Ilija Stolica

Ilija Stolica (Serbian Cyrillic: Илија Столица; born July 7, 1978) is a Serbian football manager.

Ilija Stolica
Personal information
Full name Ilija Stolica
Date of birth (1978-07-07) July 7, 1978
Place of birth Zemun, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Serbia U21 (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 Zemun 24 (6)
1998–2000 UE Lleida 28 (2)
2000–2001 Partizan 4 (0)
2001–2003 Zemun 58 (40)
2003–2005 Metalurh Donetsk 20 (10)
2005 OFK Beograd 12 (8)
2005–2007 Sint-Truidense 44 (11)
2007–2009 RAEC Mons 42 (12)
2009 OFI Crete 10 (1)
2010 Budućnost Podgorica 10 (7)
2010–2011 New England Revolution 16 (4)
2011 F.C. New York 1 (0)
National team
1997–1999 FR Yugoslavia U21 25 (14)
2000–2001 FR Yugoslavia U23 11 (2)
2002 FR Yugoslavia B 2 (0)
Teams managed
2014 Serbia U16 (assistant)
2015 Partizan (assistant)
2016 Serbia U16
2016 Serbia U17
2016–2017 Voždovac
2017–2018 Vojvodina
2018 Olimpija Ljubljana
2019– Serbia U21
2021— Serbia (Acting)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Club

Stolica began his career with Serbian club FK Zemun. In his first year with the club he appeared in 24 matches and scored 6 goals. His play with Zemun attracted the interest of Spanish Second Division side UE Lleida who signed him in 1998. He remained in Spain for two years appearing in 28 matches for Lleida and scoring two goals. In 2000, he joined Serbian club Partizan and scored 7 goals in 25 league matches. After a short stay with Partizan, Stolica rejoined Zemun and was a top scorer in the 2001–02 Yugoslav First League, scoring 25 goals in 35 matches and earning a full international call-up as a result. He remained at Zemun thru 2003 appearing in 58 matches and scoring 40 goals.

As a result of his play with Zemun he began to draw interest from various European clubs including Portuguese side SC Farense and Spain's Rayo Vallecano. In January 2003 he was sold to Ukrainian top club FC Metalurh Donetsk. While with Donetsk, Stolica made 20 league appearances and scored 5 goals.[1] During the 2005 season, he returned to Serbia after being loaned to OFK Beograd where he made 12 appearances and scored 8 goals.

In 2005 Stolica embarked on a career in Belgium, joining Sint-Truidense. He remained with Sint-Truidense for two seasons scoring 11 goals in 44 matches. In 2007, he joined RAEC Mons and remained at the club for two seasons scoring 12 goals in 42 matches. In 2009, he joined OFI Crete in Greece, remaining there briefly before returning to the Balkans with Budućnost Podgorica.

On July 30, 2010, Stolica was signed to a contract by the New England Revolution.[2] Stolica made his first appearance on August 8, 2010 against D.C. United and scored in his first start for the club, a 1-0 victory over Houston Dynamo on August 14, 2010.[3]

Stolica, along with team mate Tim Murray was loaned to USL Pro club F.C. New York on April 29, 2011.

Stolica was released by New England on July 1, 2011.[4]

International

Stolica played for the FR Yugoslavia U-21 national team, and for the FR Yugoslavia Olympic team in qualifications for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, before making his debut for the new Serbia and Montenegro team which was formed following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

References
  1. http://www.ffu.org.ua/ukr/tournaments/prof/27508/
  2. "Revolution signs two forwards". New England Revolution.
  3. Lemieux, Jeff (August 14, 2010). "New England Revolution 1, Houston Dynamo 0". Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  4. Revs decline contract options on Perovic, Stolica
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