Mateja Milovanović

Mateja Milovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Матеја Миловановић; born 18 April 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Jong Ajax. Born in the Netherlands, he is a youth international for the Serbia U19s.

Mateja Milovanović
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-04-18) 18 April 2004
Place of birth Vlaardingen, Netherlands
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Jong Ajax
Youth career
2008–2018 Sparta Rotterdam
2018–2021 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Jong Ajax 12 (0)
International career‡
2021–2023 Serbia U19 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:49, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 November 2022

Personal life

Milovanović was born in Vlaardingen in 2004. His father Viktor Milovanović was playing for Sparta Rotterdam at the time. Mateja has captained the Netherlands at youth level but has eligibility for Serbia through his family.[1]

Club career

Milovanović signed a first professional contract with Ajax in 2021 to take him through to 2024. He had been with Ajax youth teams since 2018 when he switched from Sparta Rotterdam.[2] He made his professional debut in the Eerste Divisie for Jong Ajax in a 1–0 defeat against Roda JC Kerkrade on 12 August 2022.[3]

International career

Having previously been called up for the under-15 and under-18 teams of the Netherlands, Milovanović made his debut for the Serbia under-19 team under manager Dejan Branković on June 7, 2021, in a friendly fixture against Romania under-19 which resulted in a 1–0 victory at home.[4]

Style of play

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport both AS Roma and S.S.C. Napoli were attracted to Milovanović as he was left footed, tall and strong but with good technique, they felt his style of play was comparable to Matthijs de Ligt.[5]

References
  1. "The captain of the Netherlands could play for the "eagles"! The Serbian son is the MAIN TOPIC in Amsterdam, and here hardly anyone has heard of him!". sportal.blic.rs.
  2. "Ajax signs Mateja Milovanovic". ajax.nl.
  3. "RODA JC VS. AJAX II-Soccerway". Soccerway.
  4. "Toate detaliile despre naționala Italiei, adversarul de astăzi al tricolorilor" (in Romanian). Federația Română de Fotbal. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  5. "They call him the new De Ligt: the 17-year-old Milovanovic already in the sights of Rome and Naples". Gazzetta.It.
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