Sergej Milinković-Savić

Sergej Milinković-Savić
Milinković-Savić with Serbia at the 2018 World Cup
Personal information
Full name Sergej Milinković-Savić
Date of birth (1995-02-27) 27 February 1995
Place of birth Lleida, Spain
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Lazio
Number 21
Youth career
Sporting
Grazer AK
2006–2013 Vojvodina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Vojvodina 13 (3)
2014–2015 Genk 24 (5)
2015– Lazio 101 (18)
National team‡
2013–2014 Serbia U19 14 (4)
2014–2015 Serbia U20 11 (1)
2014–2017 Serbia U21 12 (4)
2017– Serbia 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 October 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 October 2018

Sergej Milinković-Savić (Serbian Cyrillic: Сергеј Милинковић-Савић, pronounced [serɡêj milǐːŋkoʋitɕ sǎːʋitɕ, sěrɡej-]; born 27 February 1995), commonly known as Sergej, is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club Lazio and the Serbia national team.

Personal life

Milinković-Savić was born into a sporting family in Lleida, Spain,[2] where his father, Nikola Milinković,[3] played football professionally at the time. His mother, Milana Savić, was a professional basketball player. Sergej also made his first football steps with Sporting CP, while his father was playing in Portugal.[4]

Milinković-Savić is the older brother of Vanja Milinković-Savić, a fellow footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Italian Serie A club Torino.[5]

Club career

Vojvodina

Milinković-Savić came through the youth academy of Vojvodina. He was one of the midfielders who emerged from the youth squad that won two consecutive national youth championship titles, alongside Mijat Gaćinović and Nebojša Kosović. Consequently, Milinković-Savić signed his first professional contract with the club on 26 December 2012, penning a three-year deal.[6]

Milinković-Savić made his senior debut in a 3–0 away loss to Jagodina on 23 November 2013.[7] He scored his first goal in a 1–1 away draw with Spartak Subotica on 9 March 2014. In total, Milinković-Savić made 13 league appearances and scored three goals in the 2013–14 season. He also helped Vojvodina win the 2013–14 Serbian Cup in the club's centennial year.[8]

Genk

In June 2014, Milinković-Savić signed a five-year contract with Belgian club Genk and was given the number 20 shirt.[9] He made his competitive debut for the club in a 1–1 home league draw with Cercle Brugge on 2 August 2014. Milinković-Savić scored his first goal for Genk in a 1–1 away league draw against Lokeren on 18 January 2015. He scored a total of five league goals in 24 appearances during the 2014–15 season.

Lazio

Milinković-Savić lining up for Lazio in 2015

On 31 July 2015, it was announced that Milinković-Savić would join Italian club Lazio.[10] He made his debut for the side in a 1–0 home win over Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of the Champions League play-off round on 18 August 2015.[11] Milinković-Savić scored his first goal for Lazio in a 1–1 Europa League draw with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on 17 September 2015.[12] He scored his first Serie A goal in a 3–1 away win over Fiorentina on 9 January 2016. Over the course of his debut season, Milinković-Savić made 35 appearances and scored three goals for Lazio in all competitions.

In his second season at Lazio, Milinković-Savić scored seven goals from 39 appearances (league and cup).

International career

Youth

Milinković-Savić represented Serbia at the 2013 UEFA Under-19 Championship, winning the gold medal. He played the full 90 minutes in four out of five games, including the final match of the competition against France that Serbia won 1–0.[13] Subsequently, Milinković-Savić appeared at the 2014 UEFA Under-19 Championship, as the team was eliminated in the semi-final by Portugal after penalties. He missed Serbia's last spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out.[14]

The following summer, Milinković-Savić was one of Serbia's most influential players at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, as the team won the tournament.[15] He appeared in six out of seven games and scored one goal against Mali in the group stage. Due to his performances during the tournament, Milinković-Savić was awarded the Bronze Ball.[16]

In the summer of 2017, Lazio prevented Milinković-Savić from playing at the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Senior

In October 2015, Milinković-Savić received his first call-up to the full squad by manager Radovan Ćurčić for Serbia's UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers against Albania and Portugal.[17] He remained an unused substitute in both games. In May 2016, Milinković-Savić was selected by newly appointed manager Slavoljub Muslin for friendly matches against Cyprus, Israel, and Russia.[18] However, after failing to receive any playing time in the first two games, Milinković-Savić left the team in agreement with Muslin who said that some other players better fit into his tactical formations.[19]

On 30 October 2017, it was announced that Serbia caretaker manager Mladen Krstajić included Milinković-Savić in the squad for friendlies against China and South Korea.[20]

In June 2018 he was selected in the Serbian squad for the 2018 World Cup[21], playing all three group stage matches.[22][23][24]

Style of play

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has established himself as a 'complete midfielder', in the modern sense of the term, which earned him Paul Pogba of Serbia. Comparable to players such as Zinedine Zidane and Yaya Touré, Milinkovic-Savic blends the traditional attacking movement and finishing ability of an attack midfielder, with the height and physicality of a target man or defensive midfielder.[25]

Career statistics

Club

As of 7 October 2018[26]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vojvodina 2013–14 1333100—164
Genk 2014–15 24500——245
Lazio 2015–16 251208200353
2016–17 34453——397
2017–18 351240821[lower-alpha 1]04814
2018–19 7100000071
Total 101181131641012926
Career total 138271441641016935
  1. ↑ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

International

As of 11 October 2018[27]
Serbia
YearAppsGoals
201720
201870
Total90

Honours

Club

Vojvodina[26]
Lazio[26]

International

Serbia Youth[26]

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "Milinkovic-Savic, sport in the genes". fifa.com. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "FANATIK: Sećate li se Bečeja i Bekrija?" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Sergej i Vanja: Ko je bio zvezdaš, a ko partizanovac? Ko je voleo „debelog" Ronalda, a nosio dres Raula? Otkud dva prezimena?" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Braća Milinković-Savić biseri sa novosadskog asfalta" (in Serbian). novosti.rs. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  6. ↑ "SERGEJ MILINKOVIĆ PROFESIONALAC" (in Serbian). fkvojvodina.rs. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "JAGODINA-VOJVODINA 3 : 0" (in Serbian). fkvojvodina.rs. 23 November 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Vojvodina mark centenary with Serbian Cup". uefa.com. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Milinković-Savić predstavljen u Genku" (in Serbian). sportal.rs. 29 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Lazio, Milinkovic-Savic: c'è l'accordo col Genk, in campo già per la Supercoppa" (in Italian). gazzetta.it. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "Milinkovic-Savic Emotional On Lazio Champions League Debut". forzaitalianfootball.com. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "Milinkovic-Savic: "Felice per il gol, peccato per il risultato"" (in Italian). sslazio.it. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "Luković strike seals first Serbia triumph". uefa.com. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "Portugal prevail in shoot-out to end Serbia reign". uefa.com. 28 July 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Ecstasy in Auckland as Serbia make history". fifa.com. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  16. ↑ "New Zealand sees stars emerge, Serbia sparkle". fifa.com. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Ćurčić objavio spisak za Albaniju: Sergej Milinković-Savić debituje!" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  18. ↑ "MUSLINOVI "ORLOVI" Ovo je spisak nove reprezentacije Srbije u fudbalu" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  19. ↑ "BEZ TANDEMA NA RUSE Muslin: Ljajić je povređen, Milinković-Saviću ne odgovara formacija" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  20. ↑ "Sergej konačno 'Orao', nema Svilara i Živkovića!" (in Serbian). b92.net. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  21. ↑ "World Cup 2018: All the confirmed squads for this summer's finals in Russia". BBC Sport. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  22. ↑ Timothy Abraham (17 June 2018). "Costa Rica 0–1 Serbia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  23. ↑ Matthew Henry (23 June 2018). "Serbia 1–2 Switzerland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  24. ↑ Andrew Das (27 June 2018). "World Cup: Brazil cruises into next round with easy victory". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  25. ↑ "Player Profile: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic - The Laziali". The Laziali. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  26. 1 2 3 4 Sergej Milinković-Savić at Soccerway
  27. ↑ "Sergej Milinković-Savić". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
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