FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution announced today that the team has signed Danish forward Rajko Lekic. Lekic will occupy one of the team’s international roster spots and will be officially added to the team’s roster upon receipt of his International Transfer Certificate. Per MLS and club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Lekic, 29, joins the Revs roster with a 10-year professional career, mainly in Denmark. The Danish forward is best known for the time with his most recent club, Silkeborg, with whom he made 121 appearances and scored 76 goals in two separate stints.
“We’re very pleased to announce Rajko’s signing,” Revolution Vice President of Player Personnel Michael Burns said. “We have been public in our desire to bring in an attacking player to the club, and we believe we’ve added a significant component to our attack with this signing. Rajko has scored goals consistently for all his previous clubs, and we are optimistic he’ll do the same for us during his time in New England.”
Lekic began his professional career with Danish second-division club Boldklubben af 1893, where he made just one first-team appearance in his first three seasons. He spent part of the 2001 season with BK Avarta, where he scored 16 goals in 15 appearances. Lekic then moved to Herfølge BK, scoring nine times in 13 games. Herfølge BK sent him to Wexford Youths in 2003, where he continued to score at a strong pace with six goals in 12 games.
In the fall of 2003, Lekic made his first move to Silkeborg on a free transfer, making an immediate impact with a 31-goal effort in 33 games, helping propel Silkeborg into the Danish Premier League and earning league player of the year honors.
His success at Silkeborg led to his transfer to Spain’s Xerex, where he spent two seasons before moving to Denmark’s Odense Boldklub (2006), Hungary’s Zalaegerszegi (2007) and Denmark’s Esbjerg fB (2007). In 2008, Esbjerg loaned Lekic back to Silkeborg, where he returned to his scoring glory with 15 goals in 15 games. Lekic re-signed with Silkeborg in 2009, where he spent the last three seasons, scoring 24 goals in 47 appearances.
Lekic has earned one cap with Denmark’s National Team, making a substitute appearance against Austria on March 3, 2010, in one of the team’s lead-up games to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The Revolution will host Real Salt Lake, who on Tuesday earned a place in the championship of the CONCACAF Champions League, on Saturday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. For up-to-the-minute information on the Revolution, visit the team’s official web site at revolutionsoccer.net, or follow the team on Twitter at @NERevolution, or on Facebook at facebook.com/NERevolution.
For ticket information, including full-season packages, multi-game plans and options for the July 13 match against English titan Manchester United, call 1-877-GET-REVS or visit revolutionsoccer.net.
TRANSACTION: New England Revolution (MLS) – Signed F Rajko Lekic
RADIVOJE “RAJKO” LEKIC
Pronunciation: RYE-ko LECK-kitch
Position: Forward
Height: 6-1
Weight: 165 lbs.
DOB: July 3, 1981 (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Hometown: Copenhagen, Denmark
Previous Club: Silkeborg (DEN)
Nationality: Denmark
Status: International
Jersey Number: 10
