Persepolis signs Montenegrin midfielder Bakic
Persepolis signed Montenegro international midfielder Marko Bakic on a one-year contract – with the option of a 12-month extension – on Thursday, the Persian Gulf Pro League club announced.
Bakic, 31, joins the Tehran Reds as a free agent from OFI Crete, after bagging nine goals and six assists in 80 appearances during two-and-a-half season at the Greek top-flight side.
Capable of playing as both a deep-lying midfielder and a number eight, the former Fiorentina player is the seventh summer signing for Persepolis – and first under new head coach Vahid Hashemian, who replaced Turkish Isamil Kartal earlier in July – ahead of the new season.
Persepolis finished third in the Iranian league last season – the Reds’ lowest finish in a decade – and crashed out of the domestic cup last-16, as well as the league phase of the AFC Champions League Elite, before the Turkish head coach parted ways with the club in the aftermath of the 12-day war between Iran and Israel last month.
Having made his international debut in August 2012, Bakic has 35 caps under his belt, with his latest appearance in the Montenegrin shirt coming in a friendly 2-2 against Armenia in June.