Stanko Svitlica (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: Станко Свитлица; born 17 May 1976) is a Serbian 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He is best remembered for his time at Legia Warsaw, becoming the Polish

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 cl ...

top scorer in the 2002–03 season with 24 goals.

Career

A journeyman, Svitlica played for several clubs in FR Yugoslavia, as well as France and Greece, before

Dragan Okuka Dragomir "Dragan" Okuka (; born 2 April 1954) is a Serbian football coach and former player. As a player, he was predominantly associated with his time with Velež Mostar where he won the 1981 Yugoslav Cup before joining Swedish club Örebro SK, ...

brought him to Legia Warsaw in the summer of 2001. He scored ten goals from 28 appearances in all competitions during his debut season in Poland, helping the club win the national championship that year. In the following season, Svitlica netted 29 goals in 38 games (24 in 29 in the league), becoming the first foreigner ever to win the Golden Boot in the Polish Ekstraklasa. He continued his goalscoring form in late 2003, securing him a transfer to

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...

in the 2004 winter

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

. Despite an impressive start (Svitlica scored against Bayern Munich beating

Oliver Kahn Oliver Rolf Kahn (; born 15 June 1969) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in t ...

on his debut after coming off the bench), his career in the

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 ...

never really took off and Hannover offloaded him after just half a year. He spent the following two seasons with

LR Ahlen Rot Weiss Ahlen is a German football club based in Ahlen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 2006 the club was known as ''LR Ahlen'' for its major sponsor, but underwent a name change when the sponsor withdrew its support after the team was relegated ...

in the second tier of German football, before returning to Poland and joining

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. It currently competes in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system. ...

. However, Svitlica struggled for fitness and after just two games left the club. He later returned to Serbia and his former club Čukarički, but failed to make an impact. In 2010, Svitlica retired from professional football.

Honours

Partizan *

First League of FR Yugoslavia The First League of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Прва савезна лига / Prva savezna liga) was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed following the breakup of Yu ...

: 1995–96 Legia Warsaw *

: 2001–02 * Ekstraklasa Cup: 2002 Individual * Ekstraklasa top scorer: 2002–03

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Svitlica, Stanko Living people 1976 births Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian footballers Serbia and Montenegro footballers Association football forwards First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Serbian First League players Serbian SuperLiga players Ligue 2 players Super League Greece players Ekstraklasa players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players FK Partizan players FK Čukarički players Le Mans FC players FK Proleter Zrenjanin players FK Spartak Subotica players Ethnikos Asteras F.C. players Legia Warsaw players Hannover 96 players Rot Weiss Ahlen players Wisła Kraków players FK Srem players FK Banat Zrenjanin players Serbian expatriate footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in France Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate footballers in Greece Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate footballers in Poland Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany