Mile Svilar (Serbian Cyrillic: Миле Свилар; born 27 August 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Roma. Born in Belgium, he played for the Serbia national team.

Mile Svilar
Миле Свилар
Svilar in 2017
Personal information
Full name Mile Svilar[1]
Date of birth (1999-08-27) 27 August 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Antwerp, Belgium
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Roma
Number 99
Youth career
2008–2009 KFCO Wilrijk
2009–2010 Beerschot A.C.
2010–2017 Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Anderlecht 0 (0)
2017–2022 Benfica 7 (0)
2019–2022 Benfica B 56 (0)
2022– Roma 26 (0)
International career
2014 Belgium U15 3 (0)
2014–2015 Belgium U16 3 (0)
2016 Belgium U17 7 (0)
2016 Belgium U18 1 (0)
2016–2017 Belgium U19 5 (0)
2019–2020 Belgium U21 5 (0)
2021 Serbia 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 September 2021

Club career

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Early career and Anderlecht

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Svilar is a product of the Belgian youth teams of KFCO Wilrijk and Beerschot A.C., while in 2010 he joined the Belgian giant Anderlecht. On 27 August 2015, he signed his first professional contract with the club.[3] He was promoted to the first team in the 2016–17 season as the third choice goalkeeper, he was first included in the match day squad in the Belgian Cup match against Charleroi. He was also amongst the unused substitute in Anderlecht victory in the 2017 Belgian Super Cup.[4]

Benfica

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Svilar signed a five-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica on 28 August 2017.[5] On 14 October, he made his debut with the club in a 1–0 victory over Olhanense,[6] becoming the youngest goalkeeper to ever play for Benfica.[7] In international competition, he broke Iker Casillas' record as the youngest goalkeeper to ever play in the Champions League on 18 October 2017, in a 1–0 home defeat to Manchester United, aged 18 years and 52 days.[8][9] In the return leg against the English side, aged 18 years and 65 days, he became the youngest goalkeeper ever to save a penalty in a Champions League match. In the same match, which ended in a 2–0 away defeat, he also became the youngest player ever to score an own goal in the competition.[10][11]

Roma

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On 1 July 2022, Svilar signed a contract with Serie A club Roma until 30 June 2027.[12] On 22 February 2024, he saved two penalties during the shootouts which ended in a 4–2 victory over Feyenoord in the 2023–24 Europa League knockout round play-offs.[13]

International career

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Youth

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Svilar was a member of Belgium U-16, Belgium U-17, Belgium U-18 national teams and was also a member of Belgium U-19. He was the first choice goalkeeper for the Belgium U-17 team at the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Azerbaijan.

Senior

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Born in Belgium to Serbian parents, Svilar is eligible to represent Belgium or Serbia.[14] On 4 November 2017, he announced that he would play his first game for the Serbia national team in March 2018, as he accepted the call from the Football Association of Serbia.[15] On 20 August 2021, he received his first call up to the Serbia national football team,[16] he debuted with Serbia in a friendly 4–0 win over Qatar on 1 September 2021.[17]

On 5 March 2024, Svilar was called up by Serbia after being absence for almost three years, but he reportedly turned down the call-up,[18] and was therefore not included in the final squad.[19] Serbia manager Dragan Stojković later commented that Svilar will not receive future international call-ups from Serbia.[20]

Personal life

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Svilar has a Serbian passport.[21] His father, Ratko, is a former Serbian goalkeeper.[5]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 10 November 2024[22][23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Anderlecht 2016–17 Belgian First Division A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Benfica 2017–18 Primeira Liga 3 0 1 0 2 0 3[c] 0 9 0
2018–19 1 0 6 0 4 0 0 0 11 0
2019–20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2020–21 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 7 0 7 0 6 0 3 0 23 0
Benfica B 2018–19 LigaPro 2 0 2 0
2019–20 20 0 20 0
2020–21 Liga Portugal 2 21 0 21 0
2021–22 13 0 13 0
Total 56 0 56 0
Roma 2022–23 Serie A 3 0 0 0 1[d] 0 4 0
2023–24 15 0 1 0 14[d] 0 30 0
2024–25 12 0 0 0 4[d] 0 16 0
Total 30 0 1 0 19 0 50 0
Career total 93 0 8 0 6 0 22 0 129 0
  1. ^ Includes Taça de Portugal, Coppa Italia
  2. ^ Includes Taça da Liga
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International

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As of 1 September 2021
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Serbia 2021 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

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Anderlecht

Benfica

Roma

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Comunicado Oficial N. 131" [Official Announcement No. 131] (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 7 January 2020. p. 13. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Svilar – Official Profile". AS Roma. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  3. ^ Belga (9 May 2024). "Le prometteur gardien Mile Svilar signe pour 3 ans à Anderlecht". lavenir.net (in French). Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Match : ANDERLECHT vs ZULTE-WAREGEM". MatchEnDirect.fr. Retrieved 19 November 2023..
  5. ^ a b Garcia, Filipa Fernandes (28 August 2017). "Svilar assina por cinco épocas" [Svilar signs for five seasons]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Taça de Portugal Placard 2017/2018 - Third Round: Olhanense 0-1 Benfica". thefinalball.com. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  7. ^ Svilar, o mais novo de sempre na baliza do Benfica Maisfutebol (in Portuguese)
  8. ^ "Benfica goalkeeper breaks Iker Casillas' record in Champions League clash with Man Utd | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  9. ^ Michael Yokhin (31 October 2017). "Meet Mile Svilar, the youngest keeper in Champions League history". ESPN FC. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Man. United 2-0 Benfica". uefa.com. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  11. ^ Mark Critchley (31 October 2017). "Manchester United make it four from four on another night to forget for Benfica youngster Mile Svilar". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  12. ^ "SVILAR COMPLETES ROMA MOVE!". Roma. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  13. ^ "SVILAR: "I HAVE WORKED ALL MY LIFE FOR THIS MOMENT"". Roma. 22 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Mladi Srbin protiv Manchester Uniteda srušio rekord Lige prvaka". index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  15. ^ "Svilar odlucio - igra za Srbiju". rts.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  16. ^ "СЕЛЕКТОР СРБИЈЕ ДРАГАН СТОЈКОВИЋ САОПШТИО СПИСАК ИГРАЧА ЗА МЕЧЕВЕ ПРОТИВ КАТАРА, ЛУКСЕМБУРГА И РЕПУБЛИКЕ ИРСКЕ | Фудбалски савез Србије". fss.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Match Report of Qatar vs Serbia - 2021-09-01 - FIFA Friendlies - Global Sports Archive".
  18. ^ Nedeljković, Jelena. "EKSKLUZIVNO! Svilar odjavio Piksija: Neće više da brani za Srbiju!". INFORMER (in Serbian). Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  19. ^ "СЕЛЕКТОР ДРАГАН СТОЈКОВИЋ САОПШТИО ШИРИ СПИСАК ИГРАЧА ЗА ПРОВЕРЕ ПРОТИВ РУСИЈЕ И КИПРА | Фудбалски савез Србије". fss.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  20. ^ "VIŠE GA NEĆEMO ZVATI! Piksi o Miletu Svilaru: Znate već o čemu se radi". Mondo Srbija (in Serbian). 19 March 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Jedan Srbin može protiv Junajteda da ispiše istoriju Lige šampiona". sport.blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  22. ^ Mile Svilar at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 October 2017.  
  23. ^ "BDFutbol Player Profile". BDFutbol. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  24. ^ "2023/24 UEFA Europa League Team of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
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