Savo Milošević

Savo Milošević (Serbian Cyrillic: Саво Милошевић, pronounced [sǎːʋo milǒːʃeʋitɕ]; born 2 September 1973) is a Serbian former professional footballer and current manager.

Savo Milošević

Milošević in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Savo Milošević
Date of birth	2 September 1973
Place of birth	Bijeljina, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Proleter Ruhotina-Johovac
	Podrinje Janja
1989–1992	Partizan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1995	Partizan	98	(65)
1995–1998	Aston Villa	90	(29)
1998–2000	Zaragoza	72	(38)
2000–2004	Parma	31	(9)
2002	→ Zaragoza (loan)	16	(6)
2002–2003	→ Espanyol (loan)	34	(12)
2003–2004	→ Celta (loan)	37	(14)
2004–2007	Osasuna	82	(21)
2008	Rubin Kazan	16	(3)
Total		476	(197)
National team
1994–2008	Serbia	102	(37)
Teams managed
2011–2012	Montenegro (assistant)
2019–2020	Partizan
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

A former forward, after making a name for himself at Partizan, he signed for English club Aston Villa, before going on to spend the vast majority of his career in Spain, where he amassed La Liga totals of 91 goals in 241 games for four clubs including CA Osasuna. Over the course of his 16-year professional playing career, Milošević scored nearly 300 official goals in just over 660 appearances.

At the international level, Milošević played for the national team of FR Yugoslavia (later renamed Serbia and Montenegro),[1] and Serbia, winning over 100 caps for both teams combined. Milošević appeared in two World Cups and one European Championship, at which he earned the Golden Boot at Euro 2000.

Club career

Partizan

Milošević started playing football at the age of 6[2] and spent his youth in the Drina Valley, until at 14 he was spotted by FK Partizan scouts, who convinced the club to secure his transfer for 5,000 Deutsche Mark.[3]

In 1992, Milošević made his senior debut for Partizan, scoring 14 goals in 31 games during his first season at the club. Milošević went on to score an impressive 21 and 30 league goals in his next two seasons respectively – competition-bests in both years – as the Belgrade club won back-to-back national championships, including the double in 1993–94.

Aston Villa

In the summer of 1995, then Aston Villa manager Brian Little bought Milošević from Partizan for £3.5 million, a club record at the time. His spell in England lasted three seasons, during which time he earned the tabloid nickname "Miss-a-lot-ević" owing to his frequent goalscoring dry spells.[4]

However, Milošević did score 34 goals in 117 games for the Villans (28 in the Premier League), including one in the 1995–96 Football League Cup final, a 3–0 win against Leeds United.[5]

Zaragoza

Milošević signed for La Liga club Real Zaragoza in 1998 for 8.5 million pounds, again recording some impressive goalscoring performances, notably netting 21 in the 1999–2000 season as the team secured fourth position.[6]

Parma

After rediscovering his form in Spain, Milošević joined Parma A.C. in the summer of 2000 for €25 million.[7][8] He was a regular starter in his first season in Italy, playing in 21 out of 34 Serie A matches and scoring 8 goals; in the next season, however, he was sparingly used.

Milošević was loaned back to Spain in January 2002, re-joining his former club Zaragoza to replace Blackburn Rovers-bound Yordi.[9] He scored six times during his second spell, finishing as the club's joint top scorer[10] – alongside Yordi and Roberto Acuña. His second spell at Zaragoza ended unsuccessfully, with the club eventually relegated.

In the 2002–03 campaign, Milošević played for RCD Espanyol,[11] again finishing as his team's top scorer but narrowly escaping relegation, a fate that would befall him the following year with Celta de Vigo. Milošević was able to help Celta reach the round-of-16 in their first ever appearance in the UEFA Champions League, with his one goal in seven appearances in the competition coming in a 3–2 group stage home win against AFC Ajax.[12]

Later years

Milošević in action for Rubin Kazan (2008)

In mid-July 2004, aged 30, Milošević signed a three-year contract with another Spanish top flight club, CA Osasuna.[13] In his second season with the Navarrese, he scored 11 goals in 32 games to help the team qualify for the Champions League. Though Milošević failed to score in ten appearances in the subsequent UEFA Cup semifinal run, he did provide two assists in a 3–0 away win against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the first leg of the quarterfinal (which Osasuna won 4–0 on aggregate).[14]

In the summer of 2007, Milošević's contract expired and he left Osasuna after 3 seasons at the club. He took a six-month break from competitive football, during which time he had a trial with Major League Soccer's Toronto FC with a view of signing with them for the 2008 season.[15] The deal fell through and, on 8 March 2008, he agreed terms with FC Rubin Kazan prior to the start of the Russian Premier League campaign.[16]

On 2 November 2008, Milošević scored the decisive goal for Rubin in a game against FC Saturn Ramenskoye, securing the team their first ever national championship.[17] He retired shortly afterwards, aged 35.

International career

He played on 1992 Toulon Tournament and reached the finals with the team.[18] Milošević earned 102 caps for Serbia, making his international debut for the nation (then named Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) on 23 December 1994, in a 0–2 friendly loss in Brazil. Milošević scored 37 goals[19] for his country over the course of a 14-year international career.

After appearing in two games at the 1998 FIFA World Cup,[20] Milošević scored five goals at UEFA Euro 2000, earning him the Golden Boot, an award he shared with Dutch forward Patrick Kluivert.[21]

Milošević made his 100th international appearance on 16 June 2006 during the FIFA World Cup in Germany, in a 0–6 group stage loss against Argentina, and in doing so became the most capped player in Serbian history.[22] As a formal farewell from international football, he was called up for a friendly with Bulgaria on 19 November 2008, scoring twice and missing two penalties in a 6–1 win before being replaced by Dragan Mrđa.

Managerial career

Montenegro (assistant)

From 2011 to 2012, Milošević was an assistant manager to Branko Brnović at the Montenegro national team.

Partizan

On 27 March 2019, Milošević was named by the board of directors at Partizan as the club's new manager,[23] with his first win as Partizan's manager came on 3 April 2019, in a 3–2 home win against Čukarički.[24]

In Milošević's first Eternal derby as manager of Partizan, his team suffered a 2–1 away loss to Red Star Belgrade, with Ricardo Gomes's 90th-minute strike proving only a consolation.[25]

At the end of his first season in charge, Milošević succeeded in qualifying Partizan for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds,[26] and on 23 May 2019, won his first managerial trophy as his Partizan side beat Red Star Belgrade 0–1 in the 2018–19 Serbian Cup Final, courtesy of a Bojan Ostojić goal.[27]

In July and August 2019, Partizan secured their ninth participation in the group stages of UEFA Europa League.[28] Under Milošević's leadership, Partizan knocked-out Connah's Quay Nomads[29] (4–0 on aggregate), Yeni Malatyaspor[30] (3–2 on aggregate) and Molde[31] (3–2 on aggregate) in the qualifiers. On 30 August, Partizan was drawn in to Group L of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, alongside Manchester United, Astana and AZ Alkmaar.[32]

Personal life

Milošević with former water polo player Aleksandar Šapić at a Democratic Party convention on 12 September 2009.

Milošević was born into an ethnic Serb family in the Semberija city of Bijeljina and was raised in Johovac, both in the then-SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia,[2] where he lived with a younger brother Andrija (1975–2013) and younger sister Cvijeta "Mira".[33] Milošević's mother died in 2000 from cancer;[3] he has paternal ancestry from the large Milošević brotherhood of the Vasojevići tribe in northeastern Montenegro, and was a relative of Slobodan Milošević.[3]

Milošević was a political supporter of the Democratic Party led by Boris Tadić, having supported it since 1993 after meeting with Zoran Đinđić and officially becoming a member in 2003.[3] He took part in the 1996–97 protests and the 5 October Overthrow.[3]

Milošević is married to Vesna, with whom he had two sons, including Nikola, and a daughter.[2] On 11 June 2011, his father Stevan "Stevo" (1953–2011) was shot in the chest and killed in the family house in Glavičice by his grandfather Savo (1928–2012), after a family row; the latter was later detained.[34][35]

Career statistics

Club

[36][37]

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Partizan	1992–93	First League of FR Yugoslavia	31	14	8	3	—		—		39	17
	1993–94		32	21	9	7	—		—		41	28
	1994–95		35	30	4	4	—		—		39	34
	Total		98	65	21	14	—		—		119	79
Aston Villa	1995–96	Premier League	37	12	5	1	7	1	—		49	14
	1996–97		30	10	3	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	36	10
	1997–98		23	7	2	1	1	0	6[lower-alpha 1]	1	32	9
	Total		90	29	10	2	9	1	8	1	117	33
Zaragoza	1998–99	La Liga	35	17	2	1	—		—		37	18
	1999–2000		37	21	5	1	—		—		42	22
	Total		72	38	7	2	—		—		79	40
Parma	2000–01	Serie A	21	8	5	2	—		5[lower-alpha 1]	2	31	12
	2001–02		10	1	3	1	—		6[lower-alpha 2]	1	19	3
	Total		31	9	8	3	—		11	3	50	15
Zaragoza (loan)	2001–02	La Liga	16	6	—		—		—		16	6
Espanyol (loan)	2002–03	La Liga	34	12	1	0	—		—		35	12
Celta (loan)	2003–04	La Liga	37	14	5	1	—		9[lower-alpha 3]	1	51	16
Osasuna	2004–05	La Liga	27	6	7	0	—		—		34	6
	2005–06		32	11	—		—		2[lower-alpha 1]	1	34	12
	2006–07		23	4	1	0	—		12[lower-alpha 4]	0	36	4
	Total		82	21	8	0	—		14	1	104	22
Rubin Kazan	2008	Russian Premier League	16	3	1	0	—		—		17	3
Career total			476	197	61	22	9	1	42	6	588	226

Notes

1. Appearances in UEFA Cup
2. Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Cup, two appearances in UEFA Champions League
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Ten appearances in UEFA Cup, two appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of 19 November 2008[38]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
FR Yugoslavia	1994	1	0
	1995	7	4
	1996	7	5
	1997	9	5
	1998	11	2
	1999	7	4
	2000	12	6
	2001	8	5
	2002	9	1
Serbia and Montenegro	2003	10	1
	2004	7	2
	2005	8	0
	2006	5	0
Serbia	2007	0	0
	2008	1	2
Total		102	37

International goals

• Scores and results list FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro/Serbia's goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each Milošević goal.[39]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	31 January 1995	Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong	Hong Kong XI	2–1	3–1	1995 Lunar New Year Cup
2				3–1
3	31 March 1995	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia	Uruguay	1–0	1–0	Friendly
4	29 September 1995	Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece	Greece	1–0	2–0
5	24 April 1996	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia	Faroe Islands	3–0	3–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	2 June 1996	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia	Malta	4–0	5–0
7	6 October 1996	Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	1–0	8–1
8				4–1
9				5–1
10	10 February 1997	Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong	Hong Kong XI	1–0	3–1	1997 Lunar New Year Cup
11	2 April 1997	Letná Stadium, Prague, Czech Republic	Czech Republic	2–1	2–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
12	11 October 1997	National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	Malta	1–0	5–0
13	29 October 1997	Stadion Albert Flórián, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	7–0	7–1
14	15 November 1997	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia	Hungary	1–0	5–0
15	29 May 1998	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia	Nigeria	1–0	3–0	Friendly
16	23 September 1998	Castelão, São Luís, Brazil	Brazil	1–0	1–1
17	10 February 1999	National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	Malta	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2000 qualification
18	8 June 1999	Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece	Malta	2–1	4–1
19				4–1
20	8 September 1999	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Macedonia	1–0	4–2
21	13 June 2000	Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium	Slovenia	1–3	3–3	UEFA Euro 2000
22				2–3
23	18 June 2000	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium	Norway	1–0	1–0
24	21 June 2000	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, Belgium	Spain	1–0	3–4
25	25 June 2000	Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	1–6	1–6
26	3 September 2000	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1–0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
27	28 March 2001	Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Slovenia	1–0	1–1
28	6 June 2001	Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	4–0	6–0
29	1 September 2001	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–1	2–1
30	6 October 2001	Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia	Luxembourg	4–2	6–2
31				5–2
32	13 February 2002	Chase Field, Phoenix, United States	Mexico	2–0	2–1	Friendly
33	11 October 2003	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Wales	2–1	3–2	UEFA Euro 2004 qualification
34	11 July 2004	Hakata no Mori Stadium, Fukuoka, Japan	Slovakia	1–0	2–0	2004 Kirin Cup
35	13 October 2004	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro	San Marino	1–0	5–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
36	19 November 2008	Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia	Bulgaria	3–1	6–1	Friendly
37				4–1

Managerial statistics

As of match updated 30 August 2020

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Partizan	March 2019	September 2020	67	43	9	15	064.18
Total			67	43	9	15	064.18

Honours

Club

Partizan

• First League of Serbia and Montenegro: 1992–93, 1993–94
• Yugoslav Cup: 1993–94

Aston Villa

• Football League Cup: 1995–96

Rubin Kazan

• Russian Premier League: 2008

Individual

Performance

• First League of FR Yugoslavia: Top scorer 1993–94, 1994–95
• UEFA Euro 2000: Golden Boot, Team of the Tournament

Manager

Partizan

• Serbian Cup: 2018–19

References

1. "Retiring Savo pleased with fitting final salvo". UEFA. 20 November 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
2. "Savo Milošević" (in Serbian). Puls. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
3. "Sloboda i pravda se ne dobijaju na tanjiru" [Freedom and justice are not handed on a plate] (in Serbian). Vreme. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
4. The 10 worst foreign signings of all time; The Guardian, 6 August 2000
5. "Milosevic gives; Villa a touch of magic". The Independent. 25 March 1996. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
6. "EL PERSONAJE – El serbio flemático – El gol número 20 de Savo Milosevic da al Zaragoza opciones al título" [THE CHARACTER – The phlegmatic Serb – Savo Milosevic's goal number 20 gives Zaragoza a shot at the title] (in Spanish). El País. 16 May 2000. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
7. "Savo's Parma move imminent". BBC Sport. 27 July 2000. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
8. Džeko je kralj transfera SFRJ (Džeko is the king of transfers in Yugoslavia); MTS Mondo, 7 January 2010 (in Serbian)
9. "Milosevic returns to Zaragoza". UEFA. 23 January 2002. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
10. "La guerra del gol" [The war of goal] (in Spanish). El Periódico de Aragón. 21 February 2002. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
11. "Espanyol move for Milosevic". UEFA. 18 July 2002. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
12. "Celta ride Ajax comeback". UEFA. 4 November 2003. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
13. "Milosevic takes Osasuna option". UEFA. 17 July 2004. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
14. "Ruthless Osasuna stun Leverkusen". UEFA. 5 April 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
15. Mozzart Sport (13 August 2012). "Savo za MOZZART: Treba da se pomolimo Bogu i zasučemo rukave!" (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
16. "Milošević agrees return with Rubin". UEFA. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
17. "Russian minnows hit the big time". BBC Sport. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
18. https://web.archive.org/web/20131006071956/http://www.festival-foot-espoirs.com/archive-festival-foot/archive-festival-foot.php?annee=1992&id=20&content=equipes
19. Savo Milosevic – Goals in International Matches; at RSSSF
20. Savo Milošević – FIFA competition record
21. "Kluivert heads chase for Golden Boot". BBC Sport. 28 June 2000. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
22. "Argentina 6–0 Serbia & Montenegro". BBC Sport. 16 June 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
23. "Savo Milošević novi trener Partizana" (in Bosnian). Sport1.ba. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
24. "Partizan vs Čukarički". Rezultati.com (in Bosnian). Retrieved 3 April 2019.
25. K.H. (25 April 2019). "Crvena zvezda pokazala moć u odnosu na Partizan i slavila u "večitom derbiju"" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
26. "SUPERLIGA JE ZAVŠRENA: Zvezda je šampion! Bačka i Zemun ispali u drugu ligu, Dimano u poslednjem trenutku izborio baraž! (FOTO)" (in Serbian). Kurir.rs. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
27. "PARTIZAN NAPRAVIO ČUDO NA MARAKANI: Pehar četvrtu godinu zaredom ostaje u Humskoj! Crno-beli savladali Zvezdu u finalu Kupa Srbije! Saša Ilić sa trofejom otišao u legendu (KURIR TV)" (in Serbian). Kurir.rs. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
28. Bataković, Marko. "UEFA ŠALJE MILIONE U HUMSKU! Evo koliko je Partizan zaradio samo od plasmana u Ligu Evrope!". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 31 August 2019.
29. Catterall, Will (1 August 2019). "FK Partizan 3 Connah's Quay Nomads 0 - Nomads' Europa League adventure ends". northwales. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
30. "ЈЕНИ МАЛАТИЈАСПОР - ПАРТИЗАН 1:0(1:0)". FK PARTIZAN (in Serbian). Retrieved 31 August 2019.
31. "МОЛДЕ - ПАРТИЗАН 1:1(0:0)". FK PARTIZAN (in Serbian). Retrieved 31 August 2019.
32. "Europa League 2019/20: all the fixtures". UEFA. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
33. "Zla kob porodice Milošević". 1 December 2013.
34. "Premier League – Milosevic's father killed by grandfather". Yahoo Sports. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
35. "Father of former Aston Villa striker Savo Milosevic killed by the grandfather after argument". The Daily Telegraph. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
36. "Savo Milošević". thefinalball.com. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
37. Savo Milošević at WorldFootball.net
38. "Savo Milošević". European Football. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
39. "Savo Milosevic - Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 10 August 2018.

External links

• Savo Milošević at Serbian National Team page
• Savo Milošević at Soccerbase
• Savo Milošević at BDFutbol
• Savo Milošević at National-Football-Teams.com
• Savo Milošević at FootballDatabase.eu