FOOTBALL

Football Players of Serbian Descent Who Never Played for the Eagles

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Bojan Krkic celebrating goal for FC Barcelona

It is estimated that around 4 to 5 million Serbs live in the diaspora, although there are no exact figures. Therefore, it’s not surprising that in many globally popular sports, we often see athletes of Serbian descent representing other national teams. Just to name a few — Luka Dončić (Slovenia, basketball), Nikola Karabatić (France, handball), Milan Lucic (Canada, ice hockey), Kristina Mladenović (France, tennis), and Andrea Petković (Germany, tennis).
However, the main focus of this article will be football — and players of Serbian descent who chose to represent other countries.

In the past, Serbia’s national football team gained some great reinforcements from the diaspora. Examples include: Neven Subotić (USA), Zdravko Kuzmanović, Miloš Veljković, and Aleksandar Prijović (Switzerland), Mile Svilar (Belgium), and Lazar Samardžić (Germany).
Still, the number of footballers of Serbian descent who have worn the jersey of another country is much larger.

Let’s start with the goalkeepers:

Milan Borjan (Canada)

The former Red Star Belgrade goalkeeper was born in Knin, but the wars of the 1990s took him far away to Canada, for which he has earned 71 caps. The highlight of his national team career was the World Cup in Qatar.

Michael Rensing (Germany)

Since he played only for Germany’s youth categories, Rensing was very close to joining Serbia’s “A” team, but the dismissal of coach Radomir Antić ended that idea.

Aleksandar Dragovic (Austria)

The former Red Star defender, a lifelong fan of the club, has made 100 appearances for Austria and scored two goals. He once stated that he regretted never receiving an invitation to play for Serbia.

Philippe Senderos (Switzerland)

The former Arsenal and Milan player made 57 appearances and scored 5 goals for “The Nati.” His mother, Zorica Novković, is Serbian, and Serbian is one of the languages he speaks.

Adam Marusic (Montenegro)

Although born in Belgrade, the Lazio player chose to represent Montenegro, for which he has made 66 appearances and scored five goals so far.

Lyanco Vojnovic (Brazil)

Although he played four matches for Serbia’s U-19 team, Lyanco later switched to represent Brazil. His grandfather, Jovan Vojnović, emigrated to Brazil with his mother at the age of seven.

Milos Degenek (Australia)

Another player born in Knin. Degenek, like Lyanco, played eight matches for Serbia’s U-19 team under coach Ljubinko Drulović but later opted for Australia. He has represented the “Socceroos” 41 times, including at the World Cups in Russia and Qatar, scoring one goal.

Filip Stojkovic (Montenegro)

Although the former Red Star right-back played for Serbia in all youth categories, in 2016 he accepted Montenegro’s call-up. He made 15 appearances but ended his national team career after refusing to play against Kosovo, along with Mirko Ivanić and then-coach Ljubiša Tumbaković.

Milos Kerkez (Hungary)

Born in Vrbas, Kerkez made his senior debut for Hungary in September 2023, permanently ruling out a switch to Serbia. He has expressed gratitude to Hungary for everything it has done for him and his family, saying there was never any doubt about his choice.

Aleksandar Pavlovic (Germany)

The latest example of a footballer of Serbian descent choosing another nation is Bayern Munich’s talented defensive midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović, who at just 19 received his first senior call-up for Germany. Although Serbia’s coach Dragan Stojković Piksi met with him personally to convince him to play for Serbia, Pavlović — coming from a Serbian immigrant family — decided to represent one of the world’s strongest national teams, likely influenced by his club Bayern Munich and agent Hoeness. Having already represented Germany’s youth teams, his choice wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Sasa Kalajdzic (Austria)

Like Kerkez, Kalajdžić always wanted to play for Austria despite his Serbian roots. He has represented Austria 19 times and scored four goals.

Bojan Djordjic (Sweden)

The former Manchester United player, who joined Red Star Belgrade on loan in 2003, was born in Belgrade but grew up in Sweden, where he played for youth teams — although he never appeared for the senior squad.

Sacha Kljestan (USA)

Kljestan has Serbian roots on his father’s side. During his career, he made 52 appearances and scored six goals for the U.S. national team.

Richairo Zivkovic (Netherlands)

Once considered a great talent, Živković — whose mother, Mira, is of Serbian descent — tried to revive his career at Red Star Belgrade. He has played for the Netherlands in youth categories but on senior level he decided to represent Curaçao.

Mirko Ivanic (Montenegro)

Born in Bački Jarak, Ivanić played for Serbia’s youth teams before deciding to represent Montenegro, scoring one goal in 15 matches. Like Filip Stojković, his national team career is now over.

Marko Marin (Germany)

Fate had it that one of Marin’s 16 appearances for Germany came against Serbia at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa — a match Serbia famously won. Marin scored one goal for the German national team. After spells at Werder Bremen, Chelsea, and Sevilla, he joined Red Star Belgrade, where he scored nine goals in 34 appearances.

Zlatko Junuzovic (Austria)

Born in Loznica, he moved with his family to Austria at the age of five. He played 55 matches and scored seven goals for Austria.

Zvjezdan Misimovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Born in Munich, Misimović played one match for Serbia and Montenegro’s U-21 team before coach Vladimir Petrović Pižon deemed him too slow and heavy. Bosnia and Herzegovina seized the opportunity — Misimović went on to earn 84 caps, score 25 goals, and was one of the key figures in helping Bosnia reach the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Tom Rogic (Australia)

Of Serbian descent, Rogić has played 53 matches and scored ten goals for Australia. Interestingly, he also represented the country’s futsal team.

Rade Krunic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Born in Foča, Krunić played in Serbia for Borac Čačak and Donji Srem before quietly making his way to AC Milan, where he has had over 100 appearances and one goal. For Bosnia, he has scored four times in 34 matches.

Bojan Krkic Pérez (Spain)

Once compared to Lionel Messi during his Barcelona youth days, Krkić was considered a prodigy. Spain quickly called him up to the senior team at just 18 years and 13 days old, preventing Serbia from doing the same. That debut turned out to be his only cap for Spain. Throughout his career, he played for numerous clubs and battled anxiety, which hindered his progress.

Marko Arnautovic (Austria)

Arnautović had agreed with coach Radomir Antić to play for Serbia, but after Antić’s dismissal, that dream faded. Before a Serbia–Austria qualifier for the 2018 World Cup in Belgrade, Arnautović famously sang “Bože pravde” (the Serbian anthem) with three fingers raised. He has earned 128 caps and scored record-breaking 45 goals for Austria.

Marko Devic (Ukraine)

Born and raised in Belgrade, Dević began playing in Ukrainian clubs in 2005 and became a naturalized citizen in 2008. He made 35 appearances and scored seven goals for Ukraine.

Uros Djurdjevic (Montenegro)

Despite coming through all of Serbia’s youth categories, Đurđević decided to represent Montenegro at senior level, believing competition among Serbia’s strikers was too strong. He has made twelve appearances so far and is still waiting for his first goal.

Nemanja Nikolic (Hungary)

Born in Senta to a mixed Serbian-Hungarian family, Nikolić chose to represent Hungary after realizing he was unlikely to receive a Serbia call-up. He has scored eight goals in 43 matches for Hungary.

Stefan Bajcetic (Spain)

Although he has yet to debut for Spain’s senior team, it’s clear where his allegiance lies. The young Liverpool midfielder made headlines when he debuted for the club at a very young age but has since struggled with injuries.

Relja Obric (Slovenia)

Born in Belgrade and developed in Partizan’s youth academy, Obrić decided to represent Slovenia — his maternal grandmother’s homeland. He recently stated that he never had any doubts about which country he would represent.

This list is certainly not complete. If you remember any footballers we haven’t mentioned, feel free to let us know in the comments.

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