Ivan Šaponjić (Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Шапоњић; born 2 August 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Slovan Bratislava in the Niké Liga.[2]

Ivan Šaponjić
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-08-02) 2 August 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Nova Varoš, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Slovan Bratislava
Youth career
Zlatar Nova Varoš
Sloboda Užice
2013–2015 Partizan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Partizan 32 (7)
2016–2019 Benfica B 67 (14)
2017–2018Zulte Waregem (loan) 31 (6)
2019–2022 Atlético Madrid 2 (0)
2021Cádiz (loan) 9 (1)
2022– Slovan Bratislava 25 (6)
2023Bandırmaspor (loan) 12 (8)
2023–2024Ümraniyespor (loan) 15 (1)
International career
2013–2014 Serbia U17 6 (5)
2014–2016 Serbia U19 10 (9)
2015 Serbia U20 7 (2)
2015–2019 Serbia U21 11 (2)
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing  Serbia
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Winner 2015 New Zealand
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 July 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 June 2019 (UTC)

At international level, Šaponjić won the gold medal for Serbia at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, scoring two goals in the process.

Club career

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Partizan

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Born in Nova Varoš, Šaponjić started playing football 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 over Spartak Subotica.[3] He eventually failed to make any other competitive appearance in the 2013–14 season.

On 30 May 2014, he signed his first professional contract with Partizan, penning a three-year deal.[4] He scored his first competitive goal for the team 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, he scored his first league goal in a 3–1 away win over OFK Beograd. In total, he scored 5 goals in 16 appearances in all competitions during the 2014–15 season.

On 25 July 2015, Šaponjić scored a brace in a 6–0 home league win over Jagodina.[5] 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.[6] This was the club's 100th victory in European football.[7] He also scored both goals for Partizan in their 2–0 Serbian Cup win over Sinđelić Beograd on 28 October 2015.[8]

Benfica

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On 12 January 2016, Šaponjić signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica[9] and was immediately assigned to their reserve team. In July 2017, he was loaned out to Belgian club Zulte Waregem.

Atlético Madrid

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On 11 July 2019, Šaponjić signed a three-year contract with Atlético Madrid for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in region of 500 thousand euros.[10] He made his debut on 23 January 2020, in a Copa del Rey clash against Cultural Leonesa.

On 22 January 2021, Šaponjić joined fellow La Liga side Cádiz on loan until the end of the season.[11] On 31 January 2021, he made his club debut in a 2–4 home league defeat against his contractual owners, Atlético Madrid.[12][13]

Slovan Bratislava

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In January 2022, Slovan Bratislava announced the signing of Šaponjić on a 3,5 year deal.[14]

International career

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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.[15] 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, with Serbia eventually winning the game 2–1 after extra time.[16] On 17 June 2015, he scored an extra time winning goal in the semi-final against Mali.[17] 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.[18]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 21 April 2023[19]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Partizan 2013–14 Serbian SuperLiga 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[a] 1 25 6
Total 32 7 3 3 7 1 42 11
Benfica B 2015–16 LigaPro 19 5 19 5
2016–17 21 3 21 3
2018–19 28 6 28 6
Total 68 14 68 14
Zulte Waregem (loan) 2017–18 Belgian Pro League 21 5 2 1 5[b] 0 11[c] 1 39 7
Atlético Madrid 2019–20 La Liga 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2020–21 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0
Total 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Cádiz (loan) 2020–21 La Liga 9 1 9 1
Slovan Bratislava 2021–22 Slovak Super Liga 11 4 5 0 16 4
2022–23 14 2 3 1 10[d] 1 27 4
Total 25 6 8 1 10 1 43 8
Bandırmaspor (loan) 2022–23 1.Lig 12 8 0 0 12 8
Career total 169 41 16 5 22 2 11 1 218 49
  1. ^ Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ One appearance in Belgian Super Cup, ten appearances and one goal in Belgian Europa League play-offs
  4. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance and one goal in UEFA Europa League, five appearances in UEFA Conference League

Honours

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Club

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Partizan

Slovan Bratislava

International

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Serbia

References

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  1. ^ "Página oficial del Atlético de Madrid".
  2. ^ "Z Atlética Madrid prichádza útočník Ivan Šaponjič" [Atletico Madrids forward Ivan Saponjic came to the club]. ŠK Slovan Bratislava (in Slovak). 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Partizan – Spartak 2:0 (0:0)" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 30 November 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Šaponjić potpisao profesionalni ugovor" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Sjajna uvertira za Steauu: Partizan kao Zvezda, Jagodina ispraćena sa šest komada" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  6. ^ "BATE advance after holding off Partizan rally". UEFA. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Zašto će u Partizanu zauvek pamtiti makazice Ivana Šaponjića? (VIDEO)" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Partizan uz golove Šaponjića i kombinovani tim do osmine finala Kupa Srbije" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Šaponjić potpisao za Benfiku" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Saponjic cedido a título definitivo" [Saponjic moved permanently]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Ivan Šaponjić, primer refuerzo invernal" [Ivan Šaponjić, first winter signing]. Cádiz CF (in Portuguese). 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Ivan Saponjic se estrena con el Cádiz... Contra su Atlético". 31 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Cádiz CF vs Atlético de Madrid - LaLiga Santander".
  14. ^ "Z Atlética Madrid prichádza útočník Ivan Šaponjič" [Atletico Madrids forward Ivan Saponjic came to the club]. ŠK Slovan Bratislava (in Slovak). 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Germany hold Serbia to return to finals". UEFA. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Sub Saponjic is Serbia's saviour". FIFA. 10 June 2015. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Saponjic strikes to send Serbia through". FIFA. 17 June 2015. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Ecstasy in Auckland as Serbia make history". FIFA. 20 June 2015. Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  19. ^ Ivan Šaponjić at ForaDeJogo (archived)  
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