Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, the sergeant as the Lazio fans call him, is probably one of the greatest midfielders Lazio have ever had. Even though he is a big man, he is not slow. Very powerful and skilful, he has a great timing that allows him to score many goals.
He was born on February 25 1995 in Lleida, Spain where his father Nikola was playing. He holds both a Spanish and Serbian passport.
He started his career with the youth teams of Vojvodina and played his first professional game on November 23rd 2013 and at the end of the season he won his first trophy: the Serbian Cup.
Even though he did not play much in his first year as pro, he was noticed by Belgian club Genk and in 2014 he began to play in the Belgian first division. Igli Tare’s scouts saw something in this player and a year later he signed for Lazio. It was not an easy signing. Tare had an agreement with his manager but Sergej’s father had one with Fiorentina. The player had given his word to Lazio but Fiorentina insisted and he left for Florence to sign the contract. At the moment of the signature, Milinkovic-Savic backed away. He had dreamt of playing for Lazio, promised to sign for Lazio and wanted to sign for Lazio. He was going to Lazio.
So the Sergeant has been with us since 2015, his first appearance in the Champions League qualification play off against Bayern Leverkusen on August 18. His first goal against Dnipro in Europa League on September 17. He scored the opening goal in the Coppa Italia final against Atalanta in 2019.
He has played 341 games for Lazio (267 in Serie A, 23 in Coppa Italia, 8 in Champions League, 38 in Europa League, 3 in Conference League and two Super Coppa finals), scored 69 goals (57 in Serie A, 5 in Coppa Italia and 7 in Europa League) and won three trophies (2 Super Coppas and a Coppa Italia).
On April 2 2023 Sergej scored his 65th goal for Lazio. With this goal the big Serb became the all time foreign player with more goals in the history of the club. He has since scored another 4.
Milinkovic-Savic has played 39 times for Serbia and scored 7 goals. He has played in two World Cups, 2018 and 2022 (where he scored one goal), but Serbia have never gone past the group round.
In July 2023, Milinkovic-Savic signed for Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabian club based in Ryad. Apparently President Claudio Lotito offered him a lot of money to stay, but the Saudi club is paying him a salary that will allow his family to live comfortably for generations. Difficult to say no.
The Sergeant is among the best players we have ever had, powerful, skilful, a leader. He will be missed.
Lazio Career
Season | Total played (Goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League | Conference League | Super Coppa |
2015-16 | 35 (3) | 25 (1) | 2 | 1 | 7 (2) | - | - |
2016-17 | 39 (7) | 34 (4) | 5 (3) | - | - | - | - |
2017-18 | 48 (14) | 35 (12) | 4 | - | 8 (2) | - | 1 |
2018-19 | 41 (7) | 31 (5) | 5 (2) | - | 5 | - | - |
2019-20 | 43 (8) | 37 (7) | 1 | - | 4 (1) | - | 1 |
2020-21 | 41 (8) | 32 (8) | 2 | 7 | - | - | - |
2021-22 | 47 (11) | 37 (11) | 2 | - | 8 | - | - |
2022-23 | 47 (11) | 36 (9) | 2 | - | 6 (2) | 3 | |
Total | 341 (69) | 267 (57) | 23 (5) | 8 | 38 (7) | 3 | 2 |
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