Alen Stevanović ( sr-Cyrl, Ален Стевановић, ; born 7 January 1991) is a Swiss-born Serbian 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 ...

who plays as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Serbian First League The Serbian First League ( sr, Прва лига Србије / Prva liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet First League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Прва лига / Mozzart Bet Prva liga) for sponsorship reasons, is the name for the second ...

club IMT. A product of the Radnički Obrenovac youth academy, Stevanović made name for himself while playing for

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

. He made his debut with the Serbian national team in 2012.

Early life

Stevanović's parents separated shortly after his birth in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

and he never met his biological father. Immediately after the separation, when Alen was only three months old, his mother brought him to Bečmen,

SR Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...

to live with his grandmother and uncleAlen Stevanović, mladić bez kluba u Srbiji, u Interu: Murinjov dar srpskom tinejdžeru za rođendan
; ''Blic'', 12 January 2010 while she returned to Switzerland. He could not reach his mother in

as he was not granted a visa and could only see her once a year. His grandfather, who had worked both in Switzerland and had returned to Belgrade, died a year later at the age of 58 years. Until 2004–2005, as stated by himself, he was angry with life and this hindered the beginning of his playing career. He married Dunja on 17 February 2013 and on 20 November 2013 became the father of his first child Neva. On 27 July 2018 he became father second time, his wife gave birth to son Matej.

Club career

Inter Milan

Stevanović started his professional career in Serbia at

FK Radnički Obrenovac FK Radnički Obrenovac () is a football club based in Obrenovac, Belgrade, Serbia. They compete in the Serbian League Belgrade, the third tier of the national league system. History The club was founded as Radnički in 1927 on the initiative of t ...

. In early 2009, a trial was arranged for him at Italian champions

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

, and after arriving in Milan on 9 January, Stevanović was signed by the club in February. In November 2009, Stevanović, along with youngster

Giulio Donati Giulio Donati (born 5 February 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Monza. Club career Inter Milan Primavera and first team Born in Pietrasanta, the Province of Lucca, Donati started his career at hom ...

, was named to the match-day squad against Livorno in

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, but remained an unused sub. He then traveled with the first team to Abu Dhabi,

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

for winter training camp. He played the friendly match against Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal as starter. Due to the injuries incurred by

Esteban Cambiasso Esteban Matías Cambiasso Deleau (; born 18 August 1980), nicknamed ''"Cuchu"'', is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. During his career, Cambiasso won 21 official titles, the majority of which were won dur ...

Sulley Muntari Suleyman Ali "Sulley" Muntari (born 27 August 1984) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in Italy, playing for clubs such as Udinese, Internazionale, and Milan. During his time w ...

and

Rene Krhin Rene Krhin (born 21 May 1990) is a Slovenian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Central midfielder, central midfielder. Club career Internazionale Born in Maribor, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Slovenia), ...

, Stevanović was named in the squad for the first league match after the winter break, against

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

, but again didn't get any playing time. A couple of days later, after

Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career at ...

left for Manchester City on 8 January 2010, Stevanović made his Serie A debut the very next day on 9 January at home versus

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

by coming on as a sub for

Thiago Motta Thiago Motta (; ; born 28 August 1982) is a professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of club Bologna. A midfielder, Motta spent his early career at Barcelona, where he was injury-prone. He played two and ...

in the 67th minute. Head coach José Mourinho made the substitution in direct response to Siena taking the 3–2 lead on a goal scored two minutes earlier. By the end, Inter managed to overturn the score 4–3 with an injury time winner.

Torino

On 22 July 2010, Stevanović left for Serie B side

in co-ownership deal for €2 million.,FC Internazionale Milano Report and Accounts on 31 June 2011
Require purchase in CCIAA
/ref> As part of the deal, Inter signed youngster

Simone Benedetti Simone Benedetti (born 3 April 1992) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club Avellino. He is the son of former Italian football player, Silvano Benedetti. Club career Torino He grew up from an early age in ...

in another co-ownership deal also for €2M. He debuted in

against Cosenza, earning a penalty kick. Torino coach

Franco Lerda Franco Lerda (born 19 August 1967) is an Italian football manager and a former player who played as a forward. Club career Lerda began his career with the Torino youth system, at the age of 16, joining the first team during the 1985–86 season ...

played him a further 8 times throughout the season and once more in Coppa Italia.

Toronto FC (loan)

On 24 March 2011, it was officially announced that Stevanović would join

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

on loan. Stevanović made his debut for the club on 26 March 2011 in a 2–0 home victory against Portland Timbers. Following a 1–0 home defeat to Seattle Sounders FC on 18 June in which Stevanović earned his first start in nearly a month, the Serbian attacking midfielder was recalled by Torino.

Return to Torino

On 21 June 2011 the co-ownership agreement was renewed for the 2011–12 season. On 4 September 2011, he scored his first goal as professional footballer, giving Torino the lead against

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

. He ended the season with 36 appearances and 3 goals. On 22 June 2012, the co-ownership was once again renewed, with Torino renewing his contract until 30 June 2015. On 26 August 2012, Stevanović has played his first match in 2012–13 season against

, playing as a starter. On 30 September 2012, Stevanović has entered in game as a substitute for Mario Santana in 58th minute and score the goal after a cross from

Alessio Cerci Alessio Cerci (; born 23 July 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger. Cerci started his professional football career at Roma, playing four times for the first team before serving periods on loan at Brescia, Pisa an ...

in 1–5 away league win over

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

. On 19 June 2013, after 15 appearances and 2 goals in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

, the co-ownership agreement was resolved in favour of Torino.

Loans to Palermo, Bari and Spezia

On 11 July 2013, he moved to Palermo on loan with the right of redemption for the co-ownership, finalised the next day. He made his debut in the rosanero jersey, during the second round of

won 2–1 against Cremonese, held on 11 August 2013, playing as a starter. On 3 May 2014, after the victory against

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

, 1–0 away, he was promoted to

– with five games to spare. He finished the season with 21 appearances and one in Coppa Italia. On 24 July 2014 he was loaned to Bari, with the option to redeem his contract. In January 2015 he was recalled by Torino and loaned to

Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest cit ...

in exchange for the forward Osarimen Ebagua and

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Pasquale Schiattarella.

Partizan

On 31 August 2015, Stevanović joined

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

from Torino on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract and was given the number 91 shirt. Two days later he was officially presented at the

Partizan Stadium The Partizan Stadium (Serbian: Стадион Партизанa / ''Stadion Partizana'') is a football and track-and-field stadium in Autokomanda, Belgrade, Serbia. The home ground of FK Partizan, it was formerly known as JNA Stadium (Stadion J ...

. On 12 September 2015, Stevanović made his official debut for the club in an Eternal derby against

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

and scored the equalizer for Partizan. On 1 October 2015, Stevanović played his first match for Partizan in

UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur asso ...

in UEFA Europa League group stage in 1–3 away victory over

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

. He scored the leading goal for Partizan against Radnik Surdulica in 2–2 away draw on 14 October 2015. He has played 3 matches in 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage. On 2 March 2016, Stevanović scored a goal in

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup (Serbian: Куп Србије, Kup Srbije) is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. From 2006 to 2010, the competition was known as the Lav Cup f ...

quarter-final against Radnički Niš in 2–0 home win.

Shonan Bellmare

On 29 December he signed two-year contract for

Shonan Bellmare is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuka ...

. On 10 September 2018, he has officially terminated his contract with Bellmare by mutual consent.

Wisła Płock

Stevanović officially joined Polish club

Wisła Płock Wisła Płock Spółka Akcyjna (''Wisła Płock S.A.''), commonly referred to as Wisła Płock (), is a Polish professional football club, based in Płock, Masovian Voivodeship, which plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the national fo ...

on 12 February 2019 on a 1,5-year contract. On 27 July 2019 it appeared, that Stevanović had been excluded from the first team. A spokesman for the club explained that Stevanovic had broken certain of the club's rules, without further comment on which or what, but his contract wasn't terminated. It was later revealed, that the reason why he had been excluded was that he didn't show up at the rebound before a game against Lech Poznań. The exact same thing had already happened two times earlier in the same club. However, he was back training with the first team less than two weeks later. On 19 August Wisła confirmed, that they had submitted a request to the Chamber for the Resolution of Sports Disputes for termination of the contract with Stevanović. On 30 August it was reported, that Stevanović had disappeared for the fourth time, he didn't show up for training and nobody had heard from him. The club president then said, that there were no chance for him to return this time and that they just was waiting for the request to terminate the contract was accepted.

International career

On 3 March 2010, he made his debut for the Serbia U-21 team against Macedonia. On 12 October 2012, he was called up to the senior national team by coach

Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional football player and manager. During his career as a footballer, he played as a defender or midfielder. He won ...

, making his debut in the 67th minute as a substitute for

Zoran Tošić Zoran Tošić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Тошић, ; born 28 April 1987) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Greek Super League club Lamia. He has built a reputation as a free-kick specialist and a tricky dribbler. Toši ...

in a defeat against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier. On 22 March 2013, Stevanović was the first time in the starting lineup in the Serbian national team in his career against the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Maksimir Maksimir () is one of the districts of Zagreb, Croatia, population 48,902 (2011 census). Maksimir stadium and Maksimir Park are located in it. It was named for Bishop Maksimilijan Vrhovac. The urban center of the Maksimir district is located aro ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

;Palermo *

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

: 2013–14 ;Partizan *

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

: 2016–17 *

: 2015–16, 2016–17

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevanovic, Alen 1991 births Living people Swiss people of Serbian descent Footballers from Zürich Footballers from Belgrade Serbian footballers Association football midfielders Serbian expatriate footballers Serbia international footballers Serbia under-21 international footballers FK Radnički Obrenovac players Inter Milan players Torino F.C. players Toronto FC players Palermo F.C. players S.S.C. Bari players Spezia Calcio players FK Partizan players Shonan Bellmare players Wisła Płock players FC Tsarsko Selo Sofia players Serbian SuperLiga players Serie A players Serie B players Major League Soccer players J1 League players Ekstraklasa players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Japan Expatriate footballers in Poland Expatriate soccer players in Canada Expatriate footballers in Bulgaria FK IMT players Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Japan