Nenad Milijaš
Encyclopedia
Nenad Milijaš is a Serbian international
footballer who plays as a midfielder
for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers
.
Milijaš rose to prominence in his homeland with his first club FK Zemun
before moving to Red Star Belgrade
where he won league and cup honours. Decorated with individual awards for his performances at Red Star, he broke into the Serbian national side in 2008. He moved to England in 2009 when he signed for Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
, where he progressed through to make it into their first team in 2000. He really began to establish himself in the middle of the park during the 2001-02 season and was a vital player for the club over the following seasons. In 2005–06 he had his best goalscoring start to a season, netting eight times by Christmas. This attracted attention from the country’s biggest club and local rival, Red Star Belgrade
.
, Milijas signed for Red Star Belgrade
in January 2006. He ended his first season with Belgrade by winning both the Serbian Superliga
and Serbian Cup
with his new club. He won both trophies again with Belgrade the following season. Milijas found appearances restricted by then manager Dusan Bajević
, but the arrival of Boško Djurovski as the club’s new manager saw him gain more playing time and re-discover his form. He then held down a first team spot in central midfield for the following seasons, becoming a vital member of the team as they went close to more domestic honours and regularly competing in European competitions.
The Serbian midfielder enjoyed his best season so far in 2008–09, finishing Red Star's top goalscorer with 16 league goals, 22 goals in all competitions, making him Serbian football’s leading scorer in that season. He also won the league’s Most Valuable Player Award, was voted into the All Star Team, named Serbian Superliga Player Of The Year 2008-09 and broke into the Serbia national football team
. This form attracted attention from various clubs in Europe
.
to capture Milijas from Red Star Belgrade
. He signed a four-year deal on the 15 June 2009 for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £2.6m. He made his debut in the club's opening day defeat to , in which he was voted man of the match. Milijaš scored his first goal for Wolves with a long distance strike to earn a 2–1 victory over in December 2009; he netted a second time against two weeks later. As of the 9 February 2011, Milijas has got 2 league goals, both against Manchester City.
Milijas made 20 appearances in the Premier League in the 2010-11 season, scoring twice. He also matched that tally in the Carling Cup, scoring two penalties, against Southend and Notts County. Arguably his finest performance of the season came in a 3-3 home draw against Tottenham, in which Milijas assisted Kevin Doyle's opening goal, and earned Wolves' second goal, when he was fouled by Spurs full-back Alan Hutton.
on 6 September 2008, in a 2–0 win over the Faroe Islands
in a World Cup 2010 qualifier
. He scored his first international goal in his fourth appearance, in a 6–1 rout of Bulgaria
in a friendly on 19 November 2008, then added his first competitive goal when he netted the winner from the penalty spot to defeat Austria
1–0 on 6 June 2009. This qualification campaign ultimately saw the nation qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Finals in South Africa, with Milijaš a regular in central midfield, usually paired with captain Dejan Stanković
. He was subsequently selected in their final squad for the tournament, their first World Cup Finals competing as "Serbia", and played in their opening game against Ghana
.
He has previously represented Serbia and Montenegro at under–21 level
, appearing in the side which made the semi finals of the 2006 European Under–21 Championship
in Portugal.
International goals
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
!#
!Date
!Venue
!Opponent
!Score
!Result
!Competition
Individual
Serbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
footballer who plays as a midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
.
Milijaš rose to prominence in his homeland with his first club FK Zemun
FK Zemun
FK Zemun is a football club located in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade, in Serbia.- History :Immediately after the end of the Second World War the sports activities in Zemun are restored...
before moving to Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
where he won league and cup honours. Decorated with individual awards for his performances at Red Star, he broke into the Serbian national side in 2008. He moved to England in 2009 when he signed for Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
FK Zemun
Milijas began his playing career in the youth ranks of Belgrade-based FK ZemunFK Zemun
FK Zemun is a football club located in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade, in Serbia.- History :Immediately after the end of the Second World War the sports activities in Zemun are restored...
, where he progressed through to make it into their first team in 2000. He really began to establish himself in the middle of the park during the 2001-02 season and was a vital player for the club over the following seasons. In 2005–06 he had his best goalscoring start to a season, netting eight times by Christmas. This attracted attention from the country’s biggest club and local rival, Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
.
Red Star Belgrade
Following his continually impressive form for FK ZemunFK Zemun
FK Zemun is a football club located in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade, in Serbia.- History :Immediately after the end of the Second World War the sports activities in Zemun are restored...
, Milijas signed for Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
in January 2006. He ended his first season with Belgrade by winning both the Serbian Superliga
Serbian Superliga
Serbian SuperLiga is a Serbian professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Serbian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Serbian First League...
and Serbian Cup
Serbian Cup
The Serbian Cup is the national football cup of Serbia. For sponsorship reasons it is referred to in the media as Lav Cup of Serbia since 2007.The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round.-Sponsorship:...
with his new club. He won both trophies again with Belgrade the following season. Milijas found appearances restricted by then manager Dusan Bajević
Dušan Bajevic
Dušan Bajević is a Bosnian football manager and former Yugoslav international.-Playing career:...
, but the arrival of Boško Djurovski as the club’s new manager saw him gain more playing time and re-discover his form. He then held down a first team spot in central midfield for the following seasons, becoming a vital member of the team as they went close to more domestic honours and regularly competing in European competitions.
The Serbian midfielder enjoyed his best season so far in 2008–09, finishing Red Star's top goalscorer with 16 league goals, 22 goals in all competitions, making him Serbian football’s leading scorer in that season. He also won the league’s Most Valuable Player Award, was voted into the All Star Team, named Serbian Superliga Player Of The Year 2008-09 and broke into the Serbia national football team
Serbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
. This form attracted attention from various clubs in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves fought off competition from various other clubs around EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to capture Milijas from Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
. He signed a four-year deal on the 15 June 2009 for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £2.6m. He made his debut in the club's opening day defeat to , in which he was voted man of the match. Milijaš scored his first goal for Wolves with a long distance strike to earn a 2–1 victory over in December 2009; he netted a second time against two weeks later. As of the 9 February 2011, Milijas has got 2 league goals, both against Manchester City.
Milijas made 20 appearances in the Premier League in the 2010-11 season, scoring twice. He also matched that tally in the Carling Cup, scoring two penalties, against Southend and Notts County. Arguably his finest performance of the season came in a 3-3 home draw against Tottenham, in which Milijas assisted Kevin Doyle's opening goal, and earned Wolves' second goal, when he was fouled by Spurs full-back Alan Hutton.
International career
Milijaš made his full international debut for SerbiaSerbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
on 6 September 2008, in a 2–0 win over the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands national football team
The Faroe Islands national football team represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is controlled by the Faroe Islands Football Association, the governing body for football in the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands became a member of FIFA in 1988 and UEFA in 1990 and are the third...
in a World Cup 2010 qualifier
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 7
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 7 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania, Austria and Faroe Islands....
. He scored his first international goal in his fourth appearance, in a 6–1 rout of Bulgaria
Bulgaria national football team
The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...
in a friendly on 19 November 2008, then added his first competitive goal when he netted the winner from the penalty spot to defeat Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
1–0 on 6 June 2009. This qualification campaign ultimately saw the nation qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
Finals in South Africa, with Milijaš a regular in central midfield, usually paired with captain Dejan Stanković
Dejan Stankovic
Dejan Stanković is a Serbian association football player who plays for the Italian Serie A side Inter. He captained the Serbian national football team until 2011, when he announced his retirement from international football...
. He was subsequently selected in their final squad for the tournament, their first World Cup Finals competing as "Serbia", and played in their opening game against Ghana
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...
.
He has previously represented Serbia and Montenegro at under–21 level
Serbia national under-21 football team
The Serbia national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia....
, appearing in the side which made the semi finals of the 2006 European Under–21 Championship
2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
-Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Final:-Goalscorers:4 goals Klaas Jan Huntelaar3 goals Thomas Kahlenberg Nicky Hofs2 goals Bryan Bergougnoux Ruslan Fomin Artem Milevskiy...
in Portugal.
International goals
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
!#
!Date
!Venue
!Opponent
!Score
!Result
!Competition
Honours
Club- Serbian SuperligaSerbian SuperligaSerbian SuperLiga is a Serbian professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Serbian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Serbian First League...
: 2005–06, 2006–07 - Serbian CupSerbian CupThe Serbian Cup is the national football cup of Serbia. For sponsorship reasons it is referred to in the media as Lav Cup of Serbia since 2007.The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round.-Sponsorship:...
: 2005–06, 2006–07Serbian Cup 2006-07The Serbian Cup 2006–07 was the first staging of Serbia's football knockout competition. It was the first tournament that Serbia ever held as an independent football association. Montenegro also held its first independent cup tournament in the 2006–07 season. The two associations used to compete in...
Individual
- Serbian Superliga Player of the Year: 2008–09
- Serbian Superliga All Star Team: 2008–09
- Most valuable player: 2008–09