Stefan Savić

This article is about the Montenegrin footballer. For the Austrian footballer, see Stefan Savić (Austrian footballer).

Stefan Savić

Savić with Montenegro in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Stefan Savić[1]
Date of birth	(1991-01-08) 8 January 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Mojkovac, SR Montenegro, Yugoslavia
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Trabzonspor
Number	15
Youth career
	Brskovo
2007–2009	BSK Borča
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2010	BSK Borča	27	(1)
2010–2011	Partizan	20	(1)
2011–2012	Manchester City	12	(1)
2012–2015	Fiorentina	86	(4)
2015–2024	Atlético Madrid	217	(2)
2024–	Trabzonspor	3	(0)
International career^‡
2007	Montenegro U17[3]	3	(0)
2008–2010	Montenegro U19[3]	7	(0)
2009–2010	Montenegro U21[3]	5	(0)
2010–	Montenegro	73	(9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:38, 23 September 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2024

Stefan Savić (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Стефан Савић, pronounced [stêfaːn sâʋitɕ]; born 8 January 1991) is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor and the Montenegro national team.

Born in Mojkovac, Savić started his career at the local club Brskovo,^[4] before moving to BSK Borča, and then to Partizan. He won the double with Partizan, and then joined Manchester City for £6 million, winning the Premier League title in his only season there. In 2012, he was transferred to Fiorentina, making over 100 appearances across three seasons before signing with Atlético Madrid in 2015, where he won the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup in 2018.^[5]

A full international since 2010, Savić has made over 70 appearances and scored nine goals for Montenegro.^[6]

Club career

Career in Serbia

Savić began his professional career with BSK Borča during the 2008–09 season. In early 2010, he was on a ten-day trial with Arsenal. According to Savić, he had agreed to join Arsenal in the summer, but the transfer never went through.^[7]

On 29 August 2010, it was announced that Savić had signed for Partizan on a four-year contract and was given the number 15 shirt.^[8] He made four appearances in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage and helped the club win the double.

Manchester City

On 6 July 2011, Savić signed a four-year contract for Manchester City in a £6 million deal.^[9][10] He made his debut against Swansea City on 15 August as a substitute at the City of Manchester Stadium. On 1 October, he came off the bench and scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 victory away to Blackburn Rovers, heading in the conclusive goal from a corner from Samir Nasri.

Throughout centre-back Vincent Kompany's four-match ban from 11 to 25 January, Savić replaced him in the starting line-up, with third-choice Kolo Touré away on international duty with the Ivory Coast in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.^{[citation needed]} Although Savić showed brief flashes of form in this time, he showed many instances of nervousness resulting in frequent misplaced passes, clearances and crucially conceded a penalty against Liverpool in a League Cup match, resulting in a Liverpool win.^[11] Via a poor first touch, he caused Jermain Defoe's goal in City's 3–2 win over Tottenham Hotspur.^[12] With Kompany's return to the starting team, Savić returned to the bench. He ended the season with 12 league appearances, enough for a medal, as Manchester City won the 2011–12 Premier League on the last day of the season.^[13]

Fiorentina

On 31 August 2012, Italian Serie A club Fiorentina signed Savić as part of a deal for Matija Nastasić to transfer the other way. He was given the number 15 shirt and made his Fiorentina debut on 7 October, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win over Bologna, and in December he scored his first two goals in a 2–2 home draw with Sampdoria.^[14] He finished the season with 26 league appearances and one Coppa Italia appearance, helping Fiorentina to finish in fourth place in the 2012–13 Serie A, thereby securing a UEFA Europa League place for 2013–14.^{[citation needed]}

Savić continued to be a mainstay in the Fiorentina defence in the 2013–14 season, making 31 appearances in the league as Fiorentina again finished in fourth place.^{[citation needed]} Savić made four appearances in the Europa League proper and two more in qualifying as Fiorentina made the last 16 of the competition, being beaten 2–1 on aggregate by rivals Juventus.^{[citation needed]} He also played both matches in the Coppa Italia semi-final win over Udinese and in the final, where his side lost 3–1 to Napoli.^[15]

In the 2014–15 season, Savić reached the milestone of 100 appearances for Fiorentina in all competitions.^{[citation needed]} He was a major part of their run to the semi-finals in the 2014–15 Europa League and the third consecutive fourth-place finish in Serie A, making 41 appearances in all competitions.^{[citation needed]}

Atlético Madrid

On 20 July 2015, Savić moved to Atlético Madrid for €10 million fee and signed a five-year contract with the club; midfielder Mario Suárez moving in the opposite direction for free as part of the deal, though Suárez later sold for €4 million in January 2016.^[16][17] Savić became the first Montenegrin footballer who played in the Champions League final in the 21st century, 18 years after Predrag Mijatović, who scored decisive goal in the 1998 final for Real Madrid against Juventus.^{[citation needed]}

Trabzonspor

On 25 July 2024, Süper Lig club Trabzonspor confirmed that Savić had signed for the club.^[18]

International career

Savić playing against Ukraine in 2012

Having represented Montenegro at every youth level,^[19] Savić made his international debut for the senior team in a friendly match against Northern Ireland on 11 August 2010, replacing Milan Jovanović for the final 15 minutes at the Stadion Pod Goricom.^{[citation needed]} On 10 August 2011, he scored twice in a 3–2 friendly loss to neighbours Albania at the Loro Boriçi Stadium in Shkodër.^{[20][better source needed]}

Personal life

Stefan's father Dragan was the president of the municipal assembly in Mojkovac when he committed suicide on 6 April 2011 when Stefan was 20 years old.^[21] Subsequently, Red Star Belgrade's Delije ultras, who are otherwise not known for being sympathetic to people associated with crosstown rivals Partizan, held up a banner^{[clarification needed]} which said "Support for Stefan Savić" after the loss of his father.^[22]

In addition to his native Montenegrin, Savić speaks English, Italian, and Spanish fluently.^[23][24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 October 2024^[25]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
BSK Borča	2008–09	Serbian First League	3	0	0	0	—		—		—		3	0
	2009–10	Serbian SuperLiga	21	1	1	1	—		—		—		22	2
	2010–11		3	0	0	0	—		—		—		3	0
	Total		27	1	1	1	—		—		—		28	2
Partizan	2010–11	Serbian SuperLiga	20	1	4	0	—		4[c]	0	—		28	1
Manchester City	2011–12	Premier League	11	1	1	0	5	0	3[d]	0	0	0	20	1
	2012–13		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[e]	0	1	0
	Total		11	1	1	0	5	0	3	0	1	0	21	1
Fiorentina	2012–13	Serie A	26	2	1	0	—		—		—		27	2
	2013–14		31	0	3	0	—		6[f]	0	—		40	0
	2014–15		29	2	3	0	—		9[f]	0	—		41	2
	Total		86	4	7	0	—		15	0	—		108	4
Atlético Madrid	2015–16	La Liga	12	0	5	0	—		7[c]	0	—		24	0
	2016–17		32	1	7	0	—		10[c]	0	—		49	1
	2017–18		27	0	3	0	—		7[g]	0	—		37	0
	2018–19		18	0	2	0	—		1[c]	0	1[h]	0	22	0
	2019–20		22	0	0	0	—		4[c]	1	2[i]	0	28	1
	2020–21		33	1	1	0	—		8[c]	0	—		42	1
	2021–22		28	0	0	0	—		5[c]	0	0	0	33	0
	2022–23		22	0	4	0	—		3[c]	0	—		29	0
	2023–24		23	0	3	0	—		6[c]	0	1[i]	0	33	0
	Total		217	2	25	0	—		51	1	4	0	297	3
Trabzonspor	2024–25	Süper Lig	3	0	0	0	—		3[j]	0	—		6	0
Career total			364	9	38	1	5	0	76	1	5	0	488	11

1. Includes Serbian Cup, FA Cup, Coppa Italia, Copa del Rey
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance in FA Community Shield
6. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
7. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
8. Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
9. Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España
10. One appearance in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of match played 25 March 2024^[26]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Montenegro
	2010	4	0
	2011	8	2
	2012	7	0
	2013	6	0
	2014	4	0
	2015	7	1
	2016	4	1
	2017	6	0
	2018	4	1
	2019	2	0
	2020	3	0
	2021	6	0
	2022	3	2
	2023	8	2
	2024	1	0
Total		73	9

As of match played 25 March 2024. Montenegro score listed first, score column indicates score after each Savić goal.^[27]

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	10 August 2011	Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania	7	Albania	1–1	2–3	Friendly
2					2–1
3	8 September 2015	Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova	33	Moldova	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
4	8 October 2016	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro	38	Kazakhstan	5–0	5–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	10 September 2018	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro	50	Lithuania	1–0	2–0	2018–19 UEFA Nations League C
6	17 November 2022	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro	63	Slovakia	1–2	2–2	Friendly
7					2–2
8	7 September 2023	Darius and Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania	69	Lithuania	2–1	2–2	UEFA Euro 2024 qualification
9	11 September 2023	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro	70	Bulgaria	1–0	2–1	UEFA Euro 2024 qualification

Honours

BSK Borča

• Serbian First League: 2008–09^{[citation needed]}

Partizan^[25]

• Serbian SuperLiga: 2010–11
• Serbian Cup: 2010–11

Manchester City^[25]

• Premier League: 2011–12^[28]
• FA Community Shield: 2012^[29]

Fiorentina^[25]

• Coppa Italia runner-up: 2013–14

Atlético Madrid^[25]

• La Liga: 2020–21^[30]
• UEFA Europa League: 2017–18^[31]
• UEFA Super Cup: 2018
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2015–16

Individual

• Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season: 2010–11^[32][33]
• Montenegrin Footballer of the Year (7): 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023^[34]

References

1. "Acta del Partido celebrado el 04 de mayo de 2019, en Barcelona" [Minutes of the Match held on 4 May 2019, in Barcelona] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
2. "Official Atlético de Madrid Website". en.atleticodemadrid.com.
3. Only official UEFA matches included
4. "Stefan Savić: Fabregas i Aršavin ne glume zvezde". blic.rs. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
5. Emma Sanders (15 August 2018). "Real Madrid 2–4 Atlético Madrid". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
6. "Montenegro – Record International Players". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
7. "Savic claims Gunners deal". Sky Sports. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
8. "Stefan Savić novo pojačanje Partizana!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 29 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
9. "Stefan Savic completes Manchester City switch". BBC Sport. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
10. "Stefan Savic signs for City". mcfc.co.uk. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
11. Winter, Henry (12 January 2012). "Stefan Savic slip sees Steven Gerrard give Liverpool a 1–0 lead over Manchester City in League Cup semi-final". The Daily Telegraph. London.
12. "Mancini defends Savic". Sky Sports.
13. "Man City 3-2 QPR" BBC Sport. 13 May 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
14. "Fiorentina 2–2 Sampdoria". legaseriea.it. Lega Serie A. 2 December 2012. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
15. "Coppa Italia final: Rafael Benitez's Napoli beat Fiorentina 3–1". BBC Sport. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
16. "Acuerdo con la Fiorentina para el traspaso de Stefan Savic" (in Spanish). clubatleticodemadrid.com. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
17. ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2015 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
18. "Trabzonspor Confirms Stefan Savic's Transfer". beIN SPORTS. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
19. Stefan Savić – UEFA competition record (archive)
20. "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
21. "Ubio se gradonačelnik Mojkovca". novosti.rs.
22. SMedia (Serbian): "Delije" pružaju podršku Saviću 8 April 2011.
23. "Stefan Savic: Exclusive Interview". Manchester City F.C. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
24. "Attic – Liverpool: Interview with Savic: "The independence of Montenegro was important, but much more than it was peaceful"". Sports Finding. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
25. Stefan Savić at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
26. "Savić, Stefan". National Football Teams. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
27. "Stefan Savić". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
28. "Stefan Savic: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
29. Smith, Ben (12 August 2012). "Chelsea 2–3 Man City". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016.
30. "Spanish league ends with title finale, possible farewells". Associated Press. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
31. "Griezmann inspires Atlético to Europa League glory". UEFA. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
32. "Tim sezone". sportske.net. 27 May 2011.
33. "JSL: Izabran najbolji tim". b92.net. 27 May 2011.
34. "Player of the year » Montenegro". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 9 January 2020.

External links

• Stefan Savić – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Stefan Savić – UEFA competition record (archive)