Branko Ilic

Branko Ilic (born 6 February 1983) is a Slovenian former footballer. Usually a right-back, he also played as a central defender.

In his country, he appeared for Olimpija Ljubljana (two spells), Grosuplje, and Domzale (two stints). He also competed professionally in Spain, Russia, Cyprus, Israel, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Japan and Denmark.

A Slovenian international between 2004 and 2015, Ilic was part of the squad at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Club Career

Born in Ljubljana, Socialist Republic of Slovenia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Ilic started his career at local NK Olimpija, where he made his senior debut in 2003 against FC Koper. He joined NK Domzale in January 2005, after his former club went bankrupt.

Ilic was loaned to Real Betis in January 2007, becoming the first Slovenian to play for them. His first official appearance came against city rivals Sevilla FC, in a Copa del Rey quarter-final clash. On 4 February he first appeared in La Liga, providing the assist for Robert's goal in a 2–1 away win at Athletic Bilbao.

After a positive spell, the Andalusian side completed the transfer for €1.5 million in the summer of 2007, but Ilic eventually fell out of rotation in 2008–09 after the signing of S.L. Benfica's Nelson, in a relegation-ending season where he only featured in three matches.

On 6 September 2009, FC Moscow signed Ilic on loan from Betis, for one year. In late January 2010, however, he was released by the latter, immediately joining another Moscow-based team, FC Lokomotiv.

On 13 August 2010, Sky Sports reported that Ilic was on trial in England with Premier League's Blackpool, but nothing came of it. On 5 June 2013, after one season in the Cypriot First Division with Anorthosis Famagusta FC, he and teammate Jurgen Colin signed two-year contracts with Hapoel Tel Aviv F.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Бранко Илич (russian)