Vanja Milinković-Savić

Vanja Milinković-Savić (Serbian Cyrillic: Вања Милинковић-Савић, pronounced [ʋâɲa milǐːŋkoʋitɕ sǎːʋitɕ]; born 20 February 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Torino FC and the Serbia national team. His elder brother Sergej plays for Al Hilal.

Vanja Milinković-Savić
Milinković-Savić with Torino in 2023
Personal information
Full name Vanja Milinković-Savić[1]
Date of birth (1997-02-20) 20 February 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Ourense, Galicia, Spain
Height 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Torino
Number 32
Youth career
Grazer AK
2006–2014 FK Banjane
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Manchester United 0 (0)
2014–2015Vojvodina (loan) 17 (0)
2015–2017 Lechia Gdańsk 29 (0)
2017– Torino 118 (0)
2018–2019SPAL (loan) 2 (0)
2019Ascoli (loan) 8 (0)
2019–2020Standard Liège (loan) 0 (0)
International career
2013–2014 Serbia U17 6 (0)
2014–2016 Serbia U19 9 (0)
2014–2015 Serbia U20 3 (0)
2016–2017 Serbia U21 10 (1)
2021– Serbia 19 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Serbia
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Winner 2015
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:27, 9 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:39, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

After failing to be awarded a UK work permit with English club Manchester United, he was released by the club in November 2015 and signed a contract with Lechia Gdańsk.[3] In 2017 he was signed by Torino.

Club career

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Milinković-Savić with SPAL in 2018

On 2 April 2014, Milinković-Savić signed his first professional contract with Vojvodina, penning a three-year deal.[4] On 17 May 2014, it was announced by Manchester United that the club reached an agreement with Vojvodina for the transfer of Milinković-Savić. Both clubs agreed that the player would stay with Vojvodina for one more season.[5] The deal was completed on 5 August 2014,[6] for a transfer fee of €1.75 million.[7]

Milinković-Savić made his competitive debut for Vojvodina on 10 August 2014, keeping a clean sheet in a 3–0 home league victory over OFK Beograd.[8] He played the full 90 minutes in all 15 league games in the first part of the 2014–15 season. After the winter break, Milinković-Savić lost his place as first-choice goalkeeper to experienced Srđan Žakula, making only two more league appearances.

After failing to earn a work permit to play in England, Milinković-Savić was released by Manchester United in November 2015 and he signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Polish club Lechia Gdańsk on 26 November; the contract commenced on 1 January 2016.[9]

On 30 January 2017, Italian club Torino announced they had purchased him and he would join the club on 1 July.[10] He was the first-choice goalkeeper for the national cup, while being the second choice, behind Salvatore Sirigu, for the Serie A. During the Coppa Italia match against Carpi, he hit the crossbar with a free-kick in injury time.[11]

On 6 July 2018, Milinković-Savić signed with SPAL on loan from Torino until 30 June 2019.[12]

On 31 January 2019, Milinković-Savić joined to Serie B side Ascoli on loan until 30 June 2019.[13]

On 29 June 2019, he joined to Belgian club Standard Liège on loan with an option to buy.[14]

On 15 June 2021, Torino announced a contract extension until 30 June 2024.[15]

International career

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Milinković-Savić playing for Serbia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Milinković-Savić was selected to represent the Serbia U19 national team at the 2014 UEFA Under-19 Championship. He served as a backup to Predrag Rajković, failing to make an appearance at the tournament, as the team was eliminated by Portugal on penalties in the semi-finals of the competition.

Milinković-Savić again served as a backup to Rajković at the 2015 FIFA U-21 World Cup, where the Serbian team won the gold medal.[16]

He made his debut for the senior national team on 11 November 2021 in a friendly against Qatar.[17]

In November 2022, he was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[18] He played in all three group stage matches, against Brazil,[19] Cameroon,[20] and Switzerland.[21] Serbia finished fourth in the group.[22]

Milinković-Savić was selected in Serbia's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024, but didn't make any appearances in the tournament.

Personal life

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Milinković-Savić was born in Ourense, Galicia, Spain, to parents Nikola Milinković, who was playing professional football for CD Ourense, and Milana Savić, a professional basketball player.[23] He is the younger brother of midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić.[24]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 9 November 2024[25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Vojvodina (loan) 2014–15 Serbian SuperLiga 17 0 2 0 0 0 19 0
Lechia Gdańsk 2015–16 Ekstraklasa 11 0 0 0 11 0
2016–17 Ekstraklasa 18 0 0 0 18 0
Total 29 0 0 0 29 0
Torino 2017–18 Serie A 1 0 3 0 4 0
2020–21 Serie A 5 0 3 0 8 0
2021–22 Serie A 27 0 1 0 28 0
2022–23 Serie A 38 0 4 0 42 0
2023–24 Serie A 36 0 1 0 37 0
2024–25 Serie A 11 0 2 0 13 0
Total 118 0 14 0 132 0
SPAL (loan) 2018–19 Serie A 2 0 1 0 3 0
Ascoli (loan) 2018–19 Serie B 8 0 0 0 8 0
Standard Liège (loan) 2019–20 Belgian Pro League 0 0 0 0 3[a] 0 3 0
Career total 174 0 16 0 3 0 194 0
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

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As of match played 4 June 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Serbia 2021 1 0
2022 9 0
2023 8 0
2024 1 0
Total 19 0

Honours

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Serbia U20

References

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  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Serbia (SRB)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 26. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ "VANJA MILINKOVIĆ-SAVIĆ". fkvojvodina.rs. Football club Vojvodina. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  3. ^ Wilson, Scott (26 February 2018). "What happened to goalkeeper who had Man United contract terminated after just 18 months". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  4. ^ "VANJA MILINKOVIĆ-SAVIĆ PROFESIONALAC" (in Serbian). fkvojvodina.rs. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Milinkovic to join United". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Milinkovic deal finalised". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  7. ^ "ZORAN ŠĆEPANOVIĆ: PONOSNI SMO NA NAŠU OMLADINSKU ŠKOLU" (in Serbian). fkvojvodina.rs. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  8. ^ "Milinković Savić blista na golu, a Voši od Mančester Junajteda 10.000 evra po meču" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Vanja Milinković-Savić nowym bramkarzem Lechii Gdańsk" [Vanja Milinković-Savić has become the new goalkeeper for Lechia Gdańsk]. Lechia.pl. Lechia Gdańsk. 26 November 2015. Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Milinkovic-Savic al Toro". TORINO FC 1906 SITO UFFICIALE.
  11. ^ "Torino's goalkeeper almost breaks crossbar with 30-yard free-kick in Coppa Italia". FourFourTwo. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Milinkovic-savic on loan to S.P.A.L." Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  13. ^ "UFFICIALE: Ascoli, dal Torino arriva Milinkovic-Savic" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  14. ^ "UFFICIALE: Torino, Milinkovic-Savic in prestito allo Standard Liegi" (in Italian). Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  15. ^ "Milinkovic-Savic, contract extension until 2024". TorinoFC.it. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Ecstasy in Auckland as Serbia make history". FIFA.com. 20 June 2015. Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Serbia v Qatar game report". ESPN. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Head-coach Dragan Stojković announces the list of players for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar". Football Association of Serbia. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  19. ^ Conti, Kristen (24 November 2022). "Richarlison Brings Brazil to Life in the Second Half, Defeats Serbia 2-0". NBCNew York. New York. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  20. ^ Sky Sports (28 November 2022). "World Cup 2022 - Cameroon 3-3 Serbia: Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting goals complete stunning comeback". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  21. ^ Ames, Nick (2 December 2022). "Switzerland advance and Serbia go out as Freuler finish settles stormy contest". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  22. ^ Mendola, Nicholas (2 December 2022). "World Cup 2022 Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Cameroon, Switzerland schedule, fixtures, rankings". NBC Sports. Lusail. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Vanja Milinković-Savić za "Sport": Da sam ostao napadač danas bih bio u Realu!" (in Serbian). novosti.rs. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  24. ^ "Braća Milinković-Savić biseri sa novosadskog asfalta" (in Serbian). novosti.rs. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  25. ^ Vanja Milinković-Savić at Soccerway
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