Nikola Milenković

Nikola Milenković (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Миленковић, pronounced [nǐkola milěːŋkoʋitɕ]; born 12 October 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and right-back for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Serbia national team.

Nikola Milenković
Milenković with Serbia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Nikola Milenković[1]
Date of birth (1997-10-12) 12 October 1997
Place of birth Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia[2]
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Fiorentina
Number 4
Youth career
2012–2015 Partizan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Partizan 36 (2)
2015–2016 → Teleoptik (loan) 13 (0)
2017– Fiorentina 191 (14)
International career‡
2017–2019 Serbia U21 9 (0)
2018– Serbia 48 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023

Club career

Early career

The quest to begin his career journey began in Žarkovo, where his family lived. Because Nikola grew up in that Belgrade neighbourhood, it was easy for his parents (notably his Mother) to identify a suitable academy he could train with. After having a successful trial, the youngster got enrolled in the academy roaster of OFK Žarkovo. This is a famous professional football academy based in Žarkovo. Nikola laid his career foundation on solid footings in this nice academy. Nikola had an excellent start to his youth career, as he surpassed his teammates in both training and games. OFK Žarkovo’s youth coach (Nikola Jelic) observed Nikola’s attributes and was very eager to discuss the boy’s future. All he wanted was for Nikola to excel fast, and Jelic noticed that his continuous stay with OFK Žarkovo wasn’t the right option. At 15, the youngster had a successful trial with Teleoptik. This bigger and better academy came with a limitation – which is distance. On many occasions, Nikola’s mother got worried about how her son would travel and get to school (on time) and still balance his football obligation. Because of the issue with distance, there came this quest to change Nikola’s academy. Thankfully, word came out that Partizan was looking for kids. This is an elite Serbian football club based in Belgrade. Because of their reputation, it is really hard to pass their academy trials. Nikola Milenković was among 30 other kids who were approved to come for trials with the great club. Only five passed, and Nikola was one of them.

2015–16 season

Passing the youth categories of Partizan, Milenković was loaned to Teleoptik for the 2015–16 season.[4] At the beginning of 2016, he joined the first team of Partizan under coach Ivan Tomić and signed a five-year contract, but also stayed with Teleoptik on dual registration until the end of season.[5] Several days after debut for U19 national team,[6] he made his debut for Partizan in a SuperLiga match against Mladost Lučani played on 10 April 2016.[7] He started in a match against Čukarički in round 32 of the same season and received a red card for a brutal foul on Petar Bojić, which resulted in a suspension for the next four matches.[8] Milenković scored his first senior goal for Partizan in the last fixture of the 2015–16 Serbian SuperLiga, against Vojvodina,[9] which was the hundredth goal of the club for the season.[10]

2016–17 season

Milenković started new season pairing with Cédric Gogoua for the second qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League against Zagłębie Lubin. He also started SuperLiga competition in the first fixture match against OFK Bačka before spending the following two rounds on the bench. After several bad results and some injuries of the players in defense, Milenković started playing continuously from the fourth fixture against Javor Ivanjica onwards. He scored his first season goal in a match against Rad, played on 27 August 2016.[11] He also made his Serbian Cup debut in the first round match, against Napredak Kruševac on 21 September 2016.[12] After Miroslav Vulićević's injury in a cup match against Žarkovo on 25 October 2016, Milenković wore the captain's armbrand.[13] In February 2017, he was listed as one of the 30 best youth footballers in the world by the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.[14] he scored his third goal for Partizan as a senior in 27 fixture match of the season against Voždovac, played on 18 March 2017.[15]

On 27 May, in his last match for Partizan, Milenković scored a header against Partizan's biggest rival Red Star which won the game and clinched Partizan's double of the season, winning both the league and cup competitions.[16]

Fiorentina

On 24 May 2017, Partizan president Milorad Vučelić confirmed that Milenković would be joining Serie A side Fiorentina in the summer.[17] The transfer fee was reported as €5.1 million.[18] Milenković made his debut for Fiorentina in 1–0 away victory over Cagliari on 22 December 2017, having played 84 minutes of the game.[19] During the first few months, Nikola was getting used to his new environment and that's why Viola coach Stefano Pioli didn't often include him in the starting line-up. However, the tragic death of the team captain Davide Astori made Pioli change his mind and include Nikola in the starting eleven more often.

At the start of 2018–19 Serie A season matchday 2, Milenković scored his first goal at Stadio Artemio Franchi in 6–1 win over ChievoVerona.[20] On 20 April 2019 Milenković scored 6th minute opener in 2–1 away defeat against rivals Juventus.[21]

In the first round of the 2019–20 season against Napoli, Milenković scored the second goal for his team as a 7-goal thriller ends in Napoli's favor.[22] After a corner taken by Erick Pulgar Milenkovic's header Proves Decisive in a 1–0 win against Udinese.[23] On October 30, Nikola scored his third goal of the season and thus helped Fiorentina come from behind to claim a 2–1 win against Sassuolo.[24] After another corner combination between Pulgar and Milenković, the Serbian international scored the equalizing goal in his side's 2–1 defeat against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.[25]

At the end of the 2021–22 Serie A season Fiorentina finished in seventh position and secured their first participation in the UEFA Europa Conference League. After five and a half years, (The Purples) returned to the European competition and after the draw held on August 2, 2022, the opponent was the Dutch Twente. After two games with the Dutch, the Italians came out victorious, the result was 2–1 for Fiorentina in the overall score.

International career

Milenković was a member of the Serbia under-19 team in early 2016.[26] Later the same year, he was called up to the Serbia U20 national squad by coach Nenad Lalatović, and made his debut for the team in a match against Montenegro.[27] Milenković was called up to the U21 squad by Lalatović in March 2017.[28] He made his first appearance at U21 level on 28 March 2017, in a friendly match against Slovakia.[29]

Milenković made his debut for the senior national team in a friendly 3–0 loss to Qatar on 29 September 2016.[30]

In June 2018 Serbian head coach Mladen Krstajić included Milenković in the final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup.[31] He played in all three group stage matches.[32][33][34] He is widely considered as the best performer in the World Cup 2018 squad, with 34 successful tackles (the most in the group stage), and some great positional play.

In November 2022, he was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[35] He played in all three group stage matches, against Brazil,[36] Cameroon,[37] and Switzerland.[38] Serbia finished fourth in the group.[39]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 23 October 2023[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Teleoptik (loan)[2] 2015–16 Serbian League Belgrade 130——130
Partizan 2015–16 Serbian SuperLiga 4100—41
2016–17 322612[lower-alpha 2]0403
Total 3636120444
Fiorentina 2017–18 Serie A 16010—170
2018–19 34340—383
2019–20 37540—415
2020–21 34330—373
2021–22 34152—393
2022–23 2724011[lower-alpha 3]1423
2023–24 90000[lower-alpha 4]090
Total 1911421211122317
Career total 2401727313128021
  1. Includes Serbian Cup, Coppa Italia
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International
As of match played 17 October 2023[40]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Serbia 2018100
201981
202080
202162
202290
202370
Total483
Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Milenković goal.[40]
List of international goals scored by Nikola Milenković
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
17 September 2019Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia Portugal1–22–4UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
21 September 2021Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen, Hungary Qatar4–04–0Friendly
34 September 2021Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia Luxembourg4–14–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Partizan

Fiorentina

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Serbia" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 26. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. "Milenkovic, Nikola". srbijafudbal.com (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  3. "Milenković, Nikola". FK Partizan official website (in Serbian). Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  4. ""FUDBAL" number 32 - page 2866" (PDF). Football Association of Serbia (in Serbian). 12 August 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  5. "ZIMSKI PRELAZNI ROK – FK PARTIZAN (18.01. – 12.02.2016.)" (PDF). FK Partizan official website (in Serbian). 18 February 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  6. Никола Миленковић: Живим за деби у Партизану!. Sportski žurnal (in Serbian). 1 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. "PARTIZAN SPREMAN ZA DERBI Božinov se raspucao, majstorije Ilića presudile Mladosti /VIDEO/". Blic (in Serbian). 10 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  8. Миленковићу четири, Јанковићу три утакмице паузе!. Sportski žurnal (in Serbian). 27 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  9. "Partizan nemilosrdan - Mihajlović već po navici odlučio; Voša videla koliko je teže kad moraš da napadneš večite (VIDEO)". mozzartsport.com (in Serbian). 21 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  10. "Partizan prebacio stotku: Milenković jubilarac". mozzartsport.com (in Serbian). 23 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  11. "Partizan – Rad 4:0 (2:0)". FK Partizan official website (in Serbian). 27 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  12. "Partizan – Napredak 3:1 (3:0)". FK Partizan official website (in Serbian). 21 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  13. "Žarkovo – Partizan 0:2 (0:0)". FK Partizan official website (in Serbian). 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  14. "Oni će pokoriti svet: Spisak 30 najboljih mladih fudbalera planete, tu je i jedan iz Partizana". mozzartsport.com (in Serbian). 22 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  15. "Partizan – Voždovac 4:0 (2:0)". FK Partizan official website (in Serbian). 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  16. "Milenković doneo duplu krunu Partizanu!". B92 (in Serbian). 27 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  17. "NADA SE LIGI ŠAMPIONA Vučelić posle titule: Ostaju Đurđević i Leonardo". Blic (in Serbian). 24 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  18. "Milenkovic will join Fiorentina". football-italia.net. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  19. "Cagliari-Fiorentina 0-1: Decide Babacar. GOL E HIGHLIGHTS". Sky Sports (in Italian). 22 December 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  20. "Milenković first goal for Fiorentina". Soccerway.com. 26 August 2018.
  21. "JUVENTUS VS. FIORENTINA 2 - 1". Soccerway.com. 20 April 2019.
  22. "FIORENTINA VS. NAPOLI 3 - 4". Soccerway.com. 24 August 2019.
  23. "FIORENTINA VS. UDINESE 1 - 0". Soccerway.com. 6 October 2019.
  24. "SASSUOLO VS. FIORENTINA 1 - 2". Soccerway.com. 30 October 2019.
  25. "ROMA VS. FIORENTINA 2 - 1". Soccerway.com. 26 July 2020.
  26. Nikola Milenković at Soccerway
  27. Лалатовићева Србија (селекција до 20 година) боља од Црне Горе у Подгорици – 2:1(0:0). Football Association of Serbia (in Serbian). 13 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  28. "Zasluženo: Milenković u reprezentaciji!". mozzartsport.com (in Serbian). 17 March 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  29. Млада репрезентација са промешаним картама у Словачкој – 1:2 (0:0). Football Association of Serbia (in Serbian). 28 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  30. "Qatar - Serbia match report". eurosport.com. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  31. "World Cup 2018: All the confirmed squads for this summer's finals in Russia". BBC Sport. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  32. Timothy Abraham (17 June 2018). "Costa Rica 0–1 Serbia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  33. Matthew Henry (23 June 2018). "Serbia 1–2 Switzerland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  34. Andrew Das (27 June 2018). "World Cup: Brazil cruises into next round with easy victory". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  35. "Head-coach Dragan Stojković announces the list of players for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar". Football Association of Serbia. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  36. Conti, Kristen (24 November 2022). "Richarlison Brings Brazil to Life in the Second Half, Defeats Serbia 2-0". NBCNew York. New York. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  37. Sky Sports (28 November 2022). "World Cup 2022 - Cameroon 3-3 Serbia: Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting goals complete stunning comeback". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  38. Ames, Nick (2 December 2022). "Switzerland advance and Serbia go out as Freuler finish settles stormy contest". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  39. Mendola, Nicholas (2 December 2022). "World Cup 2022 Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Cameroon, Switzerland schedule, fixtures, rankings". NBC Sports. Lusail. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  40. "Nikola Milenković". National Football Teams.
  41. "Fiorentina prodigy Nikola Milenkovic can't avoid Nemanja Vidic comparisons". ESPN UK. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  42. "Time for the Nikola Milenković story". Viola Nation. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  43. Stone, Simon (7 June 2023). "Fiorentina 1–2 West Ham United: Jarrod Bowen goal decides Europa Conference League final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  44. "2022/23 Europa Conference League Team of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
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