Elsad Zverotić ( sr-cyrl, Eлcaд Звepoтић; born 31 October 1986) is a 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 ...

who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

right 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 ...

. Born in

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

, he represented the Switzerland U18 national team before switching to the Montenegro U21. He is the Montenegro senior national team's second most-capped player of all time, with 61 caps between 2008 and 2017.

Club career

Zverotić joined

BSC Young Boys BSC Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation ) are a Swiss sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 15 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, reac ...

in the summer of 2011. On 22 November 2012 in the UEFA Europa League group stage, Zverotić scored a memorable goal against

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

in a 2–2 draw. On 2 September 2013, Zverotić signed a two-year contract with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

, with the option for an additional year for an undisclosed fee. He left the club by mutual consent on 16 February 2015. The following day, he returned to Switzerland, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal at Sion. In November 2017, he was one of seven players demoted to the reserve team by new manager

Gabri García Gabriel Francisco García de la Torre (born 10 February 1979), known as Gabri, is a Spanish retired footballer, currently manager of CE Sabadell FC. Mainly a midfielder who could play in the right or the middle, he could also appear as an atta ...

International career

After beginning his career in the country, Zverotić was called up by Switzerland's under-18 side. However, he then pledged his international career to his native Montenegro, playing his first match for the Montenegro U21 team against

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

on 2 May 2007. On 7 September 2010, Zverotić his first international goal, the only one against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

in a Euro 2012 qualifier, striking from 30 yards at the

Vasil Levski National Stadium Vasil Levski National Stadium ( bg, Национален стадион „Васил Левски“), named after Bulgarian national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43, ...

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

. He scored in another qualifier against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

on 7 October 2011, Montenegro's first as they came from behind to earn a 2–2 draw in

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

. Zverotić scored two goals in

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...

, one in each of their victories over

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

. His final international was a September 2017 FIFA World Cup qualification match against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

. He is the second most capped Montenegrin footballer with 61 matches after

Fatos Bećiraj Fatos Bećiraj ( cnr, Фатос Бећирај, sq, Fatos Besim Beqiraj; born 5 May 1988) is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays as a striker for FK Mornar and the Montenegro national team. Club career Early career and Budućnos ...

who has 63.

Honours

Sion *

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference ...

: 2014–15

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zverotic, Elsad 1986 births Living people People from Berane Bosniaks of Montenegro Swiss people of Montenegrin descent Men's association football fullbacks Swiss men's footballers Switzerland men's youth international footballers Montenegrin footballers Montenegro men's under-21 international footballers Montenegro men's international footballers FC Wil players FC Luzern players BSC Young Boys players Fulham F.C. players FC Sion players FC Aarau players 2. Liga Interregional players Swiss Challenge League players Swiss Super League players Premier League players English Football League players Montenegrin expatriate footballers Swiss expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in England Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in England