Savo Milošević

Savo Milošević

Personal information
Full name	Savo Milošević
Date of birth	2 September 1973 (1973-09-02)
Place of birth	Bijeljina, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Montenegro (assistant)
Youth career
	Proleter Ruhotina-Johovac
	Podrinje Janja
1987–1992	Partizan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1992–1995	Partizan	98	(74)
1995–1998	Aston Villa	90	(29)
1998–2000	Zaragoza	72	(38)
2000–2004	Parma	31	(9)
2002	→ Zaragoza (loan)	16	(6)
2002–2003	→ Espanyol (loan)	34	(12)
2003–2004	→ Celta (loan)	37	(14)
2004–2007	Osasuna	82	(21)
2008	Rubin Kazan	16	(3)
Total		476	(206)
National team
1994–2008	Serbia	102	(37)
Teams managed
2011–	Montenegro (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Savo Milošević (Serbian Cyrillic: Саво Милошевић, Serbian pronunciation: [sǎʋɔ milɔ̌ːʃɛʋitɕ]; born 2 September 1973) is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a striker.

After making a name for himself at Partizan, he signed for Aston Villa, and went on to spend the vast majority of the following decade playing in Spain, where he represented four clubs, amassing La Liga totals of 241 games and 91 goals, and netting nearly 300 official goals over a 16-year professional career.

At international level, Milošević played for the national team of FR Yugoslavia (later renamed Serbia and Montenegro), and later for Serbia, surpassing the century of caps for both teams combined, and appearing in two World Cups and one European Championship.

Club career

Partizan

Born in Bijeljina, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Milošević joined the youth ranks of FK Partizan at not yet 14, making his senior debuts in 1992, and scoring an astonishing 60 league goals in his last two seasons combined - a competition-best in both years - as the Belgrade side won back-to-back national championships, including the double in 1993–94.

Aston Villa

In the summer of 1995, Milošević moved to Aston Villa, being brought to Birmingham by manager Brian Little for £3.5 million, a club record at the time. His spell in England lasted three seasons, during which he earned the tabloid nickname "Miss-a-lot-ević" owing to his frequent goalscoring dry spells.

However, Milošević did score 34 official goals in 117 games for the Villans (28 in the Premier League) games for the club, including one in the 1995–96 Football League Cup final, a 3–0 win against Leeds United.

Zaragoza

Milošević signed for Real Zaragoza in La Liga in 1998, again scoring at an impressive rate in two seasons, notably netting 21 in 1999–2000. He finished the first round of matches with 19 league goals, only finding the net twice subsequently, with the Aragonese eventually finishing in fourth position.

Parma

After rediscovering his scoring touch in Spain, Milošević was signed by Parma A.C. in the summer of 2000 for €25 million. He was used sparingly during his spell with the Emilia-Romagna side, only scoring once in the first half of his second season in Serie A.

Milošević was loaned back to Spain in January 2002, re-joining Zaragoza to replace Blackburn Rovers-bound Yordi. He scored six times during his second spell, still managing to finish as the club's top scorer - alongside Yordi and Roberto Acuña - but his team was eventually relegated.

In the 2002–03 season, Milošević played for RCD Espanyol, again finishing as his side's top scorer but narrowly escaping relegation, a fate that would befall him in the following year with Celta de Vigo (still owned by Parma), helping the Galicians reach the round of 16 in their first ever appearance in the UEFA Champions League, with one goal in seven appearances, in a 3–2 group stage home win against AFC Ajax.

Later years

In mid-July 2004, aged 30, Milošević signed a three-year contract with another Spanish top flight outfit, CA Osasuna. In his second season with the Navarrese, he scored 11 goals in 32 games to help the team qualify for the Champions League, going scoreless in ten contests in the subsequent UEFA Cup semifinal run - he did provide two assists in a 3–0 away win against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the quarterfinals' first leg (4–0 on aggregate).

In the summer of 2007, Milošević left Osasuna following his contract's expiry. He took a six-month break from competitive football during which he had a trial with Major League Soccer side Toronto FC in November, with a view of signing with them for the 2008 season. The deal fell through and, on 8 March 2008, he agreed terms with FC Rubin Kazan prior to the start of the Russian Premier League campaign.

On 2 November 2008, Milošević scored the decisive goal for Rubin in a game against FC Saturn Ramenskoe, which meant his team won its first ever national championship. He retired shortly afterwards, aged 35.

International career

Milošević earned 102 caps for Serbia, scoring 37 goals. He made his debut for Serbia and Montenegro on 23 December 1994, in a 0–2 friendly loss in Brazil.

After appearing in two games at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Milošević was crowned UEFA Euro 2000's joint-top scorer with Patrick Kluivert, at five, having played one match less than the Dutch.

On 16 June 2006, in the World Cup in Germany, he played his 100th game for Serbia and Montenegro, in a 0–6 group stage loss against Argentina, becoming the all-time leader in caps. As a formal farewell from international football, Milošević was called-up to the national team squad for a friendly with Bulgaria on 19 November 2008, scoring twice and missing two penalties in a 6–1 win, before being replaced by Dragan Mrđa.

Club statistics

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Partizan	1992–93	31	14			–
	1993–94	32	30			–
	1994–95	35	30			–
Aston Villa	1995–96	37	12
	1996–97	30	10
	1997–98	23	7
Zaragoza	1998–99	35	17	2	1	–		-	-	-	-	37	18
	1999–00	37	21	5	1	–		-	-	-	-	42	22
Parma	2000–01	21	8			–
	2001–02	10	1			–
Zaragoza	2001–02	16	6	0	0	–		0	0	0	0	16	6
Espanyol	2002–03	34	12	1	0	–		-	-	-	-	35	12
Celta	2003–04	37	14	5	1	–		9	1	-	-	51	16
Osasuna	2004–05	27	6	7	0	–		-	-	-	-	34	6
	2005–06	32	11	0	0	–		2	1	-	-	34	12
	2006–07	23	4	1	0	–		12	0	-	-	36	4
Rubin Kazan	2008	16	3			–
Career total		476	206

Honours

Club

• Partizan:
  • Yugoslav League: 1992–93, 1993–94
  • Yugoslav Cup: 1993–94

• Aston Villa:
  • Football League Cup: 1995–96

• Rubin Kazan:
  • Russian League: 2008

Individual

• Yugoslav League: Top scorer 1994, 1995
• UEFA Euro 2000: Golden Boot, Team of the Tournament

Personal

On 10 June 2011, Milošević's 83-year old paternal grandfather killed Savo's father with a M48 Mauser, following a domestic disturbance.

External links

• Savo Milošević career stats at Soccerbase
• Stats at Liga de Fútbol profesional (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Serbian)
• Savo Milošević at National-Football-Teams.com
• FootballDatabase profile and stats

Sporting positions
Preceded by Dragan Stojković	Serbia and Montenegro captain 2001–2006	Succeeded by Dejan Stanković