Esteban Ariel Saveljich (; born 20 May 1991) is 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 plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Primera Federación The Primera Federación, officially the Primera Federación Versus e-Learning for sponsorship reasons (formerly known as Primera RFEF). is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administe ...

club

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

. Born in Argentina, he represents

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

at international level.

Club career

Born in

Tandil Tandil is the main city of the homonymous partido (department), located in Argentina, in the southeast of Buenos Aires Province, just north-northwest of Tandilia hills. The city was founded in 1823, and its name originates from the '' Piedra M ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, Argentina, Saveljich joined Racing Club's youth setup in 2006, aged 15. On 23 June 2012, he made his first team – and Primera División – debut, in a 2–1 away loss against Vélez Sársfield. Saveljich scored his first professional goal on 1 April 2014, in a 3–3 home draw against Estudiantes. He was also a part of the squad which was crowned champions in that year, but as a backup. In January 2015 Saveljich was loaned to fellow top-tier club

Defensa y Justicia Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935.

, until the end of the year. He appeared in 24 matches, scoring once, as his side avoided relegation. On 24 January 2016, Saveljich moved abroad, signing a six-month loan deal with

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

side

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

. On 18 August, he signed a permanent four-year deal with fellow league team

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

. On 4 August 2017, after contributing sporadically to the

Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...

club's promotion to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, Saveljich was loaned to

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 5 July 1939, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish foo ...

in the second level, for one year. On 31 August 2018, he returned to Almería on loan for the 2018–19 campaign. On 26 July 2019, Saveljich agreed to a permanent four-year deal with

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

, freshly relegated to the second division. On 1 September 2023, he joined

Burgos CF Burgos Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The original Burgos CF (1936), Burgos CF was dissolved in 1983 after becoming Insolven ...

in the second division on a one-year contract. On 22 August 2024, Saveljich signed with

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in , playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condo ...

in the third tier.

International career

Saveljich obtained Montenegrin nationality in 2015. He was called up for international matches of

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

versus

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in June 2015, both of which he entered as a substitute. In a Euro 2016 qualifying match against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, he was in the starting line-up. Under

Ljubiša Tumbaković Ljubiša Tumbaković (, ; born 2 September 1952) is a Serbian professional football manager. He is the most successful coach in the history of Serbian powerhouse Partizan which he led to six national championship titles and three national cup w ...

, the new head coach of Montenegro national team, he played in a friendly match against

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Personal life

Saveljich, a Montenegrin Argentine, is the cousin of former Montenegrin footballer

Niša Saveljić Niša Saveljić (; born 27 March 1970) is a Montenegrin former footballer who played as a defender. At international level, Saveljić represented FR Yugoslavia in one World Cup (1998) and one European Championship (2000). Club career Born in ...

. His paternal great-grandfather and grandmother were immigrants from Montenegro. Saveljich is nicknamed ''el Polaco'' (The Pole) by Argentine media, due to his hair colour. Conversely, in Montenegro he is nicknamed ''

Gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, the southern part of Bolivia, and the south of Chilean Patago ...

''.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Racing Club *

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Levante UD *

: 2016–17

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saveljich, Esteban 1991 births Living people Footballers from Tandil Argentine men's footballers Montenegrin men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Argentine Primera División players Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Defensa y Justicia footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Primera Federación players UD Almería players Levante UD footballers Albacete Balompié players Rayo Vallecano players Burgos CF footballers Real Murcia CF players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Montenegrin expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Montenegro men's international footballers 21st-century Argentine sportsmen