Goran Pandev

Early career

Pandev was born in Strumica, SR Macedonia, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time, and began his football career with FK Belasica, the club with which he progressed through the youth academy. He only spent one season in the local Prva Liga, however, before being signed by Serie A giants Inter Milan in the summer of 2001 when he was just 18 years old. Inter loaned Pandev to feeder club Spezia in July 2002, where he was a regular in Serie C1. The following year, he was again sent on loan, this time to newly promoted Serie A club Ancona. During his time at Ancona, the team had the worst season of any club in Serie A history.

Lazio

In January 2004, Serbian player Dejan Stanković was signed by Inter from Lazio and Pandev was sent to the capital in exchange on a co-ownership deal, for a nominal fee of €500, but he remained at Ancona until the end of the 2003–04 season. Pandev impressed in his first year at Lazio, as he made 29 appearances, scoring three goals, which included a memorable effort away to Juventus where he beat Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta before beating Gianluigi Buffon with an angled shot. In July 2005, 50 percent of his player registration rights were transferred to Udinese in exchange for David Pizarro's transfer to the Milanese club. The following season, Delio Rossi was appointed manager of Lazio and Pandev began to form a deadly strike partnership with Tommaso Rocchi. In June 2006, Lazio bought the…

In June 2001, Pandev made his senior debut for the Macedonian football team during an away FIFA World Cup qualification match against Turkey. With two goals against Spain on 12 August 2009, he became the national team's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Georgi Hristov. Pandev intended to retire from international football in 2015, but was persuaded to keep playing by national manager Igor Angelovski. Pandev earned his 100th cap in a 3–1 home victory against Latvia in UEFA Euro 2020 qualification in March 2019. He scored the team's only goal in North Macedonia's 1–0 Euro 2020 play-off victory over Georgia in November 2020, which saw his nation qualify for a major international tournament for the very first time. In the tournament he scored North Macedonia's first ever goal at a major tournament, pouncing on a mistake to score in an open net in a 3–1 defeat to Austria at Euro 2020 in the nation's competition debut, making him the second-oldest scorer in the finals of a European Championship, only behind Ivica Vastić. On 21 June 2021, he played his last match for his national team against the Netherlands in the last group stage match of the Euro 2020.

Goran Pandev was a skilled Macedonian forward. Pandev was a quick, creative, and hard-working left-footed forward with good technique, who was capable both of creating and scoring goals, due to his opportunism and shooting accuracy, as well as his vision and passing ability. He was capable of playing in several offensive positions, either on the right or through the centre of the pitch, and was usually deployed in a supporting role, as a winger, as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he had also been fielded as a striker or as a false nine.

Pandev's younger brother Sashko is also a footballer. In 2019, Pandev obtained Italian citizenship in Naples. One year later, he auctioned the shirt he wore in the match in which he gained his 100th cap for North Macedonia for a hospital fighting the coronavirus pandemic. In 2010, Pandev founded a football academy in his country, named Akademija Pandev.