Red Star Belgrade Stanković grew up in
Zemun, a municipality of
Belgrade. Both of his parents, Borislav and Dragica, have strong football backgrounds. Stanković began playing football for
FK Teleoptik, based in his neighbourhood of Zemun. Stanković then passed every age category at his hometown club. During the
1994–95 season, Stanković's debut opportunity for first-team action came under head coach
Ljupko Petrović against crosstown rivals
OFK Beograd on 11 February 1995, becoming the youngest player to debut with Red Star at senior level. 16-year-old Stanković made seven league appearances that season as the team won the
league title. The ban was lifted ahead of the 1995–96 season, where he scored on his
Serie A debut versus
Piacenza on 13 September 1998. In those years, Lazio had an all-star squad with world-class players at almost every position, but Stanković quickly secured a regular first-team place despite competition from
Pavel Nedvěd,
Juan Sebastián Verón and
Roberto Mancini. Stanković began the 2003–04 season at Lazio. In January 2004,
Juventus were favorites in the chase for the Serb's signature, with even some preliminary paperwork reportedly signed between the two parties in early January 2004, but the player eventually chose Inter. He was signed as part of a deal worth €4 million, that also sent Macedonian international
Goran Pandev in the opposite direction. In early February 2004, Stanković played his debut for Inter under head coach
Alberto Zaccheroni, a Serie A clash at home against
Siena that ended 4–0. On 21 February 2004, he scored a spectacular goal directly from a corner kick to put Inter 1–0 up in the
Derby della Madonnina versus fierce rivals
Milan. Inter finished the league season in fourth place, thus qualifying for Champions League. Still, Inter president
Massimo Moratti was not convinced with Zaccheroni, who quit at the end of the season because of a feeling of distrust;
Mancini was then brought in by Moratti from the financial shipwreck at Lazio. On 7 May 2006, Stanković played his 100th match for Inter. Coming off the summer appearance at the
2006 World Cup, and his memorable goal against city rivals Milan only further enhanced his central role in a team that will win the league in a record-breaking season. and more reports on the interest of Juventus, it seemed that Stanković was definitely on his way out. The Juve deal fell through within days for a variety of other reasons, and Stanković was suddenly reported to be happy to stay at Inter. However, the transfer talk was temporarily reignited again by Mourinho's suggestion in mid-July 2008 that "Stanković was not the same player that he was at Lazio". Stanković, however, remained with the club to fight for a spot on Mourinho's team. In the interviews after the match, Stanković talked of his joy to be fully back on form following the injury-prone previous season, also thanking Mourinho for giving him an opportunity, even after the two did not get off on the right foot during the summer pre-season. In December 2008, Stanković, by now an irreplaceable part of Mourinho's midfield, On 7 February 2009, Stanković celebrated his 200th appearance for Inter in all competitions at the away game versus
Lecce. Stanković's season-long good form continued, as he scored Inter's second goal against Milan in the 270th Milan Derby on 15 February. This turned out to be the winning goal, after
Alexandre Pato had pulled one back. In the Champions League, Inter limped into the second round, after losing their final two
group stage matches against
Panathinaikos and
Werder Bremen. In the first elimination round (round of 16), they lost to Manchester United in a hard-fought tie. Stanković played the full 90 minutes in the first leg at San Siro, putting in a very active display. In the return at
Old Trafford, Stanković started the match and had a lively first half, with two missed opportunities to score. In the 58th minute, with United leading 2–0, and Inter forced to chase the result, Mourinho took Stanković off and inserted striker
Adriano.
2009–10: Triplete season in 2009 The 2009–10 season began well for Stanković. In the Milan derby on 29 August, he played in a deeper role to replace the injured
Esteban Cambiasso. Nevertheless, he scored Inter's fourth goal and his second in consecutive Milan derbies in a 4–0 thrashing, a spectacular 30-yard strike after quickly collecting Sulley Muntari's pass. He subsequently scored against
Rubin Kazan and
Udinese to continue his rich vein of form under José Mourinho. He also scored a wonder goal from 54 metres out in a 5–0 thrashing against
Genoa, volleying the ball straight in from
Marco Amelia's clearance. At the end of the season, Stanković won an historical
treble with Inter, conquering the 2009–10
Serie A,
Coppa Italia and
Champions League. At the
2010 FIFA Club World Cup in
Abu Dhabi in mid-December, Stanković played an excellent semi-final against
Seongnam, scoring the opening goal and performing well. However, Benítez decided to bench him for the
final against
TP Mazembe, only bringing him on for
Christian Chivu in the 54th minute. Benítez was soon sacked despite winning the trophy, and a couple of weeks later, Stanković expressed his dismay at Spaniard's decision to leave him on the bench for the final. On the same occasion, despite publicly backing the beleaguered coach months earlier, Stanković stated that Benítez simply "didn't work" at Inter. Under newly-arrived head coach
Leonardo, Stanković continued his role in midfield. Stanković scored his first goal under the new coach at home versus Bologna in mid-January, and then continued with the same form away at Udinese, scoring the opening goal in a match that Inter lost 3–1. In
Coppa Italia quarter-final at
Napoli on 26 January, Stanković injured his thigh muscle. He returned for a Serie A match at
Sampdoria on 27 February, as Inter won 2–0. Inter made good recovery chasing the league-leaders Milan, getting within two points of them ahead of Milan derby, but lost disastrously 0–3. Stanković scored a spectacular volley from the halfway line against
Schalke 04 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on 5 April 2011, as goalkeeper
Manuel Neuer ran out of the box to make a daring header clearance that made it up to the halfway line, leaving an open goal as a target for Stanković's firm first-time volley. However, Inter lost that match 2–5 at home. On 19 April, in the
Coppa Italia semi-final first leg, Stanković scored the winning goal with another spectacular long-range effort, hitting a sweet outside foot volley past the despairing dive of the goalkeeper. Stanković played the full 90 in the
2011 Coppa Italia Final, winning his last trophy with Inter. He made a total of 326 appearances with Inter, scoring 42 goals. In 2019, he was inducted into
Inter Milan Hall of Fame. ==International career==