Matija Nastasić

Matija Nastasić

Nastasić playing for Manchester City in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Matija Nastasić[1]
Date of birth	(1993-03-28) 28 March 1993
Place of birth	Valjevo, FR Yugoslavia
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Manchester City
Number	33
Youth career
2008–2010	Partizan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2010–2011	Partizan	0	(0)
2010–2011	→ Teleoptik (loan)	21	(0)
2011–2012	Fiorentina	26	(2)
2012–	Manchester City	34	(0)
National team‡
2012–	Serbia	13	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01:11, 4 February 2014 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:34, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

Matija Nastasić (Serbian Cyrillic: Матија Настасић; born 28 March 1993) is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Manchester City and the Serbia national team as a centre back.

Club career

Partizan

Matija Nastasić is a product of Partizan youth academy. Unable to find space in the Partizan first team setup, he was sent out on loan to Serbian second division side FK Teleoptik from Zemun. There, the young, left footed centre back made 21 appearances and caught the eye of former Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino, who signed him in a deal worth approximately €2.5 million.

Fiorentina

Nastasić spent some time in the Fiorentina youth side but, due to a lack of quality centre backs in the squad and suspensions and injuries, Nastasić trained with the first team on many occasions. Fellow Serbian and Fiorentina manager Siniša Mihajlović handed him his Serie A debut on 11 September 2011 in a 2-0 win against Bologna. He went on to make a further 25 appearances that season but one stood out more than any and it was during this performance that he announced himself to Italian and World football. It was a match between La Viola and Milan at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Nastasić showed many of his qualities - quality tackling, comfort on the ball, tactical astuteness. It was these qualities that led to a deadline day transfer to English Premier League side Manchester City in a move worth €15 million, excluding the value of Stefan Savić who was given to Fiorentina as part of the exchange.^[3]

Manchester City

Nastasić signed a five-year contract with new club Manchester City, ending on 30 June 2017. He was part of an exchange deal with Stefan Savić.^[4] He made his debut for the club on 18 September 2012, starting in a Champions League away fixture against Real Madrid in Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. He made his Premier League debut on 29 September in a 2–1 win against Fulham.^[5] He cemented his place in the starting XI and his great form won him the club's Player of the Month Award for November. Quickly becoming a fan favourite,^[6] the youngster pushed 30-year-old Joleon Lescott out of the starting lineup in centre-back position. He seemed to have got his first goal for the club on 2 November 2013 against Norwich in a 7-0 win. However, the goals panel ruled that it was an own goal.^[7]

International career

Having already represented Serbia's youth sides, Nastasić made his debut for the Serbian national team on 29 February 2012, in a match against Cyprus.^[8]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 03 February 2014.

International

Honours

Manchester City

• FA Cup runners-up: 2012–13

Individual

• Manchester City Young Player of the Year: 2012–13

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matija Nastasić.

• Profile at Manchester City Official Website
• Matija Nastasić career stats at Soccerbase
• Matija Nastasić – UEFA competition record
• Matija Nastasić profile at Soccerway