Ivan Šaponjić
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ivan Šaponjić | ||
| Date of birth | 2 August 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Nova Varoš, FR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Benfica B | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Zlatar Nova Varoš | |||
| Sloboda Užice | |||
| 2013–2015 | Partizan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2015 | Partizan | 32 | (7) |
| 2016– | Benfica B | 30 | (6) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2013–2014 | Serbia U17 | 6 | (5) |
| 2014– | Serbia U19 | 10 | (9) |
| 2015– | Serbia U20 | 9 | (2) |
| 2015– | Serbia U21 | 2 | (0) |
Honours
| |||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 November 2016. | |||
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Ivan Šaponjić (Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Шапоњић; born 2 August 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Benfica B in Portugal.
He won the gold medal with the Serbian youth national team at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Club career
Partizan
Šaponjić made his first football steps at local clubs Zlatar Nova Varoš and Sloboda Užice, before joining the youth academy of Partizan. He made his senior debut for the club in a league game on 30 November 2013, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute in a 2–0 home win against Spartak Subotica.[1] Šaponjić eventually failed to make any other competitive appearance in the 2013–14 season.
2014–15 season
On 30 May 2014, Šaponjić signed his first professional contract with Partizan, penning a three-year deal.[2] He scored his first competitive goal for the club in a 2–0 away victory over Jagodina in the second leg of the Serbian Cup semi-final on 8 April 2015. Five days later, on 13 April 2015, Šaponjić scored his first league goal in a 3–1 away win over OFK Beograd. He scored a total of five goals from 16 appearances in all competitions during the 2014–15 season.
2015–16 season
On 25 July 2015, Šaponjić scored a brace in a 6–0 home league victory over Jagodina.[3] He scored his first international goal for Partizan with an overhead kick in a 2–1 home win over BATE Borisov in the return leg of the Champions League play-off round on 26 August 2015.[4] This was the club's 100th victory in European football.[5] Šaponjić also scored both goals for Partizan in their 2–0 Serbian Cup win over Sinđelić Beograd on 28 October 2015.[6]
On 12 January 2016, Šaponjić signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with Portuguese champions S.L. Benfica.[7]
International career
Internationally, Šaponjić represented his homeland at various youth levels. He was the team's joint top scorer (alongside Luka Jović) with five goals in their unsuccessful qualification campaign for the 2014 UEFA Under-17 Championship.[8] With three goals, Šaponjić was the team's joint top scorer (again with Jović) in their unsuccessful qualification campaign for the 2015 UEFA Under-19 Championship.
Šaponjić was included in the final 21-man squad for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored an injury time equalizer against Hungary in the round of 16 on 10 June 2015. Serbia eventually won the game 2–1 after extra time.[9] On 17 June 2015, Šaponjić scored an extra time winning goal in the semi-final against Mali.[10] He was the team's joint top scorer (alongside Nemanja Maksimović, Staniša Mandić and Andrija Živković) with two goals, as Serbia eventually won the tournament.[11]
Statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Partizan | 2013–14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014–15 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 5 | |
| 2015–16 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 25 | 6 | |
| Total | 32 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 42 | 11 | |
Honours
Club
- Partizan
Country
- Serbia
References
- ↑ "Partizan – Spartak 2:0 (0:0)" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 30 November 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ↑ "Šaponjić potpisao profesionalni ugovor" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
- ↑ "Sjajna uvertira za Steauu: Partizan kao Zvezda, Jagodina ispraćena sa šest komada" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ↑ "BATE advance after holding off Partizan rally". uefa.com. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ↑ "Zašto će u Partizanu zauvek pamtiti makazice Ivana Šaponjića? (VIDEO)" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ↑ "Partizan uz golove Šaponjića i kombinovani tim do osmine finala Kupa Srbije" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ↑ ""Clube de grandes referências como Eusébio"" ["Club of great references such as Eusébio"] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ↑ "Germany hold Serbia to return to finals". uefa.com. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ↑ "Sub Saponjic is Serbia's saviour". fifa.com. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ↑ "Saponjic strikes to send Serbia through". fifa.com. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ↑ "Ecstasy in Auckland as Serbia make history". fifa.com. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ↑ Ivan Šaponjić profile at ForaDeJogo
- ↑ Ivan Šaponjić profile at Soccerway
External links
- Benfica official profile (Portuguese)
- Stats and profile at LPFP (Portuguese)
- Ivan Šaponjić – FIFA competition record
- Ivan Šaponjić – UEFA competition record