Ilija Spasojević (born 11 September 1987) 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 ...

who plays as a striker for Liga 1 club

Bali United Bali United Football Club is a professional football club based in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia. The club competes in the Liga 1, the top tier of Indonesian football. Bali United emerged in 2015 as the result of the total rebranding of Indonesia ...

and the Indonesia national team. Spasojević is known for his goalscoring ability. A prolific goalscorer, Spasojević has won a Liga 1 Golden Boot and a Malaysia Premier League Golden Boot. Spasojević is the current all-time top scorer for

Club career

Early career

Born in Bar, Montenegro, Spasojević started his career with Serbian club

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

. In 2005–06, he played for Montenegrin club Sutjeska Nikšić, where he scored 7 goals in 17 matches. In 2006–07, Spasojević played for ČSK Čelarevo in the

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 ...

, where he scored 1 goal in 12 games.

Dinamo Tbilisi

In January 2007, Spasojević signed for former

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

winner

Dinamo Tbilisi Dinamo Tbilisi is a sports club from Tbilisi, Georgia. It was founded in 1925. Among its highest honors, is the European trophy earned by its football team which won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1981, beating FC Carl Zeiss Jena of East Germany 2–1 ...

from Georgia. While he was playing for

he scored 30 goals in 61 matches in the Georgian League and the

Georgian Cup The Georgian Cup (, ''Sakartvelos tasi'') is the main cup competition in Georgia (country), Georgian football (soccer), football. The competition is a knockout (single elimination) tournament. Soviet era cup winners Previous winners are: * 194 ...

. He became the first foreign topscorer in the history of

. During his stay in

, Spasojević won the Georgian League,

and Georgian Super Cup, and made his debut in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

on 30 July 2008 against

Panathinaikos FC Panathinaikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναθηναϊκός Α.Ο. ), known as Panathinaikos, or by its full name, and the name of its parent sports club, Panathinaikos A.O. or PAO (; ''Panathinaïkós Athlitikós Ómilos'', "All-Athenian ...

Borac Čačak

In July 2009, Spasojević was close to sign a contract with

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club Arminia Bielefeld, but the transfer failed due to financial disagreement.

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 ...

also showed interest in signing him, but on 31 August 2009 he finally joined Borac Čačak in the

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 ...

Liepājas Metalurgs

On 30 March 2010, Latvian champions Liepājas Metalurgs signed Spasojević. In Latvia he scored 6 goals in 11 matches played in the Latvian League and the Latvian Football Cup.

Trikala

On 10 September 2010, only two days before the beginning of the Greek Football League, Spasojević joined

Trikala Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...

. As he arrived late in Trikala, he was used as a substitute in the first games, and he only collected 203 minutes on the field in the first 13 matches. At the same time, Spasojević received an offer from the Indonesian club Bali Devata. Spasojević accepted the offer and moved to Indonesia.

Bali Devata

On 1 January 2011, Spasojević arrived in Indonesia and signed a contract with Bali Devata, which as a foreign player, where he soon became a key player by scoring 8 goals in the first half-season of the Indonesian league. He also scored two goals in a friendly match played on 23 August 2011 in Surabaya against Indonesia U-23, although Bali Devata was defeated 2:4 in that match.

PSM Makassar

On 1 October 2011, Spasojević signed a contract with

PSM Makassar Persatuan Sepakbola Makassar ( 'Football Association of Makassar'; abbreviated as PSM) is an Indonesian professional football club based in Makassar, South Sulawesi that competes in Liga 1. PSM was founded in 1915 as , making it the oldest ...

in the

Indonesian Premier League Indonesian Premier League (IPL; Indonesian: ''Liga Prima Indonesia'') was the highest level competition for football clubs in Indonesia from 2011 to 2013. This competition was managed by ''PT Liga Prima Indonesia Sportindo'', under supervision ...

. On 23 January 2012, it was reported that the Italian

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 ...

club Brescia Calcio wanted to sign him, but

refused the offer a few days later. His first 2011–12 season with

he finished as club topscorer by scoring 14 goals, 10 goals in the

and 4 goals in the Indonesian Cup. He was also selected by Goal.com in the best team of 2011–12 season in Indonesia. As a reward for the great season, Spasojević was invited by the Indonesian Football Association to play alongside

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

football star

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when ...

in an exhibition game between Indonesian national team and "Fabregas and friends". The game took place in Jakarta on 5 July 2012 and ended in a draw (1:1). Spasojević scored the only goal for "Fabregas and friends" after an assist from

. During his time in

, Spasojević scored 19 goals in 29 matches.

Mitra Kukar

On 15 May 2013, Spasojević joined the

Indonesian Super League Liga 1 ( en, League 1), also known as BRI Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons with Bank Rakyat Indonesia, is the men's top professional football division of the Indonesian football league system. Administered by the PT Liga Indonesia Baru (), Liga 1 ...

club Mitra Kukar shortly after that club failed to sign Andriy Shevchenko. As Goal.com reported, Mitra Kukar offered $100,000 per match to the Ukrainian superstar but he refused the offer. The next choice was Spasojević, who signed the contract until the end of the 2013 season. Spasojević scored 10 goals in 16 matches, becoming one of the most prolific strikers in the Indonesian Super League by scoring a goal every 119 minutes on average. With his important goals in the finish of the 2013 season he led Mitra Kukar to achieve the biggest success in the club's history, third place in the Indonesian Super League.

Putra Samarinda

In January 2014, Spasojević signed for Putra Samarinda in the

. In his 20 matches with Putra Samarinda in the 2014 season he scored 10 goals, becoming the club's top scorer and the third top scorer of the Indonesia Super League. He also scored 2 goals in 3 matches in the 2014 Inter Island Cup.

Persib Bandung

After his good performance in the 2014 season, Spasojević was one of the most wanted players during the transfer window for the 2015 season. City rivals from Bandung showed most interest in signing him, as both Persipasi Bandung Raya (PBR) coach

Dejan Antonić Dejan Antonić (, ; born 22 January 1969) is a Serbian football manager and former player. He is the father of footballer Stefan Antonić, who has played for Southern in the 2020–21 season. Early career He started his professional football pl ...

and

Persib Bandung Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Bandung ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Bandung'), commonly referred to as Persib Bandung, or simply Persib, is a professional football club based in Bandung, West Java, which competes in Liga 1, the to ...

coach

Djadjang Nurdjaman Djadjang Nurdjaman (born 30 March 1959), also known as Djanur, is an Indonesian professional football coach and former player. In his playing days, Djanur spent most of his years playing for Persib Bandung. One of the club's stars in the 1980s an ...

admitted to media that Spasojević was their main target for the foreign striker spot. After long negotiations with both teams, Spasojević finally joined

PBR PBR may refer to: Science and technology * Passive bistatic radar * Partition boot record * Pebble bed reactor, a type of nuclear reactor * Peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, another name for translocator protein * Phosphorus bromide * Photobio ...

on 1 December 2014, becoming the most expensive player in the

2015 Indonesia Super League The 2015 Indonesia Super League, also known as QNB League for sponsorship reasons, was the seventh season of the top-flight Indonesian professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 2008. The season was planned t ...

. Before he played any official match for the new club, Spasojević left PBR due to the club's internal problems and eventually joined Indonesian champions

on 23 March 2015. He was named "man of the match" in his league debut against Semen Padang on 4 April 2015, with his header assisting in a 1:0 victory. Spasojević played only two league matches for

in 2015 as the

was officially discontinued by the

Football Association of Indonesia The Football Association of Indonesia ( id, Persatuan Sepakbola Seluruh Indonesia; 'All-Indonesian Football Association'; abbreviated as PSSI) is the governing body of football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930, fifteen years before ...

on 2 May 2015 due to a ban by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs. In August 2015, the Indonesian government appointed president of

Inter Milan 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 ...

and owner of Mahaka Group

Erick Thohir Erick Thohir (born 30 May 1970) is an Indonesian businessman and politician who has served as Indonesia's Minister of State Owned Enterprises since 2019. He is the founder of Mahaka Group, a conglomeration that focuses on media, sports and enter ...

to organize the highest level soccer competition in the country, named the President Cup, which started on 30 August in Bali and ended on 18 October 2015 in Jakarta, where the final was held. During the President Cup, Spasojević showed his top performance and played a key role in

winning another trophy. During the 6 matches he played, he managed to score 4 goals and add 1 assist, collecting 462 minutes on the pitch. He was named "man of the match" twice during the President Cup, on 3 September in a 4:0 win over

Persiba Balikpapan Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Balikpapan, commonly known as Persiba Balikpapan, is an professional football club based in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The club plays in Liga 2, after relegation from Liga 1 in 2017 season. The club ...

when he scored 2 early goals, and on 10 October in a 3:1 win over Mitra Kukar in the semifinal second leg, when he scored a crucial third goal which secured

a place in the final. Spasojević was also named as the best striker in the President Cup by Labbola, leading Indonesian company for Football Statistics Data & Analysis.

Melaka United

In December 2015 Spasojević signed 2-year contract with Melaka United. He was immediately appointed as team captain due to his experience and leadership abilities. That showed up to be a good decision as he led Melaka United to win Malaysia Premier League 2016 by scoring 24 goals from total 48 goals scored by Melaka United in Malaysia Premier League 2016. That was club's first league trophy after 33 years without silverware. Spasojević also won Malaysia Golden Boot 2016 and he was named twice as PFA Malaysia Player of the Month. Due to his superb performance in Melaka United jersey, he became the first foreigner in club's history to receive Bintang Cemerlang Melaka award from Melaka Governor

Mohd Khalil Yaakob Tun Datuk Seri Utama Mohd Khalil bin Yaakob ( Jawi: محمد خليل بن يعقوب; born 29 December 1937) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca from June 2004 to June 2020, 12th Menteri Besar of ...

. After scoring 30 goals in 35 matches played in Malaysia, Spasojević and Melaka United took sides in June 2017.

Bhayangkara

In August 2017, Spasojević signed for Bhayangkara in Indonesian Liga 1. For short time in the club Spasojević already proved his goalscoring ability. He scored 13 goals in 16 league matches, becoming club's top scorer of season 2017. In decisive match for the league title on 8 November, Spasojević scored hattrick as Bhayangkara beat

Madura United Madura United Football Club is an Indonesian professional football club. The club is based in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java. They currently play in the Liga 1 (Indonesia), Liga 1. Established on 10 January 2016, Madura United FC is one of fe ...

3:1 away and became inaugural champion of Indonesian Liga 1.

Bali United

In December 2017, Spasojević signed a three year contract with

. Spasojević scored his debut goal for Bali United in 2018 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs tie against

Tampines Rovers Tampines Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singapore football league system. Founded in 1945, the club have won the national league c ...

as his team won 3–1. Spasojević finished the 2018 season scoring 14 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions. Entering the 2019 season, Spasojević scored a goal in a 2–1 win against Persebaya. He then scored a brace against

Borneo FC Borneo Football Club Samarinda (commonly known as Borneo Samarinda) is an Indonesian football club based in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. They currently compete in Liga 1. Their nickname is ''Pesut Etam'' (Our Dolphin). History Bor ...

in a 2–0 win. He scored another brace against Badak Lampung as his team won 3–0. Spasojević ended the season scoring 19 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions, to help his team win the

2019 Liga 1 The 2019 Liga 1, also known as Shopee Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons, was the third season of Liga 1 under its current name and the 10th season of the top-flight Indonesian professional league for association football clubs since its establishmen ...

. Spasojević scored his first goal in the 2020 season against Than Quang Ninh FC as his team won 4–1 in the 2020 AFC Cup group stage match tie. The following matchday, he scored again against Svay Rieng as his team lost 2–1. Spasojević scored two goals in

2021 Menpora Cup The 2021 Menpora Cup ( id, Piala Menpora 2021) was a pre-season tournament held by the PSSI ahead of the 2021 Liga 1. The tournament started on 21 March and finished with a two-legged final on 22 and 25 April 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a ...

as Bali United reached the quarter-final, before losing to

PSS Sleman Perserikatan Sepakbola Sleman ( 'Sleman Football Union'), or mostly known through its abbreviation PSS, is a professional football club based in Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The club competes in the Liga 1 , the top ...

4–2 on penalties. On 11 September 2021, he scored his first league goal in the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

season, scoring against Barito Putra helping his team win 2–1. He scored two goals, including a volley, against

Persita Tangerang Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Tangerang ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Tangerang'), commonly known as Persita is an Indonesian professional football club based in Tangerang. They currently compete in the Liga 1. Their nicknames are ''Pen ...

in his team 2–1 win. At the end of the season, Spasojević become the league top-scorer by scoring 23 goals in 34 matches, helping Bali United clinch their second consecutive Liga 1 title. On 10 September 2022, Spasojević scored a hat-trick in a 6–0 home win against Dewa United.

International career

Spasojević was playing for Serbia-Montenegro U17 and Serbia-Montenegro U19. In 2006, Montenegrins voted on an independence referendum and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

became independent countries. Spasojević decided to play for Montenegro U21. In October 2017, Spasojević officially gained Indonesian citizenship. Spasojević made his official debut on 25 November in a match against Guyana. Spasojević scored twice in a 2–1 win. In December 2022, Spasojević was included in the final 23-man squad for the

2022 AFF Championship The 2022 AFF Championship (officially AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 due to sponsorship reasons) was the 14th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and was the 1 ...

Shin Tae-Yong Shin Tae-yong (, Hanja: 申台龍; born on 11 May 1970) is a South Korean former professional footballer and manager who is currently coaching the Indonesia national football team. He is the first man to win the Asian Club Championship/AFC Cha ...

. He scored a goal against

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...

in a 7–0 win on the group stage.

Personal life

Ilija Spasojević was born in Bar, present day Montenegro, to Dragutin and Leposava and has two brothers Krsto and Mirko. Spasojević is married to Ljiljana from Serbia with whom he has daughter Lara (b. 2022). He also has son Dragan (b. 2014) and daughter Irina (b. 2017).

Career statistics

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Indonesia's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

;Dinamo Tbilisi * Georgian League: 2007–08 *

: 2009 * Georgian Super Cup: 2008 ;Persib Bandung *

Indonesia President's Cup The Piala Presiden (English: President's Cup) is an annual pre-season association football tournament held in Indonesia and organized by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI). It is participated by Liga 1 clubs. The inaugural tournament w ...

: 2015 ;Melaka United *

Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier Leag ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

;Bhayangkara * Liga 1:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

;Bali United * Liga 1:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, 2021–22

International

;Indonesia * Aceh World Solidarity Cup runner-up:

Individual

* PFAM Player of the Month (Premier League): July 2016, August 2016 *

Golden Boot:

(24 goals) * Malaysia All Competitions Golden Boot: 2016 (27 goals) * Liga 1 Team of the Season:

, 2021–22
Indonesian Soccer Awards: Favorite Footballer 2019
* Liga 1 Player of the Month: September 2021, September 2022 * Liga 1 Top Goalscorer: 2021–22 * APPI Indonesian Football Award Best 11: 2021–22

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spasojevic, Ilija 1987 births Living people People from Bar, Montenegro Montenegrin emigrants to Indonesia Indonesian people of Montenegrin descent Naturalised citizens of Indonesia Association football forwards Serbia and Montenegro footballers Montenegrin footballers Montenegro youth international footballers Indonesian footballers Indonesia international footballers FK Vojvodina players FK Sutjeska Nikšić players FK ČSK Čelarevo players FC Dinamo Tbilisi players FK Borac Čačak players FK Liepājas Metalurgs players Trikala F.C. players Bali Devata F.C. players PSM Makassar players Mitra Kukar players Persisam Putra Samarinda players Persib Bandung players Melaka United F.C. players Bhayangkara F.C. players Bali United F.C. players Second League of Serbia and Montenegro players Serbian First League players Erovnuli Liga players Serbian SuperLiga players Latvian Higher League players Football League (Greece) players Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Malaysia Premier League players Montenegrin expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Serbia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Expatriate footballers in Georgia (country) Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Georgia (country) Expatriate footballers in Latvia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Latvia Expatriate footballers in Greece Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate footballers in Indonesia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia Expatriate footballers in Malaysia Montenegrin expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia