Stefan Babović

Stefan Babović

Babović with Feyenoord in 2010
Personal information
Full name Stefan Babović
Date of birth (1987-01-07) 7 January 1987
Place of birth Ivangrad, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
1995–2004 Partizan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Partizan 36 (4)
2006–2008 OFK Beograd 42 (9)
2008–2010 Nantes 33 (0)
2009–2010 → Feyenoord (loan) 10 (1)
2010–2012 Partizan 51 (12)
2012–2013 Zaragoza 9 (0)
2013–2015 Voždovac 31 (7)
2015–2016 Partizan 26 (5)
National team
2003 Serbia and Montenegro U17[1] 3 (1)
2004–2006 Serbia and Montenegro U19[1] 5 (0)
2006–2008 Serbia U21[1] 15 (5)
2007–2008 Serbia 4 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 April 2016.


Stefan Babović (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Бабовић; born 7 January 1987) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a deep-lying playmaker.

After representing his country at all youth levels, Babović made his full international debut for Serbia in 2007.

Club career

Partizan and OFK Beograd

Babović came through the youth ranks at Partizan and made his senior team debut at the age of 17, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 home win over Sutjeska Nikšić on 17 March 2004.[2] He also played for Teleoptik on dual registration. On 8 January 2005, a day after his 18 birthday, Babović signed his first professional contract with Partizan, on a five-year deal.[3] He was also a member of the team that won the league title in 2005. After the retirement of Dragan Ćirić, Babović was given the number 10 shirt. He played 23 league matches and scored three goals in the 2005–06 season. In August 2006, Babović eventually left Partizan after a disagreement with manager Miodrag Ješić.[4][5]

After parting ways with Partizan, Babović joined OFK Beograd as a free agent, penning a four-year contract.[6] He quickly fit into a talented team and played great for the club, which coincided with his fantastic performances for the youth national team.[7]

Nantes and Feyenoord

On 13 December 2007, it was announced that Babović left Serbia to join Nantes of the French second division.[8] The transfer officially went through on 1 January 2008.[9] During his first six months at the Stade de la Beaujoire, Babović made 15 league appearances, scoring no goals, as the club was promoted to the first division. He repeated the same performances in the next season, but the club failed to avoid relegation.

On 1 September 2009, after featuring in Nantes' first three league matches of the campaign, Babović was sent on loan to Feyenoord until the end of the 2009–10 season,[10] with a buyout clause.[11] He was given the number 15 shirt. On 1 November 2009, Babović was sent off during the Klassieker in Amsterdam for elbowing Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen.[12]

After serving his suspension,[13] Babović returned to the lineup for the match against Groningen and scored his first Eredivisie goal, an equalizer in a 3–1 victory. At the end of the season, it was announced that Feyenoord would not offer Babović a new contract.[14] Eventually, Babović returned to France and terminated his contract with Nantes by mutual agreement in June 2010.[15]

Return to Partizan

On 16 August 2010, after almost two months of training with his parent club, Babović signed a two-year contract with Partizan.[16] He scored eight league goals in his comeback season with Partizan, being named in the 2010–11 SuperLiga Team of the Season, also helping his team win their fourth league title in a row. In the same season, Babović made four appearances in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League and won the Serbian Cup trophy.

Likewise, Babović earned a place in the 2011–12 SuperLiga Team of the Season, also winning his second consecutive national championship title with Partizan.

Zaragoza and Voždovac

In August 2012, Babović signed a three-year deal with Zaragoza.[17] He made his official debut for the club in a 0–2 away loss to Real Sociedad on 16 September 2012. Over the course of the 2012–13 season, Babović made nine league appearances, only to have his contract annulled in the summer of 2013, following the club's relegation from the Primera División.[18]

On the last day of the 2013 summer transfer window, Babović signed with Voždovac on a free transfer.[19] He made 21 league appearances and scored three times in the 2013–14 season, as the club finished in 7th place in their comeback season in the top flight. Despite transfer speculation in the summer of 2014, Babović eventually stayed and spent another six months at Voždovac.

Third stint at Partizan

On 14 January 2015, Babović officially returned to his former club Partizan. He signed a three-year contract and was given the number 10 shirt, previously worn by the departing Ismaël Béko Fofana.[20] On 21 February 2015, Babović made his third debut for Partizan, playing the full 90 minutes in a home league fixture against his former club Voždovac; the game ended in a 3–3 draw. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 away draw with Čukarički on 22 March 2015.[21] Babović recorded a total of 12 league appearances and scored two goals in the second part of the 2014–15 season, as the club won the title. He was again named in the competition's best eleven due to his performances throughout the season for both Voždovac and Partizan.[22]

On 14 July 2015, Babović netted his first goal in UEFA competitions, scoring from a free kick to give his team a 1–0 win over Dila Gori.[23] He also scored the opener in a 4–2 home victory over Steaua București on 5 August 2015.[24]

On 14 January 2016, Babović terminated his contract with Partizan by mutual consent.[25]

International career

A former Serbia and Montenegro U17 and U19 player, Babović was unused substitute in the 2006 UEFA U-21 Championship in Portugal. He was subsequently Serbia's top scorer in the 2007 UEFA U-21 Championship qualification; two of his three goals came in the stunning play-off comeback against Sweden.[26] In the summer of 2007, Babović was named in the 23-man squad for the final tournament held in the Netherlands.[27] Serbia ended the tournament as a runner-up, losing 1–4 to the hosts in the final.

After appearing in an unofficial friendly against the Basque Country on 27 December 2006,[28] Babović made his official debut for the senior national team in a rescheduled UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Kazakhstan on 24 November 2007.

Statistics

As of 16 April 2016

Club

Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Partizan 2003–04 4000–0040
2004–05 9110–10111
2005–06 23320–20273
Total 36430–30424
OFK Beograd 2006–07 27620–00296
2007–08 15300–00153
Total 42920–00449
Nantes 2007–08 150100000160
2008–09 150100000160
2009–10 3000100040
Total 330201000360
Feyenoord (loan) 2009–10 10131–00132
Total 10131–00132
Partizan 2010–11 22842–403010
2011–12 29441–50385
2012–13 0000–5050
Total 511283–1407315
Zaragoza 2012–13 9020–00110
Total 9020–00110
Voždovac 2013–14 21310–00223
2014–15 10423–00127
Total 31733–003410
Partizan 2014–15 12230–00152
2015–16 14320–112275
Total 26550–112427
Career total 238382871028229547

International

National teamYearAppsGoals
Serbia 200710
200830
Total40

Honours

Club

Partizan

International

Serbia

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 Only official UEFA matches included
  2. ↑ "I mi decu za trku imamo" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 18 March 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Babović potpisao prvi ugovor" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 8 January 2005. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "Stefan Babović napustio Partizan!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  5. ↑ "Babović:"Poštujem Zvezdu, ali nikada ne bih igrao u njoj"" (in Serbian). sportske.net. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  6. ↑ "Babović potpisao za OFK Beograd" (in Serbian). mondo.rs. 9 August 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Igram i uživam!" (in Serbian). novosti.rs. 15 October 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  8. ↑ "Lekip: Babović u Nantu" (in Serbian). b92.net. 13 December 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  9. ↑ "Babović: Transfer u Nant odličan potez" (in Serbian). mondo.rs. 15 December 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  10. ↑ "Babovic signing boosts Feyenoord". fifa.com. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  11. ↑ "Feyenoord capture Babovic". skysports.com. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  12. ↑ "Eredivisie: Ajax thrash Feyenoord in derby clash". espnfc.com. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
  13. ↑ "Babovic banned for three games". skysports.com. 6 November 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "Feyenoord heeft geen plaats meer voor Babovic" (in Dutch). vi.nl. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  15. ↑ "'Babovic en FC Nantes akkoord over verscheuren van verbintenis'" (in Dutch). voetbalzone.nl. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  16. ↑ "Babović se vratio u Partizan!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 16 August 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  17. ↑ "Babovic, nuevo jugador del Zaragoza" (in Spanish). marca.com. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "Stefan Babovic rescinde su contrato con el Zaragoza" (in Spanish). as.com. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  19. ↑ "Babović potpisao za Voždovac" (in Serbian). sportal.rs. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  20. ↑ "Stefan Babović po treći put u Partizanu!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "Partizan iščupao bod protiv Čukaričkog (VIDEO)" (in Serbian). soskanal.net. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "TIM SEZONE U SUPERLIGI: Čuka ima više igrača od večitih zajedno!" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  23. ↑ "Babirlo kao Pirlo: Dila izgorela u Humskoj! (VIDEO)" (in Serbian). mozzartsport.com. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  24. ↑ "Crno-bela čarobna noć: Partizan obezbedio evropsku jesen" (in Serbian). vesti-online.com. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  25. ↑ "Stefan Babović i Partizan sporazumno raskinuli ugovor" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  26. ↑ "Glorious Serbia are going Dutch". uefa.com. 10 October 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  27. ↑ "Đukić odredio spisak za EP" (in Serbian). b92.net. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  28. ↑ "Debakl na kraju 2006." (in Serbian). politika.rs. 28 December 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
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