Danijel Aleksić

Danijel Aleksić (Serbian Cyrillic: Дaниjeл Aлeкcић; born 30 April 1991) is a Serbian footballer who currently plays for Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir.

Danijel Aleksić
Personal information
Full name Danijel Aleksić
Date of birth (1991-04-30) 30 April 1991
Place of birth Pula, SR Croatia,
SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Second striker
Club information
Current team
 İstanbul Başakşehir
Number 8
Youth career
1998–2002 Veternik
2002–2007 Vojvodina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Vojvodina 48 (8)
2010–2011 Genoa 1 (0)
2010–2011 → Greuther Fürth (loan) 16 (2)
2012–2014 Saint-Étienne 3 (0)
2012–2014 → Saint-Étienne B (loan) 32 (12)
2013–2014 → Arles-Avignon (loan) 1 (0)
2013–2014 → Arles-Avignon B (loan) 2 (1)
2014 Lechia Gdańsk 3 (0)
2014 Lechia Gdańsk II 6 (3)
2015–2018 St. Gallen 80 (22)
2018–2019 Yeni Malatyaspor 31 (10)
2019 Al-Ahli 1 (1)
2019– İstanbul Başakşehir 40 (8)
National team‡
2006–2008 Serbia U17 12 (9)
2008–2010 Serbia U19 13 (7)
2008–2011 Serbia U21 8 (1)
2008– Serbia 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 November 2018

Early life

Born in Pula, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia, Aleksić was only a couple of months old when his mother fled to Serbia due to the escalating ethnic conflict in Croatia. Aleksić never met his biological father and carries his mother's last name.[1]

Club career

He started playing football at seven years of age in local club FK Veternik. By the age 11, he transferred to FK Vojvodina where he made it through every age group. Simultaneous to football he attended Jovan Vukanović streamlined technical high school.[2]

Vojvodina

On 5 May 2007, he made his senior debut for Vojvodina under head coach Milovan Rajevac in a league match away at Red Star Belgrade. Being only 16 years and five days old, Aleksić became the second youngest player ever to appear in a Serbian SuperLiga match (behind Slavko Perović). By the end of the 2006–07 season, he recorded one more league appearance.

He scored his first league goal on 2 April 2008, in a 4–1 home win versus Hajduk Kula.[3]

During Vojvodina's 2008–09 season opening league match, a derby versus Red Star Belgrade, Aleksić scored a 90th-minute goal to put the game beyond reach and ensure a famous 2–0 win for his team.[4] In November 2008, Aleksić started to figure as a transfer target for Serbia's biggest clubs – Red Star and Partizan – however, Vojvodina officials at the time were adamant that they would never sell him to league competitors.[5] In late March 2009, he reportedly also started getting attention form abroad with scouts from Real Madrid and Villarreal coming to watch him play for the Serbian U19 national squad.[6] For his part, in mid May 2009, Aleksić said that he would prefer his first transfer abroad to be to Holland's Eredivisie or Germany's Bundesliga.[7]

Genoa

On 19 January 2010, the highly rated youngster was signed by Genoa CFC.[8]

He became the club's second Serbian signing of the season, after Nenad Tomović. Playing under head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, Aleksić made his Serie A debut against Juventus on 14 February 2010, coming on as the 88th-minute substitute for Domenico Criscito, a game which Genoa lost 3–2. The brief minutes-long runout remained his only league appearance until the end of 2009–10 Serie A season.

The arrival of striker Luca Toni to Genoa in the summer of 2010 meant that Aleksić became surplus to club's current requirements so, on 1 July, the youngster was set to be loaned out to Serie B club FC Crotone.[9] However, he refused the transfers and eventually remained at Genoa.[10] But only until the end of 2010 summer transfer window, when he got loaned to 2. Bundesliga club SpVgg Greuther Fürth until the end of the season 2010–11.[11]

On 28 June 2011, FK Austria Wien confirmed Aleksić was on trial.[12]

Kavala

Greek media wrote on 21 August 2011, that Genoa loaned him to Kavala, but after a couple of weeks the Greek team was expelled from the Greek Superleague and relegated to the Greek Regional Division, so the loan cancelled and the player returned to Genoa.

Lechia Gdańsk

Aleksić joined Lechia Gdańsk during the 2014 summer transfer window on a two-year contract,[13] making his debut in a 3–1 defeat to Wisła Kraków.[14] After a poor start with the club Aleksić quickly found himself playing for the second team[15] and received criticism for his performances with the first team.[16] After six months with the club Aleksić's performances made him become surplus requirements and he was sold to St. Gallen in February 2015. In total for Lechia he made 4 first team appearances failing to score, having more success with the Lechia II team scoring 3 in 6 appearances.[17]

International career

Aleksić is the holder of a significant distinction. He's the only player to appear for four different age-level national squads during a single calendar year. Throughout year 2008, he turned out for Serbian U17 (cadets), U19 (juniors), U21, and senior national teams.

Youth level

Aleksić was the captain of the Serbian U17 national football team. In the 2008 campaign of the qualifying tournament's elite round held over five days during late March 2008, Aleksić scored five goals in three matches (three from open play and two penalties) as Serbia qualified top of the group for the final tournament. In addition to his five goals the team scored only one more – scored by Adem Ljajić. Aleksić led his team single-handedly all the way to the final group stage and was a main contender for the U17 golden boot award for most goals.

In May 2008 at the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in Turkey he scored a spectacular bicycle kick goal in a first match against Scotland as well as adding the second for a 2–0 final score. Next group match pitted Serbia versus the Netherlands, and despite dominating the proceedings the team couldn't convert due, in no small part, to the heroics of Dutch goalie Jeroen Zoet – in the end Serbia lost 0–1. The final and deciding group match was against Turkey and Serbia again missed their share of goalscoring chances including Aleksić hitting the woodwork – the match ended 0–0 meaning that Serbia finished third in the group and didn't progress to the semifinals.

Senior national team

Aleksić made his senior national team debut as a 17-year-old in December 2008 under head coach Radomir Antić in a friendly versus Poland, making him one of the youngest debutantes ever. The match was played in Belek, Turkey. His next appearance came almost ten years later when he entered late in a UEFA Nations League outing against Lithuania.

Career statistics

Club
As of end of 2019–20 season[18]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vojvodina 2006–07 200000—20
2007–08 1220010—132
2008–09 2241140—275
2009–10 1223200—154
Total 4884350—5711
Genoa 2009–10 100000—10
Greuther Fürth (loan) 2010–11 1621000—172
Saint-Étienne 2011–12 100000—10
2012–13 200000—20
Total 300000—30
Saint-Étienne II 2011–12 850000—85
2012–13 2370000—237
2013–14 100000—10
Total 32120000—322
Arles-Avignon (loan) 2013–14 100000—10
Arles-Avignon II (loan) 2013–14 210000—21
Lechia Gdańsk 2014–15 301000—40
St. Gallen 2014–15 410000—41
2015–16 33122000—3512
2016–17 2432000—263
2017–18 2873100—318
Total 89237100—9624
Yeni Malatyaspor 2018–19 32106400—3814
Al-Ahli 2019–20 110021—32
İstanbul Başakşehir 2019–20 2464171—358
Career total 25263239142—28974

International
Serbia national team
YearAppsGoals
200810
201810
Total20

Honours

Club
İstanbul Başakşehir

Individual

References
  1. "Trnovit put Vošinog "vunderkinda"" (in Serbian). MTS Mondo. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  2. "Srpski vunderkind" (in Serbian). Večernje novosti. 13 October 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  3. "Bežanija iznenadila Partizan!" (in Serbian). B92. 2 April 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  4. "SL: Vojvodina slavila u derbiju!" (in Serbian). MTS Mondo. 17 August 2008. Archived from the original on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  5. "ZVEZDA HOĆE ALEKSIĆA, BATA NI DA ČUJE" (in Serbian). Press. 27 November 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  6. "Skauti Reala gledali Aleksića u Inđiji" (in Serbian). MTS Mondo. 31 March 2009. Archived from the original on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  7. "Aleksić: Privlači me magija Bundeslige" (in Serbian). Blic. 16 May 2009. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  8. Siljanovski, Vlatko (19 January 2010). "Genoa win Aleksic chase". Sky Sports. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  9. "Toni poslao Aleksića u Krotone" (in Serbian). MTS Mondo. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  10. "Salta l'arrivo di Aleksic al Crotone". crotonesport.com (in Italian). 23 July 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  11. "Aleksić u Grojter Firtu" (in Serbian). MTS Mondo. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  12. "Austria testet in Flachau einen serbischen Stürmer" (in German). fk-austria.at. 28 June 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  13. "Danijel Aleksić zawodnikiem Lechii Gdańsk". lechia.pl.
  14. "2014/15 Ekstraklasa". lechia.net.
  15. "Danijel Aleksić: Liczę, że rezerwy to dla mnie przeszłość". sport.pl.
  16. "Danijel Aleksić – ogórek z Lechii stał się kozakiem w Szwajcarii". weszlo.com.
  17. "2014/15 III Liga". lechia.net.
  18. "D.Aleksić Soccerway stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  19. "Istanbul's Medipol Başakşehir wins first ever Turkish Süper Lig title". Daily Sabah. 19 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  20. 2008: Danijel Aleksić in UEFA.com
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