Milan Smiljanić

Milan "Lola" Smiljanić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Лола Смиљанић, pronounced [mǐlan lôla smǐʎanitɕ]; born 19 November 1986) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serbian SuperLiga club FK Partizan.

Lola Smiljanić
Smiljanić warming up with Espanyol in 2009
Personal information
Full name Milan Smiljanić
Date of birth (1986-11-19) 19 November 1986
Place of birth Kalmar, Sweden
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Partizan
Number 99
Youth career
1992–2005 Partizan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2007 Partizan 48 (1)
2007–2011 Espanyol 47 (0)
2010 → Sporting Gijón (loan) 6 (0)
2010–2011 → Partizan (loan) 18 (1)
2011–2013 Partizan 47 (1)
2013–2015 Gençlerbirliği 1 (0)
2015–2016 Maccabi Netanya 31 (0)
2016–2017 Perth Glory 15 (0)
2017–2018 Hapoel Ashkelon 29 (1)
2018– Partizan 25 (0)
National team
2006–2009 Serbia U21 28 (2)
2007–2008 Serbia 6 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 October 2020

Early life

Smiljanić was born in Kalmar, Sweden, as his father Branko, who was also a professional footballer, was playing for Kalmar AIK FK at the time.

Club career

Partizan

Smiljanić subsequently returned to Serbia and joined FK Partizan youth ranks. Under head coach Vladimir Vermezović, he made his debut for the first team in a league match against FK Sutjeska Nikšić, during the second part of 2004–05.

Smiljanić also spent some time playing for farm team FK Teleoptik and, in little more than two professional seasons, he amassed more than 50 official appearances with the club, and eventually gained club captaincy despite his age.

Espanyol

On 18 July 2007, Spain's RCD Espanyol agreed with Partizan for the transfer of Smiljanić for an undisclosed fee, in a five-year contract.[1] He made his La Liga debut against Real Valladolid on 26 August, in a 0–1 home loss;[2] most of his first two seasons in Catalonia were spent mainly appearing from the bench, even though one of his main competitors in the team, Iván de la Peña, was often injured.[3]

After the club's initial unsuccessful attempts to loan him out for 2009–10, Smiljanić spent the first months of the new campaign only training, not having been given any squad number. However, such a move was arranged in late January 2010, as he joined Sporting de Gijón until June.[4]

Partizan return

In the summer of 2010, Smiljanić was loaned to his former club Partizan.[5] After his loan expired he returned to Spain and agreed the contract termination with the Barcelona-based club.[6]

Smiljanić signed a permanent contract with Partizan on 16 August 2011, penning a two-year deal.[7]

Gençlerbirliği

On 29 May 2013, it was announced that Gençlerbirliği S.K. had agreed terms with Smiljanić to sign him as a free agent.[8] He appeared in only four competitive games during his spell, his Süper Lig debut coming on 19 October 2013 in a 1–3 home loss against Kasımpaşa SK.

Smiljanić was released on 30 June 2015.

Later years

On 30 July 2015, Smiljanić joined Maccabi Netanya F.C. on a 1+1 contract.[9] He left Israel the following 9 August, moving alongside countryman Nebojša Marinković to A-League club Perth Glory FC.[10] On 16 February 2017, he left the latter via mutual termination of his contract to explore opportunities in Asia.[11]

On 15 June 2017, Smiljanić returned to the Israeli Premier League and signed with newly promoted Hapoel Ashkelon FC.[12]

Partizan, Take Three

In June 2018, Smiljanić returned to his original club for the third time, committing to a two-year contract.[13] In June 2019, he was appointed Partizan Belgrade Vice-captain.[14]

International career

After the 2006–07 season, Smiljanić was called up by Serbia under-21 coach Miroslav Đukić to be part of his squad for the 2007 UEFA European Championships. He helped the national side finish runner-up in the tournament, to hosts the Netherlands.[15]

Smiljanić made his full debut on 22 August 2007, in a 2–3 loss against Belgium in Brussels for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers. In July of the following year he was picked to the 18-man squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics, with Đukić again as manager – Serbia ranked last in its group.[16]

Next year, Smiljanić appeared in the 2009 European Under-21 Championship as captain, but could not help repeat the previous edition's feat as the nation did not progress through the group stages in his country of birth, Sweden.[17]

Career statistics

Club
As of end of 2019–20 season[18]
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
2004–05PartizanSuperLiga20000020
2005–061511000161
2006–073103180421
2007–08EspanyolLa Liga30040––340
2008–0917050220
2009–10000000
Sporting Gijón6000––60
2010–11PartizanSuperLiga1813070281
2011–122303010270
2012–132411060311
2013–14GençlerbirliğiSüper Lig1030––40
2015–16 Maccabi Netanya Israeli Premier League 31 0 6 0 –– 37 0
2016–17 Perth Glory A-League 15 0 1 0 –– 16 0
2017–18 Hapoel Ashkelon Israeli Premier League 29 1 4 0 –– 33 1
2018–19 Partizan SuperLiga 13 0 4 0 2 0 19 0
2019–20 7 0 1 0 0 0 8 0
2020–21 5 0 0 0 1 0 6 0
Career total 26743512503325

International
As of 31 May 2008[19]
Serbia
YearAppsGoals
200721
200840
Total61

International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.17 October 2007Tofiq Bahramov, Baku, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan5–16–1Euro 2008 qualifying

References
  1. "El Espanyol cierra la plantilla con el serbio Smiljanic" [Espanyol close roster with Serbian Smiljanic] (in Spanish). Terra. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  2. "Espanyol 0–1 Valladolid". ESPN Soccernet. 26 August 2007. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  3. "Finnan, Callejón y Smiljanic se estrenan en una convocatoria" [Finnan, Callejón and Smiljanic make squad for the first time]. El Economista (in Spanish). 19 September 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  4. "Lola Smiljanic, cedido al Sporting de Gijón hasta final de temporada" [Lola Smiljanic, loaned to Sporting de Gijón until end of season]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 26 January 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  5. "Smiljanić nova akvizicija crno-belih" [Smiljanić new acquisition of Black and Whites] (in Serbian). FK Partizan. 23 July 2010. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  6. "Lola deixa l'Espanyol" [Lola leaves Espanyol] (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  7. "Smiljanić ponovo u Partizanu!" [Smiljanić returns to Partizan!] (in Serbian). FK Partizan. 16 August 2011. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  8. Смиљанић сутра потписује за Генчлер [Smiljanić signs tomorrow with Gençler]. Sportski žurnal (in Serbian). 29 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  9. סמיליאניץ' ועומר בוארון חתמו במכבי נתניה [Smiljanić and Omer Buaron signed with Maccabi Netanya] (in Hebrew). Sport 5. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  10. "Glory signs second international Serbian". Perth Glory. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  11. Davidson, John (16 February 2017). "Smiljanic departs Perth". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  12. Karako, Amit (15 June 2017). רכש נוסף לנעים: סמיליאניץ' חתם בהפועל אשקלון [Another present for Naim: Smiljanić signed with Hapoel Ashkelon] (in Hebrew). One. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  13. "Lola Smiljanić treći put u dresu Partizana". B92.net (in Serbian). Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  14. "Partizan ima novog kapitena". Sportska centrala (in Serbian). 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  15. "Jong Oranje clinch European crown". UEFA. 24 June 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  16. "Milan Smiljanic". FIFA. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  17. "Captain's tears show Serbia dismay". UEFA. 24 June 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  18. "M. Smiljanić". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  19. "Milan Smiljanić". European Football. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
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