Veljko Paunovićhshsjs

Born in Strumica, Socialist Republic of Macedonia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Paunović made his professional debut at 17 with Partizan. The following summer he moved to Spain, where he would stay for most of the following decade playing for a host of clubs, starting in the 1995–96 season with modest Marbella and reaching the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final with Mallorca (with whom he scored five league goals in that campaign, to help the Balearic Islands team finish third), as well as having three separate stints with Atlético Madrid. Paunović had his best year in 2002–03 with Tenerife in the Segunda División, netting 18 times from 38 appearances although the insular side could only rank eighth. After a return to Atlético and a brief stay in Germany with Hannover 96, he joined Getafe for 2005–06's top flight, enjoying his finest season in La Liga by scoring ten goals in 30 league matches to help the Madrid outskirts club to the ninth place. Due to the years spent in the country, he received a Spanish passport in 2006. Paunović was signed by Russian Premier League's Rubin Kazan in March 2007, after falling out of favour with Getafe coach Bernd Schuster. The following year, he agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Almería in January. His debut was a sour one, playing 20 minutes off the bench against Racing de Santander in a 1–0 away defeat, while also receiving two yellow cards in one minute (with the consequent dismissal). He would score on two occasions…

Paunović made his debut for Serbia and Montenegro in a 2–1 friendly win over Mexico, on 13 February 2002. His only other cap came two years later against Northern Ireland, another exhibition match, and he scored in the 1–1 draw in Belfast.

Serbia youths

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

Chicago Fire

On 24 November 2015, Paunović was appointed head coach of Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer. He led the team to the playoffs in 2017, which happened for the first time in five years. In the same year, he coached in the All-Star Game against Real Madrid. Paunović also reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Open Cup in 2016 and 2018. He and the Fire parted ways on 13 November 2019.

Reading

Paunović replaced Mark Bowen as manager of Reading on 29 August 2020. On his EFL Championship debut on 12 September, the team won 2–0 at Derby County; he ended September as the division's Manager of the Month for winning all three games. They missed out on a playoff place with two games remaining, after a 2–2 draw against Swansea City at the Madejski Stadium. In November 2021, during Paunović's second season, the team received a six-point deduction for breaching profitability and sustainability rules across the previous three seasons. The following January, the Royals were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by National League North side Kidderminster…

Paunović experienced hardships while training for football, such as walking for hours to practice and sometimes going without food. His father, Blagoje, was also a footballer; a defender who inspired him, he also played for Partizan and represented Yugoslavia at UEFA Euro 1968, before beginning a managerial career. Paunović is married and has four children. He is fluent in six languages: English, Spanish, Serbian, Macedonian, Russian and German.