Luka Jović

Luka Jović (Serbian Cyrillic: Лука Јовић, pronounced [lûːka jǒːʋitɕ]; born 23 December 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Serbia national team.

Luka Jović
Jović with Serbia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Luka Jović[1]
Date of birth (1997-12-23) 23 December 1997
Place of birth Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Real Madrid
Number 18
Youth career
2005–2014 Red Star Belgrade
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Red Star Belgrade 42 (12)
2016–2017 Benfica B 18 (4)
2016–2019 Benfica 2 (0)
2017–2019 → Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) 54 (25)
2019– Real Madrid 15 (2)
National team‡
2012–2013 Serbia U16 12 (10)
2013–2014 Serbia U17 19 (16)
2015 Serbia U18 1 (1)
2014–2016 Serbia U19 13 (10)
2016 Serbia U20 1 (0)
2015–2019 Serbia U21 16 (7)
2018– Serbia 7 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:52, 9 February 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 September 2019

Early life

Jović was born in the small village of Batar near Bijeljina, to Milan and Svetlana Jović. At the age of five, he started playing football in Loznica, where he was spotted in 2004 and offered to play in Mini Maxi, a development league for kids aged between 4 and 12 in Belgrade. After just one game where Jović scored three goals his father was offered €50 for each game he played and 2,000 dinars for travelling costs from Batar to Belgrade. At one of those games he was scouted by Toma Milićević, Red Star's scout who invited him to trial with Red Star Belgrade.[3] His playing style attracted comparisons to Darko Pančev and Radamel Falcao, who is also his idol.[4][5]

Club career

Red Star Belgrade

Youth

Jović was offered the chance to play for Red Star Belgrade in 2005. Before he committed, his father took him to train with Partizan, who had been trying to sign Jović for some time. They offered his father €200 per month for Jović to play with them, but he insisted on staying with Red Star.[3]

2013–14 season

On 28 May 2014, at the age of 16 years, five months and five days, Jović made his professional debut against FK Vojvodina in Novi Sad, where he broke Dejan Stanković's record as the youngest goalscorer in a competitive match in the club's history.[6][7] He scored the goal only two minutes[6] after he was brought on as substitute, and the final score of 3–3 was enough to give Red Star the 2013–14 Serbian SuperLiga title.

2014–15 season

On 18 October 2014, Jović became the youngest player ever to play in Eternal derby at the age of 16 years, 9 months and 25 days, breaking the previous record of Dejan Milovanović who was 17 years and 6 months old at the time.[8] Jović missed some crucial chances, but in spring half of the season scored six goals. His first goal of the season came against Vojvodina, in a match where Red Star celebrated its 70th birthday. He then scored against Spartak, a double against Borac and a decisive goal against Voždovac, ahead of the Eternal derby clash.[9] He missed the end of the season and the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand due to injury. On 17 May 2015, he signed a three-year contract with Red Star to last until 2018.

2015–16 season

From the beginning of the 2015–16 season, Jović started as a first choice in Red Star attack along with Hugo Vieira and scored 3 goals in first 5 games. He scored again against Voždovac a winning goal and brought another win to Red Star at Stadion na Vračaru. He scored another game winner in Subotica, against Spartak. In November 2015, a racketeer from Loznica threatened him and his family that if they did not pay money to him, that he would "break Jović's legs".[10] A suspect was apprehended immediately afterwards.[10]

Benfica

In February 2016, Jović signed with Portuguese champions Benfica until 2021.[11] On 9 March, he debuted for the club's reserve team in a 2–2 home draw against Sporting da Covilhã in the Segunda Liga.[12] He debuted for the first-team on 20 March, as a substitute, in a 1–0 away victory against Boavista in the Primeira Liga.

On 30 January 2017, Jović made his only appearance for the first team when he came on as a substitute in the 81st minute against Vitória de Setúbal.[13]

Loan to Eintracht Frankfurt

2017–18 season

In June 2017, Jović joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a two-season loan while his new club secured an option to sign him on a permanent basis.[14][15] He made five appearances as they won the 2017–18 DFB-Pokal, and scored the only goal of the win at Schalke 04 in the semi-finals on 18 April 2018,[16] but was an unused substitute in the 3–1 final win over Bayern Munich.

2018–19 season

20-year-old Jović became the youngest player to score five goals in a Bundesliga game when he did so in a 7–1 home win over Fortuna Düsseldorf on 19 October 2018.[17] On 14 March 2019, he scored the only goal, his seventh for the campaign, in a 1–0 win over Inter Milan to secure the club's progression to the quarter finals of the Europa League. In doing so, he helped Eintracht become the first German club ever to record eight wins in a single season in the competition.[18]

On 17 April 2019, Eintracht Frankfurt exercised a clause in Jović's contract to make his loan move permanent until 30 June 2023.[19]

Real Madrid

On 4 June 2019, Jović signed for Real Madrid for a reported €60 million, on a six-year contract.[20][21] He made his debut on 17 August 2019, coming in as a substitute in a 3–1 win over Celta Vigo.[22] On 30 October 2019, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 victory over CD Leganés.[23]

Jović started both semi-final and final match of 2019–20 Supercopa de España against Valencia and Atlético Madrid, respectively. Real won the final 4–1 on penalties on 12 January 2020, earning Jović his first trophy as a Real Madrid player.

International career

On 11 December 2013, Jović scored a hat-trick for Serbia U-17 in a 4–1 win against Croatia U-17.[24] In July 2014, he was called up by youth coach Veljko Paunović to Serbia's U-19 squad for the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.[25]

In May 2018, Jović was named in Serbia's preliminary squad for the FIFA World Cup in Russia.[26] On 4 June, he made his international debut in a friendly match against Chile, coming on as a substitute for Aleksandar Mitrović in the 84th minute.[27] Later in June, Jović was included in the final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup,[28] where he appeared as a late substitute against Brazil.[29]

On 20 March 2019, Jović scored his debut goal for the national team in a friendly against Germany.[30]

Personal life

When Jović was 10 years old, his older sister survived leukemia. He stated that period had "left a mark on their lives" and had motivated him to become a "fighter like her".[31]

On 25 February 2019, Jović became a father of a baby boy, David, following a fling with his former girlfriend Anđela Manitašević, whom he split up with in 2016.[32][33] As of summer 2019, he is in a relationship with Serbian model Sofija Milošević.[34] On 20 March 2020, Milošević announced that she and Jović are expecting their first child.[35]

On 18 March 2020, amid the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe, Jović broke Serbia's self-isolation protocol by flying from Madrid to Belgrade to attend Milošević's birthday party, drawing criticism from the Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić herself and facing possible charges.[36]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 26 February 2020[37][38]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other1 Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Red Star Belgrade 2013–14 1100—00—11
2014–15 22620—00—246
2015–16 19521—20—236
Total 421241—20—4813
Benfica B 2015–16 72————72
2016–17 112————112
Total 184————184
Benfica 2015–16 100000100020
2016–17 100010000020
Total 200010100040
Eintracht Frankfurt 2017–18 22851———279
2018–19 321710—1410104827
Total 542561—1410107536
Real Madrid 2019–20 15230—4020242
Career total 131431321021103016955

1 Includes DFL-Supercup and Supercopa de España.

International
As of match played 7 September 2019[38][39]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Serbia 201830
201942
Total72

International goals
Serbia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Jović goal.[40]
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 20 March 2019Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg, Germany4 Germany
1–0
1–1
Friendly
2 10 June 2019Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia6 Lithuania
3–0
4–1
UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Red Star

Eintracht Frankfurt

Real Madrid

Individual

References
  1. "Acta del Partido celebrado el 17 de agosto de 2019, en Vigo" [Minutes of the Match held on 17 August 2019, in Vigo] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  2. "Luka Jović". realmadrid.com. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  3. "Mozzart Sport: Čudesan slučaj Luke Jovića, ili – Kako je klinac koji je spavao u gepeku stigao do velike pozornice" (in Serbian). 27 December 2013.
  4. OBRENOVIĆ, Aleksandar (11 August 2014). "Terzić: Luka Jović je novi Falkao". Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  5. B. Cvetojevic (16 October 2013). "Zvezdin biser Jović: Hoću kao Pančev" (in Serbian).
  6. Todorović, N. (28 May 2014). "Zvezda je rođena: Luka Jović srušio rekord Dekija Stankovića" (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 22 July 2014.
  7. "Luka Jović neće otići dok ne napuni 18". Mondo Portal. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  8. Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Mozzart Sport: Luka Jović – najmlađi akter u istoriji večitih derbija! (Serbian) 18 October 2014
  9. Александар (18 April 2015). "Еврогол и наставак серије Луке Јовића за минималац Звезде на Врачару пред дерби!". Moja Crvena Zvezda. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  10. Miljan Milošević (16 November 2015). "Reketaš pretio da će Luki Joviću da polomi noge" (in Serbian). Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  11. "Jović: "Aprender e melhorar todos os dias"" [Jović: "To learn and improve everyday"] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  12. "SL Benfica B – SC Covilhã (Jornada 34 Ledman LigaPRO 2015–2016) – Liga Portugal". ligaportugal.pt. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  13. "Match Report". whoscored.com. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  14. "Fix: Eintracht leiht Jovic von Benfica aus". kicker Online (in German). 27 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  15. "Luka Jovic no Eintracht Frankfurt" [Luka Jovic at Eintracht Frankfurt]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). 27 June 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  16. Da Silva, Michael; Harding, Jonathan (18 April 2018). "German Cup: Niko Kovac guides Frankfurt to Berlin for Bayern Munich showdown". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  17. "Eintracht Frankfurt 7–1 Fortuna Dusseldorf". BBC Sport. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  18. "Eintracht Frankfurt through to UEFA Europa League quarter-finals after Luka Jovic chip downs Inter Milan". Bundesliga. 14 March 2019. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  19. "Eintracht Frankfurt exercise option to purchase Luka Jović". Eintracht Frankfurt. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  20. "Official Announcement: Jović". Real Madrid C.F. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  21. Ouzia, Malik (4 June 2019). "Luka Jovic to Real Madrid transfer confirmed for Eintracht Frankfurt striker". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  22. "Real Madrid of old resurrected in Balaidos". marca.com. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  23. "Real Madrid vs. Leganes – Football Match Summary – October 30, 2019 – ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  24. "Luka Jović terorisao Hrvate u Pazovi!" (in Serbian). 11 December 2013.
  25. Archived 9 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Novosti: Na Paunovićevom spisku po četiri igrača Zvezde, Vojvodine i OFK Beograda, tri Partizana... (Serbian) 8 July 2014
  26. "Један тим, срцем свим – Младен Крстајић одабрао" [One team, with all their hearts – Mladen Krstajić selects]. FSS.rs (in Serbian). Football Association of Serbia. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  27. "Serbia vs. Chile – 4 June 2018".
  28. "Soccer: Krstajic names Serbia's final 23-man World Cup squad". Reuters. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  29. Andrew Das (27 June 2018). "World Cup: Brazil cruises into next round with easy victory". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  30. "Germany 1 Serbia 1". BBC Sport. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  31. J. K. (3 December 2019). ""TO MI JE OBELEŽILO ŽIVOT" Sestra Luke Jovića je pobedila LEUKEMIJU, potresna priča kida dušu, a kad čujete njegovu poruku APLAUDIRAĆETE MU" (in Serbian). Blic. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  32. M. B. (24 February 2019). "MLADI NAPADAČ POSTAO OTAC: Luka Jović dobio sina!" (in Serbian). Kurir. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  33. J. K. (24 October 2019). ""ZATRUDNELA SAM NEPLANIRANO, NISMO ZAJEDNO TRI GODINE" Devojka sa kojom Luka Jović ima sina progovorila, ima poruku za njega i Sofiju Milošević" (in Serbian). Blic. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  34. E. D. (13 December 2019). "Prvo je demantirao glasine o vezi s njom, no sad je priznao da ljubi jednu od najljepših Srpkinja" (in Croatian). Dnevnik.hr. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  35. "LUKA JOVIĆ POSTAJE TATA PO DRUGI PUT! SOFIJA MILOŠEVIĆ TRUDNA! Manekenka podelila srećne vesti na društvenim mrežama". Kurir (in Serbian). 20 March 2020.
  36. Kirkland, Alex (19 March 2020). "Real Madrid's Jovic facing criticism in Serbia after travelling home amid team lockdown for coronavirus". ESPN. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  37. Luka Jović at ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  38. Luka Jović at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  39. "Luka Jović". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  40. "Luka Jović stats". eu-football.info. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  41. "Real Madrid win the Supercopa from the spot". marca.com. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  42. "UEFA Europa League Squad of the 2018/19 Season". UEFA. 30 May 2019.
  43. "This is the Team of the season 2018/19". bundesliga.com. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
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