Stanko Svitlica (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Станко Свитлица; born 17 May 1976) is a Serbian former 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He is best remembered for his time at

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

, becoming the Polish

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

top scorer in the 2002–03 season with 24 goals.

Career

A journeyman, Svitlica played for several clubs in FR Yugoslavia, as well as France and Greece, before

Dragan Okuka Dragomir "Dragan" Okuka (; born 2 April 1954) is a Serbian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. As a player, he was predominantly associated with his time with FK Velež Mostar, Velež ...

brought him to

in the summer of 2001. He scored ten goals from 28 appearances in all competitions during his debut season in Poland, helping the club win the national championship that year. In the following season, Svitlica netted 29 goals in 38 games (24 in 29 in the league), becoming the first foreigner ever to win the Golden Boot in the Polish Ekstraklasa. He continued his goalscoring form in late 2003, securing him a transfer to

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

in the 2004 winter

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

. Despite an impressive start (Svitlica scored against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

beating

Oliver Kahn Oliver Rolf Kahn (; born 15 June 1969) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in t ...

on his debut after coming off the bench), his career in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

never really took off and Hannover offloaded him after just half a year. He spent the following two seasons with

LR Ahlen Rot Weiss Ahlen is a football in Germany, German football club based in Ahlen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 2006 the club was known as ''LR Ahlen'' for its major sponsor, but underwent a name change when the sponsor withdrew its support after th ...

in the second tier of German football, before returning to Poland and joining

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. They currently compete in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system, ...

. However, Svitlica struggled for fitness and after just two games left the club. He later returned to Serbia and his former club Čukarički, but failed to make an impact. In 2010, Svitlica retired from professional football.

Honours

Partizan *

First League of FR Yugoslavia The First League of Serbia and Montenegro () was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed as the First League of FR Yugoslavia following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, ef ...

: 1995–96 Legia Warsaw *

: 2001–02 *

Ekstraklasa Cup The Ekstraklasa Cup () was an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs that played in the Polish Ekstraklasa. The Ekstraklasa Cup was the fourth attempt at introducing a League Cup competition in Poland. The first such tournament was a on ...

: 2002 Individual * Ekstraklasa top scorer: 2002–03

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Svitlica, Stanko Living people 1976 births People from Kupres Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Footballers from Canton 10 Men's association football forwards First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Serbian First League players Serbian SuperLiga players Ligue 2 players Super League Greece players Ekstraklasa players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players FK Partizan players FK Čukarički players Le Mans FC players FK Proleter Zrenjanin players FK Spartak Subotica players Ethnikos Asteras F.C. players Legia Warsaw players Hannover 96 players Rot Weiss Ahlen players Wisła Kraków players FK Srem players FK Banat Zrenjanin players Serbian expatriate men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany