 team on two occasions. BranislavIvanovic was part of the Serbia and Montenegro that finished second at the 2004 UEFA European u-21 Championship in Germany. Ivanovic saw red on the stroke of fulltime as Italy beat his team 3-0 in the final to win the tournament. The Italians scored a first half goal through Daniele De Rossi before Cesare Bovo and Alberto Gilardino added a second and third Italian goal respectively to make it a dominant win.

BranislavIvanovic followed in the footsteps of his father by becoming a professional footballer in Serbia. He started his career at FK Srem before joining OFK Beograd in December 2003.

OFK Beograd was in the Serbian top flight by the time BranislavIvanovic joined them and he was a part of the team that punched above their weight for several seasons. Ivanovic and OFK Beograd performed beyond expectations and they even reached the last four of the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup against all odds. They were not one of the teams expected to make the final stages of the competition.

Although not all of West Brom's fans will be happy with the fact that Branislav Ivanovic could be playing for them next season, it looks as though the defender is getting prepared to head into the new season as a charged-up player. Ivanovic was not a top performer for West Brom last season and fans began to call for his head as a result. Many of them asked the club to sell him as they no longer want to see him play for the club again. However, it looks like they will have to endure watching him for another season after the former Chelsea man revealed that he is already working towards having a bright start to the next season.

Although not all of West Brom's fans will be happy with the fact that Branislav Ivanovic could be playing for them next season, it looks as though the defender is getting prepared to head into the new season as a charged-up player. Ivanovic was not a top performer for West Brom last season and fans began to call for his head as a result. Many of them asked the club to sell him as they no longer want to see him play for the club again. However, it looks like they will have to endure watching him for another season after the former Chelsea man revealed that he is already working towards having a bright start to the next season.

The reports that were linking Branislav Ivanovic away from West Bromwich Albion have all cooled down and according to the recent reports, he could well be staying at the Hawthorns next season. Former Chelsea and Serbia international defender Ivanovic is one of the names that have been earmarked for a potential departure from West Brom and has been asked to be sold by the club's fans following his poor and underwhelming performances last season where he failed to establish himself as a key payer at the club following his transfer back to the Premier League.