Jovica Milijić ( sr-Cyrl, Јовица Милијић; born 20 January 1986) is a

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n-born

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

player, currently playing for

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, the reigning champions of Maltese Futsal League. In 2017 he won the

Malta Football Association The Malta Football Association (MFA; ) is the governing body of football (soccer), football in Malta. The Association organises the Maltese Football League for both men and women and several other competitions, including knockout competitions ...

's futsal player of the year.

Football career

Milijić made his first football steps with Timočanin in mid-1990s, becoming a member of the promising generation together with the brothers Marinković,

Nebojša Nebojša (Cyrillic script: Небојша ) is a Serbian names, Serbian given name, meaning "fearless". People with the name include: In arts and entertainment *Nebojša Bradić (born 1956), Serbian theater director *Nebojša Glogovac (born 1969) ...

and

Nenad Nenad (; Cyrillic script: Ненад) is a masculine given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differ ...

. Soon after family relocation to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in 1999, he joined

Pietà Hotspurs The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific ...

, a Maltese club famous for producing talented footballers in its youth school.

Futsal career

European Pilot Academy

The first touch with futsal Milijić had in the jersey of European Pilot Academy's futsal club (formerly known as Serbia) where he won his first trophy -

Maltese Futsal Knockout Cup The Maltese Futsal Knockout Cup () is an annual cup competition for Maltese futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Law ...

for the season 2006/07. Also, Milijić was close to win his first championship as that season European Pilot Academy was a point behind the title winner Jeepers Handyman Centre.

Aluserv Futsal Club

After a successful debutant season, Milijić joined newly promoted futsal top tier Aluserv. The team that were made for an instant success won the league and cup but were defeated in the play-off semi-final, just like in the season 2008–09.

Scandals

During August 2008, Milijić was loaned to and his

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

competition debut was at

2008–09 UEFA Futsal Cup The 2008–09 UEFA Futsal Cup was the 23rd edition of Europe's premier club futsal tournament and the 8th edition under the current UEFA Futsal Cup format. Teams Preliminary round Group A *Palacium, Villeneuve d'Ascq– Group B *Eisstadion, ...

preliminary round against the

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

champion on 23 August 2008. The match was played in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and

Scandals A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

were heavily defeated (0-11). Milijić was also on the pitch in the other two games but Scandals couldn't avoid another two losses against the Finnish

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

Golden (2-6) and Irish side St Patrick's (3-4). In the match against the Irish League's representative, with Milijić in the starting lineup, Scandals missed a huge opportunity after leading (2-1 and 3-2) to win the first point for any

club in a

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

futsal competition.

White Eagles

During the summer break, Milijić decided to sign a short-term contract for

White Eagles White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

, the club of a large

Serbian diaspora Serbian diaspora refers to Serbian emigrant communities in the diaspora. The existence of a numerous diaspora of Serbian nationals is mainly a consequence of either economic or political (coercion or expulsion) reasons. There were different wa ...

in the island. The contract was valid only for the

Preliminary round A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

of the 2009-10 UEFA Futsal Cup held in August 2009 in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, the capital of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

side

equalized three times before finally going down 4-3 to

KF Tirana Klubi i Futbollit Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. The men's football club is part of the multi-discipli ...

, hat-trick hero Rigers Sina grabbing the winner with five minutes remaining. In the match against Milijic scored the first goal.

Paola Downtown

During his stay in Paola Downtown, Milijić was named for the top scorer of 2010-11 Maltese Futsal First Division with 42 goals, nine goals ahead the second-placed Clint Cope from ZC Excess. The same season he was nominated for the best futsal player but the award went into the hands of the

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

n Anton Florin. The club from

Paola Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. In Greek it is Polina. Notable people with the name include: People In arts and entertainment * Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer *Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consist ...

finished both seasons as the league vice-champion but the 2010 play-off and both cup competitions ended in the semi-finals. At the end of Milijić's last season in the club, in a thrilling final, ZC Excess edged out Paola Downtownon penalties after 2-2 in the regular time.

Naxxar Motors

After a disappointing season, in 2011 Milijic decided to accept an offer from Naxxar Motors. The ambitious club representing

Naxxar Naxxar () is a town and local council in the Northern Region of Malta. The population in March 2014 was 14,891. The Naxxar Church is dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. The annual village feast is celebrated on 8 September. It formerly hoste ...

, a small town in the Northern Region, had acquired a host of leading players. After the round-robin series of matches in the ten-team MFA 1st Division Futsal League, Naxxar Motors finished second, just a single point behind ZC Excess. In the semi-finals, Paola Downtown, Milijić's previous club, was swept by Naxxar Motors (6-5 and 3-2). However, in the finals, ZC Excess won the trophy edging Naxxar in the second game (2-2, 4-2 after penalties) after the previous win in the first leg (5-3).

Lija Athletics

Before the start of the 2012/13 season, Lija Athletic replaced Naxxar Motors and Milijić became a captain of the newly formed club. He even scored a hattrick on his debut against Valletta (7-1). Although Lija Athletic had the highest ambitions, the cup journey was ended yet in the quarter-final and play-off was missed, for the first time in Milijić's career.

Balzan

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

Milijić changed Lija Athletics for

Balzan Balzan () is a municipality in the Northern Region, Malta, Northern Region of Malta, and together with Attard and Lija, forms part of the "Three villages of Malta, Three Villages" (). The village originally consisted of a group of small dwellin ...

and the first

trophy A trophy is a tangible, decorative item used to remind of a specific achievement, serving as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most commonly awarded for sports, sporting events, ranging from youth sports to professional level athlet ...

came soon after. Hibernians was heavily defeated (5-1) with Milijić among the scorers. That was the introduction in a very successful season where Balzan won all possible trophies.

Hamrun Spartans

Valletta

Milijić joined Valletta FC Futsal in June 2015 as an experienced player that has won every possible honor. He was a key figure in Valletta's march to the national title. His best game in the regular part of the season was in March in a derby against his ex-club Lija Athletic, when he scored four goals in a 7–4 win. During the first season with Valletta he scored 18 goals in the Gatorade Futsal League. Next season Milijić added 21 goals.

Malta national futsal team

In 2012 Milijić became a naturalized Maltese citizen and soon after started playing for the national futsal team. He had a debut in a heavy defeat against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

(0-9) in

UEFA Futsal Euro 2014 qualifying The UEFA Futsal Euro 2014 qualifying competition consisted of a preliminary round, a main round, a play-off round and a twelve-team final tournament played in Belgium. In the preliminary round, four groups of four teams each and two of three were ...

at home ground in

Paola, Malta Paola (, , both meaning "New Town") is a town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta, with 8,706 inhabitants as of 2019. The town is a commercial centre in the Southern Harbour area of Malta, about from the capital Valletta, contiguous ...

on January 23, 2013. He was also in the starting line up against

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

recording one more loss (1-4). In 2014 Malta played only friendly games, three of them against

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

(3-4, 4-2 and 1-0) and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

(1-4), Milijić participated in all of them scoring two goals and a few more times he was close to score hitting only the post, most notably against his homeland Serbia. Next year Malta participated in the qualification for

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

and then the qualification for

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. The team lost all six games, three in each tournament, by the order:

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

(0-3),

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

(0-4),

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

(0-8), then

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(2-8),

(1-2) and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

(3-6). Milijić took a part in all matches and scored in the last two. Between two tournaments, Malta went to

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

and recorded two wins (5-1 and 5-3) with Milijić in the squad. He earned two more caps next year against the same national team, this time in

(4-0 and 2-2). At the beginning of the last year, with Milijić in the starting five, Malta lost all three games in

UEFA Futsal Euro 2018 qualifying The UEFA Futsal Euro 2018 qualifying competition was a men's futsal competition that determined the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Slovenia in the UEFA Futsal Euro 2018 final tournament. A total of 47 UEFA member national team ...

tournament held in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, against

(1-6),

(1-6) and

(2-3). Since his debut five years ago, Milijić has not missed any national team match, recording 19 caps and 4 goals in total.

International caps

International goals

''Scores and results list Malta's goal tally first''

Personal life

Besides his mother tongue,

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

, Milijić speaks four other languages:

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Honours

Club

European Pilot Academy *

: 2006-07 Aluserv *

: 2007-08 Naxxar Motors * Maltese Futsal League championship runner up: 2011-12 * Maltese Futsal League play-off runner up: 2011-12 Paola Downtown * Maltese Futsal League play-off runner up: 2010-11 Balzan * Maltese Futsal League: 2013-14 *

: 2013-14

Individual

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milijic, Jovica 1986 births People from Knjaževac Sportspeople from Zaječar District Serbian men's futsal players Maltese men's futsal players Living people 21st-century Serbian sportsmen