[themaclad]

GROUND



MANAGER

VELJKO PAUNOVIC

Veljko Paunović (Serbian Cyrillic: Вељко Пауновић, pronounced [ʋěːʎko paǔ:noʋitɕ]; born 21 August 1977) is a Serbian football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of EFL Championship club Reading.

A versatile attacking unit, he could operate as an attacking midfielder or a striker, and spent most of his professional career in Spain where he represented eight clubs,[2] amassing La Liga totals of 212 matches and 38 goals over 11 seasons and having several spells with Atlético Madrid.

Other than in his own country, Paunović also played professionally in Germany, Russia and the United States.
Coaching career
Serbia NT
Paunović earned a UEFA PRO coaching licence and a sporting director degree from the Royal Spanish Football Federation. For nine months, he was a UEFA Champions League analyst for RTVE in Spain.[19]

Paunović began working as a manager with the Serbian national team, being of charge of their under-18, under-19 and under-20 sides. While with the latter, he won the 2015 FIFA World Cup.[20]

Chicago Fire

Paunović at a U.S. Open Cup match away to Cincinnati in 2017
On 24 November 2015, Paunović was appointed head coach of Chicago Fire FC in Major League Soccer.[21] He led the team to the playoffs in 2017, which happened for the first time in five years.[19] In the same year, he coached in the All-Star Game against Real Madrid.[22]

Paunović also reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Open Cup in 2016 and 2018.[23][24] He and the Fire parted ways on 13 November 2019.[25]

Reading
Paunović replaced Mark Bowen as manager of Reading on 29 August 2020.[26] On his EFL Championship debut on 12 September, the team won 2–0 at Derby County.[27] The Royals missed out on a playoff place with two games remaining, after a 2–2 draw against Swansea City at the Madejski Stadium.[28]

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