Saša Ilić (footballer, born 1977)

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Saša Ilić
Sasa Ilic and Fan.JPG
Ilić (right) with a fan in 2009
Personal information
Full name Saša Ilić
Date of birth (1977-12-30) 30 December 1977 (age 46)
Place of birth Požarevac, SFR Yugoslavia
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Partizan
Number 22
Youth career
1986–1996 Partizan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2005 Partizan 200 (98)
2004 → Celta (loan) 13 (1)
2005–2007 Galatasaray 59 (22)
2007–2010 Red Bull Salzburg 34 (8)
2009 → Larissa (loan) 17 (1)
2010– Partizan 157 (22)
International career
1997–1999 FR Yugoslavia U21[1] 5 (1)
2000–2008 Serbia 37 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 December 2015

Saša Ilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Саша Илић; born 30 December 1977) is a Serbian professional footballer who is the captain of Partizan. He is an attacking midfielder, well known for his creativity and precision passing, as well as his goalscoring ability.

After spending more than 20 years at Partizan, both junior and senior teams, Ilić is the second-most capped player in the club's history with more than 750 appearances (official and friendlies), behind only Momčilo Vukotić. He won 13 trophies with the Black-Whites, 10 national championship titles and three national cups. Likewise, Ilić is Partizan's most capped player in European club competitions with 105 appearances.

Furthermore, Ilić played internationally for his country under three different names between 2000 and 2008, making a total of 37 caps to his name. He represented Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Partizan

Ilić made his competitive debut for Partizan on 26 October 1996, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 10–0 away victory over Borac Čačak, wearing the number 1 shirt.[2] That was his only appearance in the 1996–97 season, in which the club defend the championship title. In the following season, Ilić made his debut on the international scene, providing a late second-half assist to Dragan Isailović, in a 1–0 home win against Croatia Zagreb on 23 July 1997. However, they were eliminated after a shocking 0–5 loss at Maksimir. On 23 August 1997, Ilić scored his first goal for Partizan, in a 3–2 away win against Vojvodina. He made a total of 25 league appearances that season, scoring three goals.

In the summer of 1998, after the departure of Ivan Tomić to Roma, Ilić became the team's captain, being only 20 years old at the time. With the new role on the pitch, Ilić was instrumental in helping Partizan win a national championship after a year of absence. He also played some memorable matches in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, where Partizan were eliminated in the second round by Lazio, the eventual winner of the competition.

In the following years, Ilić established himself as a leader of the team and became an idol among the fans. He scored the winning goal in the national cup final in 2001, giving his team a 1–0 victory against arch-rivals at their ground.[3]

Ilić also led the club to the national championship titles in 2002 and 2003. In European competitions, Ilić finally managed to qualify with Partizan for the UEFA Champions League in the 2003–04 season, after eliminating Newcastle United in the last qualification round.[4]

In the 2004 winter transfer window, Ilić was loaned to Celta Vigo, on a six-month period with an option for a permanent deal.[5] He was joined by two compatriots, manager Radomir Antić and striker Savo Milošević.[6] Ilić made his debut on 8 February 2004, in a 2–1 home win against Villarreal. Later that month, Ilić scored the opening goal against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabéu, however Celta would go on to lose the match 2–4.[7] However, after Celta got relegated from the Primera División, Ilić eventually left Vigo.

In the summer of 2004, Ilić returned to Partizan after a six-month loan spell at Celta Vigo, taking the captain's armband from Vladimir Ivić, who left the club that summer. His return coincided with comebacks of ex-Partizan captains, Dragan Ćirić and Ivan Tomić.[8] With experienced trio, Partizan played great football that season, winning the league with an unbeaten record.[9] They also progress to the round of 16 in the UEFA Cup, losing to the eventual champion CSKA Moscow.

Galatasaray

After a successful comeback season with Partizan, Ilić moved abroad for the second time, signing a three-year contract with Galatasaray in July 2005.[10] Upon joining Galatasaray, Ilić was offered the prestigious number 10 shirt, but he declined and chose to wear his traditional number 22. On 7 August 2005, he scored a brace on his Galatasaray and Süper Lig debut, in a 2–1 win over Konyaspor. With 12 goals scored, Ilić was the third highest goalscorer of the team in the 2005–06 season, helping the club to return the championship title to Ali Sami Yen after four years.

Ilić made an excellent start of the 2006–07 season by scoring five goals in first four league rounds. In the UEFA Champions League, Ilić was in form scoring goals against PSV and Liverpool,[11] with Galatasaray narrowly missed out on the UEFA Cup spot, finishing fourth in the group.

Red Bull Salzburg

Agreeing to the insistence of Red Bull Salzburg manager Lothar Matthäus (whom he knew from their time at Partizan), Ilić decided to join Salzburg.[12] He was officially transferred to Austrian side in June 2007, signing a three-year contract, with a €900,000 fee paid to Galatasaray. However, few days after his arrival, Matthäus was no longer coach at Salzburg.[13] He scored his first goal for the club on 8 August 2007, in a Champions League qualifier against Latvian side Ventspils.

In January 2009, Ilić signed with Larissa on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season.[14] He scored his only goal for the club in the Superleague Greece playoffs against AEK Athens.

Upon his return to Salzburg, Ilić saw very infrequent opportunities to play for Red Bull, a first in his career. In September 2009, Ilić was suspended by the club's board because of the alleged betting against Salzburg in their UEFA Europa League game with Lazio.[15] However, Ilić dismissed the accusation of betting against his own team, but admitted to betting on the other matches.[16] His teammate and countryman, Đorđe Rakić was also involved, but there were no consequences for him.

Return to Partizan

On 22 January 2010, Ilić rejoined Partizan from Red Bull Salzburg on a free transfer, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract.[17] He was selected to be vice-captain to Mladen Krstajić.[18] Ilić made his official re-debut for the club against Borac Čačak, the same opponent and place as of his first match fourteen years earlier. He missed only one out of 15 league games and scored three goals in the second part of the 2009–10 season, as the club won their third consecutive title.

Ilić scored his first goal of the 2010–11 campaign in a Champions League qualifier against Finnish champions HJK, showing impressive glimpses of his old. He helped the club to progress to the group stage of the competition that season, first time after seven years, as well as to win a double. After Krstajić's retirement in the summer of 2011, Ilić became the captain for the third time, leading the team to another championship title at the end of that season.

In July 2012, Ilić signed a new contract with the club, on a one-year deal, to prolong his career until June 2013.[19] He earned a place in the 2012–13 SuperLiga Team of the Season, also helping his team win its sixth consecutive title. Ilić again signed a one-year contract extension in the summer of 2013, as well as in the summer of 2014.

On 22 May 2015, Ilić signed another one-year deal with Partizan.[20] He played his 100th match for the club in UEFA competitions on 29 July 2015, coming on as a substitute in a 1–1 away draw with Steaua București.[21]

International career

According to many fans and experts, Ilić was frequently overlooked when the national team was in question, especially missing out on qualifications for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2004. He finally became a regular for the national side during the period of Ilija Petković's tenure from 2003 to 2006. He was selected for the final 23-man squad that represented Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He managed to score a goal against Ivory Coast in a thrilling 3–2 match, eventually won by the opposition.[22]

Ilić made 37 official appearances for the national team, scoring four goals. His last cap was on 6 September 2008, a 2–0 home win over Faroe Islands in a FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifier.

Satistics

As of 24 December 2015

Club

Club Season League Cup Continental Other[23] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Partizan 1996–97 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1997–98 25 3 9 5 2 0 0 0 36 8
1998–99 23 14 7 5 6 1 0 0 36 20
1999–00 32 17 2 1 7 3 0 0 41 21
2000–01 30 19 4 3 4 4 0 0 38 26
2001–02 28 12 3 0 3 0 0 0 34 12
2002–03 25 11 2 0 8 2 0 0 35 13
2003–04 14 6 1 0 10 2 0 0 25 8
Celta (loan) 2003–04 13 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 1
Partizan 2004–05 22 16 4 1 10 2 0 0 36 19
Total 200 98 32 15 50 14 0 0 282 127
Galatasaray 2005–06 30 12 4 0 0 0 0 0 34 12
2006–07 29 10 4 0 8 3 1 0 42 13
Total 59 22 8 0 8 3 1 0 76 25
Red Bull Salzburg 2007–08 30 8 0 0 1 1 0 0 31 9
2008–09 3 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 5 1
Larissa (loan) 2008–09 17 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 18 1
Red Bull Salzburg 2009–10 1 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 6 0
Total 34 8 1 0 7 2 0 0 42 10
Partizan 2009–10 14 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 3
2010–11 25 1 5 1 12 1 0 0 42 3
2011–12 25 4 5 1 6 0 0 0 36 5
2012–13 25 5 0 0 12 0 0 0 37 5
2013–14 26 5 2 0 6 0 0 0 34 5
2014–15 27 3 5 0 11 0 0 0 43 3
2015–16 15 1 1 0 8 0 0 0 24 1
Total 157 22 19 2 55 1 0 0 231 25
Career total 480 152 61 17 120 20 1 0 662 189

International

FR Yugoslavia
Year Apps Goals
2000 4 0
2001 2 0
2002 6 1
Serbia and Montenegro
2003 4 1
2004 3 0
2005 8 1
2006 2 1
Serbia
2006 3 0
2007 0 0
2008 5 0
Total 37 4

International goals

Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 April 2002 Sartid Stadium, Smederevo  Lithuania 1–0 4–1 Friendly
2 10 September 2003 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade  Italy 1–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
3 3 September 2005 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade  Lithuania 2–0 2–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying
4 21 June 2006 Allianz Arena, Munich  Ivory Coast 2–0 2–3 2006 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Partizan
Galatasaray
Individual

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Only official UEFA matches included
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Turkish Super Cup

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Partizan captain
1998–2004		 Succeeded by
Vladimir Ivić
Preceded by Partizan captain
2004–2005		 Succeeded by
Albert Nađ
Preceded by Partizan captain
2011–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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