Matija Sarkic ( cnr-Cyrl-Latn, Матија Шаркић, Matija Šarkić; 23 July 1997 – 15 June 2024) was a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Born in England to a British mother and a Montenegrin father, Sarkic represented Montenegro at youth and senior international level. Sarkic came through the academy sides of

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. While at Aston Villa, he spent time

on loan In sports, a loan involves a particular player being able to temporarily play for a club other than the one to which they are currently contracted. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to a full season, sometimes persisting for multiple seasons ...

at a number of English and Scottish clubs:

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, for whom he made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

debut;

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

clubs Stratford Town and Havant & Waterlooville; and Livingston of the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

. He signed for

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

in 2020, and spent time on loan at

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, where he was voted Player of the Season, and

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

. In 2023, he joined

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

, where he became the first-choice goalkeeper.

Personal life

Sarkic was born in England, in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

, Lincolnshire. His father,

Bojan Šarkić Bojan Šarkić is a Montenegrin diplomat who is Ambassador to the European Union, and has previously served as Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ambassador to Belgium. He is the father of footballers Matija Sarkic and Oliver Sarkic Oliver S ...

, is a Montenegrin diplomat who, as of October 2017, was the country's ambassador to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. He previously served as ambassador to the United Kingdom and to Belgium. His mother, Natalie Šarkić-Todd, is British and works at a European media network. Matija had a twin brother,

Oliver Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * ''Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver ...

, with whom he played during his spell at Anderlecht.

Club career

Early career and Aston Villa

Sarkic left the youth academy of Belgian club

, signing a three-year contract with English club

on 1 September 2015, joining their under-21 side. He was the

for Villa's under-21 team who reached the Premier League 2 Division Two play-off final in the 2015–16 season. In April 2017, he was named on the bench for a league match against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

as cover for

Sam Johnstone Samuel Luke Johnstone (born 25 March 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the England national team. A product of the Manchester United academy, Johnstone spent ...

following an injury to Mark Bunn. Šarkić joined

on 31 August 2017 on a season-long

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

, going on to make 3 appearances, all in cup competitions, and saving a penalty on his debut against Middlesbrough U21 in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

. In December 2018, he joined Stratford Town on a youth loan. On 26 June 2019, Sarkic signed for

club Livingston on what was intended to be a season-long loan, but he was recalled by Aston Villa on 3 January 2020, as their first-choice goalkeeper

Tom Heaton Thomas David Heaton (born 15 April 1986) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He is currently a free agent. Heaton began his career in the Manchester United F ...

had suffered a knee injury. Sarkic was offered a contract extension at Aston Villa in 2020 but turned down the offer to look for first-team opportunities elsewhere, having seen experienced goalkeeper

Pepe Reina José Manuel "Pepe" Reina Páez (; born 31 August 1982) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. The son of famed Barcelona and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina, Pepe Reina began his career with the Barce ...

brought in as cover for the injured Heaton. Sarkic was formally released by Aston Villa at the end of the 2019–20 season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Sarkic signed for Villa's

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

rivals

on 27 July 2020 on a three-year contract.

Shrewsbury Town (loan)

On 2 September 2020, Sarkic joined

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

club

on a season-long loan. He made his debut on 12 September, starting in a goalless draw away at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. He kept 11

clean sheets In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

in 29 games across all competitions for the Shrews before returning to Wolves on 6 May 2021; he had competed for a starting position against Harry Burgoyne during his loan.

Birmingham City (loan)

Sarkic joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

on 26 July 2021 on loan for the season. With previous first-choice goalkeeper

Neil Etheridge Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge (born 7 February 1990) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Thai League 1 club Buriram United F.C., Buriram United and captains the Phil ...

still recovering from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, Sarkic started the opening-day fixture away to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

and kept a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

as Birmingham won 1–0. He retained his place in the starting eleven even after Etheridge's return to fitness, kept ten clean sheets, and missed only one of Birmingham's 24 league matches. Near the end of what proved to be his last appearance, on 2 January 2022, he dislocated a shoulder throwing the ball out to a defender. The injury required surgery which would keep him out for the rest of the season, and he returned to his parent club for treatment and rehabilitation. Despite only being at the club for the first half of the season, he was voted Birmingham City's Player of the Season for 2021–22.

Return to Wolves

Although Wolverhampton Wanderers' goalkeeping coach, Tony Roberts, thought Sarkic's progress would be better served by playing regularly on another loan, he signed a new three-year contract, and technical director

Scott Sellars Scott Sellars (born 27 November 1965) is an English football coach and former professional Association football, footballer who was most recently technical director at Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., Wolverhampton Wanderers. As a player, he was ...

said that he would remain at the club as backup and competition for

José Sá José Pedro Malheiro de Sá (; born 17 January 1993) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., Wolverhampton Wanderers and ...

. He made his first-team debut on 23 August 2022, in the EFL Cup second-round 2–1 win against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

Stoke City (loan)

On 25 January 2023 Sarkic joined Championship club

on loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 season. Sarkic took over from Jack Bonham as first-choice keeper until he suffered injury against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

on 4 March 2023. He returned from his injury on the final day of the season at

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. In July 2023, Stoke agreed a fee with Wolves for Sarkic, however they were unable to agree personal terms so they decided to sign

Mark Travers Mark Travers (born 18 May 1999) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club AFC Bournemouth. He has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth international level up until under-21 level as well as the Republic of ...

instead.

Millwall

Sarkic joined

on 3 August 2023 for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 5 August, starting in a 1–0 away win over

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. He made 33 appearances for Millwall during the 2023–24 season, as the team finished thirteenth in the

table.

International career

Sarkic represented Montenegro U17 at the

2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the twelfth edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship since the re-organising of age group competitions in 2002. Slovakia were hosts of the tournament with games taking place at four ...

. He won the bronze medal at the 2017

Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament Valeriy Lobanovskyi Memorial Tournament () is an international football tournament established in honour and memory of Valeriy Lobanovskyi since his death on 13 May 2002, hence the name Memorial. The idea was initiated by the FC Dynamo Kyiv managem ...

. On 19 November 2019, he made his debut for the Montenegrin senior team under coach

Faruk Hadžibegić Faruk Hadžibegić (; born 7 October 1957) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. Club career During his career, Hadžibegić played for hometown club Sarajevo, Real Betis, Sochaux and Toulouse. He was an important member ...

in a 2–0 friendly win against

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. Sarkic made his first competitive appearance for his country in a 2022 World Cup qualifier away to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, who won 4–0. On 5 June 2024, Sarkic played his final game, starting in a 2–0 friendly defeat to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

; on the occasion, he was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

for his performance, which included nine saves.

Death

In the early morning of 15 June 2024, Sarkic collapsed at an apartment in

Budva Budva (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Будва, or ) is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It had 27,445 inhabitants as of 2023, and is the centre of Budva Municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budv ...

, Montenegro; his long-term partner Phoebe, former Aston Villa teammate Oscar Borg and his girlfriend called an ambulance. Borg's girlfriend, a nurse, administered CPR until an ambulance arrived and paramedics then attempted their own resuscitation, but without success. His family was told that he suffered sudden heart failure. He was pronounced dead at the age of 26.

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

president

Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (); (born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian Association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and the president of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 Febr ...

wrote a letter of condolence to the

Football Association of Montenegro The Football Association of Montenegro (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin: ''Fudbalski savez Crne Gore'', ''FSCG'' / Фудбалски савез Црне Горе, ФСЦГ) is the governing body of football in Montenegro. It is based in the ca ...

, and

President of Montenegro The president of Montenegro () is the head of state of Montenegro. The current president is Jakov Milatović since 20 May 2023. The official residence of the president is the Blue Palace in Cetinje. The president is constitutionally limited to ...

Jakov Milatović Jakov Milatović (, ; born 7 December 1986) is a Montenegrin politician and economist who is the incumbent president of Montenegro, serving since May 2023. He previously served as the minister of economic development in the cabinet of Zdravko ...

paid tribute. In July 2024, Millwall announced that they would retire the number 20 shirt in Sarkic's honour.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Aston Villa U23 * Premier League Cup: 2017–18 Individual * Birmingham City Player of the Season: 2021–22

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkic, Matija 1997 births 2024 deaths Footballers from Grimsby English men's footballers Montenegrin men's footballers Montenegro men's youth international footballers Montenegro men's under-21 international footballers Montenegro men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Aston Villa F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Stratford Town F.C. players Havant & Waterlooville F.C. players Livingston F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Southern Football League players National League (English football) players Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players English people of Montenegrin descent Montenegrin people of English descent 21st-century English sportsmen English twins Association football players with retired numbers