Aleksandar Mitrović (footballer)

Aleksandar Mitrović

Mitrović with Anderlecht in 2014
Personal information
Full nameAleksandar Mitrović
Date of birth16 September 1994
Place of birthSmederevo, Republic of Serbia,
FR Yugoslavia
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Anderlecht
Number45
Youth career
2005–2011Partizan
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2011–2012Teleoptik25(7)
2012–2013Partizan28(13)
2013–Anderlecht64(33)
National team‡
2011–2013Serbia U1913(5)
2013–Serbia U215(4)
2013–Serbia11(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 March 2015

Aleksandar Mitrović (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Митровић; born 16 September 1994) is a Serbian footballer who plays as a striker for Jupiler Pro League club Anderlecht and the Serbian national team.

At the age of 18, Mitrović was named among the top 10 talents under the age of 19 in Europe by a selection of UEFA reporters.[1]

Club career

Early years

Born in Smederevo, Mitrović came to Partizan at the age of 11 and went through the youth system of the club. Before being promoted to the first team, he made his senior debut with their affiliated side Teleoptik in the 2011–12 season, scoring seven goals in 25 league matches.

Partizan

On 27 June 2012, together with two Teleoptik teammates, Mitrović signed his first professional contract with Partizan, on a four-year deal.[2] He made his official debut for the club in a Champions League qualifier against Maltese side Valletta, scoring a goal nine minutes after coming on as a substitute.[3] On 23 August 2012, Mitrović scored a header against Tromsø in the Europa League play-off round. Three days later, he scored his first league goal in a home fixture against Jagodina. On 17 November 2012, Mitrović scored the opening goal in his first ever Eternal derby, which Partizan eventually lost 3–2. Five days later, he also scored in a 1–1 away draw with Azerbaijani side Neftchi Baku during the Europa League group stage.[4] By the end of his debut season, Mitrović was Partizan's top scorer in all competitions with 15 goals in 36 appearances even though he was one of the youngest players of the team.[5] Due to his displays, he earned a place in Jelen SuperLiga's Team of the Season selection.[6] Additionally, Serbian sports portal Mozzart Sport rated Mitrović third of 25 best players in the national league for that season.[7]

Anderlecht

On 12 August 2013, after much speculation, it was announced on Partizan's official website that Mitrović was sold to Anderlecht and that he will join the Belgian club on 30 August 2013 at the request of the player and his family.[8] The transfer fee was €5 million,[9] which is Anderlecht's record signing fee. On 1 September 2013, Mitrović provided two assists on his debut for the club after coming on as a substitute at the beginning of the second half in a league match against Zulte Waregem.

On 10 December 2013, in the last round of the Champions League Group C against Olympiacos, Mitrović replaced goalkeeper Silvio Proto who had been sent off, but failed to save a penalty from Alejandro Domínguez.[10]

On 5 November 2014, Mitrovic scored an equalizing goal in the 90th minute in 4th round of the UEFA Champions League versus Arsenal and completed R.S.C. Anderlecht's comeback from 3–0 to 3–3.[11]

International career

With four goals, Mitrović was the top scorer of the Serbian national under-19 team in their successful qualifying campaign for the 2012 UEFA Under-19 Championship. On 3 July 2012, the opening day of the final tournament, he was sent off during a match against France U19, which caused him to miss the rest of the competition due to suspension. On 26 March 2013, Mitrović scored two goals in a friendly for Serbia's U21 team against Bulgaria U21.[12]

Mitrović earned his first call up to the Serbian senior national team by coach Siniša Mihajlović for a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Belgium.[13] He played 69 minutes on his debut and earned a yellow card after stepping on Axel Witsel's foot, before being substituted by Marko Šćepović.[14] Subsequently, Mitrović was called up by Serbia's U19 coach Ljubinko Drulović for two qualification matches for the 2013 UEFA Under-19 Championship taking place after his debut with the senior national side against Belgium.[15] Mitrović was also a member of the squad that traveled to Lithuania for the final tournament, where he established himself as one of the key players in Serbia's U19 team which won the competition for the first time in the history of Serbian football. He contributed by scoring a goal and providing two assists during the contest (including one in the final match against France U19).[16] Also, Mitrović was named the tournament's Golden Player for his performances.[17]

On 6 September 2013, Mitrović scored his first goal for the senior side in a 1–1 home draw against Croatia.[18]

Career statistics

Club

As of 19 April 2015[19]
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Teleoptik 2011–12 Serbian First League 25710——267
Total 25710——267
Partizan 2012–13 Serbian SuperLiga 25102293—3615
2013–14 Serbian SuperLiga 330030—63
Total 281322123—4218
Anderlecht 2013–14 Belgian Pro League 32161060003916
2014–15 Belgian Pro League 32176473114625
Total 643374133118541
Career total 117531062561115366

International

As of match played 29 March 2015
Serbia national team
YearAppsGoals
201331
201470
201510
Total111

International goals

Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 6 September 2013 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade  Croatia 1–1 1–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier

Honours

Partizan
Anderlecht
Serbia U19
Individual

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Ten Under-19 talents to watch". uefa.com. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Mlade snage nadolaze" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  3. ↑ "Partizan ease past Valletta". uefa.com. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "Neftçi and Partizan inseparable again". uefa.com. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "Mitrović: Nadam se ostanku u Partizanu, većoj minutaži i trofeju najboljeg strelca" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Idealnih 11 Superlige: Partizan pet, Voša tri, Zvezda, Hajduk i Srem po jednog predstavnika! (VIDEO)" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "TOP 25 najboljih fudbalera Superlige u izboru MOZZART Sporta (VIDEO)" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 2 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Saopštenje FK Partizan" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 12 August 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  9. ↑ "Saopštenje FK Partizan" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Saviola the hero as Olympiacos squeeze through". uefa.com. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "Arsenal throw away three-goal lead against Anderlecht". theguardian.com. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "Dva gola Mitrovića za pobedu "orlića" protiv Bugarske" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Miha objavio spisak, samo Mitrović debitant" (in Serbian). sportske.net. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  14. ↑ БЕЗ СРБИЈЕ НА СП: Пораз Орлова у Белгији (in Serbian). zurnal.rs. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  15. ↑ Друловић одредио коначан списак за Елитну рунду (ВИДЕО) (in Serbian). fss.rs. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  16. ↑ "Luković strike seals first Serbia triumph". uefa.com. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  17. ↑ "2013: Aleksandar Mitrović". uefa.com. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  18. ↑ Србија – Хрватска 1:1 (0:0) (in Serbian). fss.rs. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  19. ↑ "Serbia - A.Mitrović - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 March 2015.

External links