Milan Stepanov

Milan Stepanov

Personal information
Date of birth	(1983-04-02) 2 April 1983
Place of birth	Novi Sad, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Mersin İdmanyurdu
Number	5
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2006	Vojvodina	105	(6)
2006–2007	Trabzonspor	37	(1)
2007–2010	Porto	10	(0)
2009–2010	→ Málaga (loan)	12	(0)
2010–2012	Bursaspor	25	(2)
2012–	Mersin	26	(3)
National team‡
2006–	Serbia	6	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:28, 16 May 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:28, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Milan Stepanov (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Степанов; born 2 April 1983) is a Serbian footballer who plays for Mersin İdmanyurdu SK in Turkey, as a central defender.

Club career

Born in Novi Sad, SAP Vojvodina, SR Serbia, Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, Stepanov came up through FK Vojvodina's ranks, making his first team debut during the 2000–01 season, and becoming team captain five years later. In the 2006 January transfer window he transferred to Turkish side Trabzonspor.

In July 2007, Stepanov moved to Portugal's giants F.C. Porto for a reported €3.5 million. Initially on the substitutes bench, he gradually made room for himself in the starting eleven. On 28 November, in a UEFA Champions League match at Liverpool, Porto lost 4–1, with him having a subpar performance and subsequently losing the starting place to veteran Pedro Emanuel, a situation which was aggravated in his second year with the signing of Rolando (he would only play in the penultimate league game).

On 25 July 2009 Stepanov moved on loan to Spain's Málaga CF, with the Andalusians having a buying option at the season's end. He only made four La Liga appearances in the first half of the campaign, and was left out of the squad for almost three months, playing again (from the start) in a 0–0 home draw against Deportivo de La Coruña on 7 February 2010.

In late July 2010 Stepanov returned to Turkey, signing for Süper Lig champions Bursaspor, for an undisclosed fee. In May 2012 the team decided to rescind the contract, and he joined fellow top-divisioner Mersin İdmanyurdu SK shortly after.

International career

Stepanov was part of the Serbian and Montenegrin team that was knocked out in the first round of the 2004 Summer Olympics after finishing fourth in Group C behind eventual winners Argentina, Australia and Tunisia. He played against the first and the third teams in two losses.

In November 2005 Stepanov appeared in a two-match qualification playoff against Croatia for the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in Portugal, and scored in the second leg in a 2–1 away win, netting the winner in the 86th minute (5–2 on aggregate). He eventually helped the national side reach the semifinals in the final stages, with many pundits agreeing he was the team's most consistent performer with a string of confident defensive displays throughout the tournament.

Stepanov made his senior team debut in a friendly match against Czech Republic on 16 August 2006, in which he was sent off. In March 2007, during the nation's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, he started in the 1–2 loss to Kazakhstan and was on the bench against Portugal.

Honours

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 2007–08, 2008–09
• Taça de Portugal: 2008–09

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Serbian)
• Milan Stepanov at National-Football-Teams.com
• FootballDatabase profile and stats