Preki
A dazzling playmaker who became the first MLS MVP and a symbol of the league's early creative spirit.
Born 1963 (age 63)·American soccer player and coach·Birthday: June 24·Baby Boomers
Biography
Born Predrag Radosavljević in Belgrade, Preki's soccer journey was a transatlantic tale of reinvention. After a solid career in Europe, he arrived in the nascent Major League Soccer in 1996, not as a fading star but as its defining artist. With the Kansas City Wizards, his balletic control and lethal left foot became must-watch television; he won the league's first MVP award and its scoring title twice. His most famous moment, a last-minute, championship-winning free-kick in 2000, cemented his legacy. Though he earned caps for the United States national team, his true impact was as an ambassador for technical flair in American soccer, a path he later followed into coaching, guiding clubs with the same thoughtful intensity he displayed on the pitch.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Preki was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Preki Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Preki's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 60
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 63 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the inaugural MLS MVP award in 1997.
- Captured two MLS Cup championships, in 2000 and 2013 (as an assistant coach).
- Earned the MLS Scoring Champion (Golden Boot) title in 1997 and 2003.
- Named to the MLS Best XI team on four separate occasions.
- Inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010.
Did You Know?
He is one of only two players to have won both an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup as a player and as a coach.
His iconic free-kick goal to win the 2000 MLS Cup was struck from nearly 30 yards out with just seconds remaining.
He played futsal extensively in his youth, which heavily influenced his close-control dribbling style.
He represented the United States at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
“The game is simple: see the play before it happens, then execute.”
