Lazar Stefanovic (Serbian Cyrillic: Лазар Стефановић, romanized: Lazar Stefanović; born August 10, 2006) is a professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. Born in the United States, he is a youth international for Canada.
 Stefanovic in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | August 10, 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Clearwater, Florida, United States | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Toronto FC | ||
| Number | 76 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Oakville SC | |||
| 2016– | Toronto FC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2024 | Toronto FC II | 31 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Toronto FC (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2025– | Toronto FC | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022 | Canada U17 | 13 | (1) |
| 2024 | Canada U20 | 3 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 12, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of February 27, 2024 | |||
Early life
editBorn in Clearwater, Florida, Stefanovic moved to Canada at a young age and was raised in Oakville, Ontario.[1] He began playing soccer at age three with Oakville SC.[2] In 2016, he joined the Toronto FC Academy.[3] In June 2023, he was named to the MLS Next All-Star Game.[4]
Club career
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On April 30, 2022, Stefanovic made his professional debut with Toronto FC II in MLS Next Pro against FC Cincinnati 2, as an academy call-up.[1] On June 30, 2023, he signed an official professional contract with Toronto FC II, after having already played 13 games that season as an academy call-up.[1] The next day, he joined the Toronto FC first team on a short-term loan,[5] making his Major League Soccer debut that day in a substitute appearance in a 1–0 loss to Real Salt Lake.[6][7] He became the second-youngest player to appear in an MLS match for Toronto FC (16 years, 10 months and 22 days).[8] He signed another short-term loan ahead of a Leagues Cup match against Mexican club Atlas.[9][10] He joined the first team for their 2024 preseason training camp.[11] He missed much of the 2024 season due to injury from a broken bone, suffered while on international duty.[12]
After initially signing as an off-roster player earlier, he would officially join the Toronto FC first team roster for the 2025 season.[12]
International career
editStefanovic is of Serbian descent, born in the United States, and raised in Canada, and eligible for all three nations at international level.[13]
In August 2022, Stefanovic was called up to a training camp for the United States U17 team.[14]
In October 2022, he made his debut in the Canadian program, attending a camp with the Canada U17 team.[2] He represented Canada at the 2023 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, where he scored his first goal on 22 February 2023, against Puerto Rico U17.[15] In February 2024, he was named to the Canada U20 for the 2024 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship qualifiers.[16]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played June 12, 2024[17]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Toronto FC II | 2022 | MLS Next Pro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2023 | 25 | 0 | – | – | – | — | 25 | 0 | ||||||
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | — | – | – | — | 5 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
| Toronto FC (loan) | 2023 | Major League Soccer | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 1[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
- ^ Appearance in Leagues Cup
References
edit- ^ a b c "Toronto FC II sign Academy product Lazar Stefanovic". Toronto FC. June 30, 2023.
- ^ a b Lazar Stefanovic at the Canadian Soccer Association
- ^ Garbutt, Herb (March 9, 2016). "Four Oakville soccer players selected to join TFC Academy". Oakville Beaver.
- ^ "Rosters for 2023 MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate". Major League Soccer. June 29, 2023.
- ^ "Toronto FC sign Gavran and Stefanovic to short-term agreements". Toronto FC. July 1, 2023.
- ^ "Toronto FC loses to Real Salt Lake in Terry Dunfield's debut". Sportsnet. July 1, 2023.
- ^ Molinaro, John (August 2, 2023). "Lazar Stefanovic a beacon of light during dark times for TFC". TFC Republic.
- ^ Molinaro, John (December 14, 2023). "TFC 2's Lazar Stefanovic offers Toronto FC hope for the future". TFC Republic.
- ^ "Toronto FC sign Stefanovic and Batiz to short-term agreements ahead of Leagues Cup match". Toronto FC. July 30, 2023.
- ^ "Toronto FC call up Lazar Stefanovic and Jesús Batiz from TFCII for Leagues Cup clash". Waking the Red. July 30, 2023.
- ^ Molinaro, John (February 8, 2024). "Random thoughts on TFC: Reds shouldn't rush Lazar Stefanovic". TFC Republic.
- ^ a b Davidson, Neil (October 29, 2024). "Toronto FC takes first steps on 'total rebuild,' leaves forward Prince Owusu in limbo". Toronto Star.
- ^ Molinaro, John (July 21, 2023). "Lazar Stefanovic: From writing a math exam to making his MLS debut with TFC". TFC Republic.
- ^ "U17 MNT Heads to California Training Camp". Top Drawer Soccer. August 16, 2022.
- ^ Tierney, Mitchell (February 23, 2023). "Future looking bright at centre-back for Canada at U-17 Concacaf Championship". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ Molinaro, John (February 12, 2024). "TFC 2's Lazar Stefanovic named to Canada's under-20 squad". TFC Republic.
- ^ Lazar Stefanovic at Soccerway
External links
edit- Lazar Stefanovic at Soccerway
- Lazar Stefanovic at the Canadian Soccer Association
