Matija Nastasić

Matija Nastasić
Nastasić with Schalke 04 in 2018
Personal information
Full name Matija Nastasić[1]
Date of birth (1993-03-28) 28 March 1993 (age 31)[2]
Place of birth Valjevo, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Leganés
Number 22
Youth career
2000–2008 ZSK Valjevo
2008–2010 Partizan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Partizan 0 (0)
2010–2011 → Teleoptik (loan) 21 (0)
2011–2012 Fiorentina 26 (2)
2012–2014 Manchester City 34 (0)
2015–2021 Schalke 04 122 (1)
2021–2022 Fiorentina 5 (0)
2022–2024 Mallorca 40 (2)
2024– Leganés 3 (0)
International career‡
2009–2010 Serbia U17 9 (2)
2010–2011 Serbia U19 3 (0)
2011–2013 Serbia U21 6 (1)
2012–2022 Serbia 34 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 September 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 March 2022

Matija Nastasić (Serbian Cyrillic: Матија Настасић; born 28 March 1993) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga side Leganés and the Serbia national team.[3]

He began his career at Partizan, and after a loan to Teleoptik joined Italian side Fiorentina in 2011. After one season there he transferred to Manchester City for €15 million and a swap with Stefan Savić, winning the Premier League in 2014, despite injury problems. In 2015, he joined Schalke, where he remained for seven years, before returning to Fiorentina in 2021.

Nastasić made his senior international debut for Serbia in 2012, and has gone on to earn over 30 caps.

Club career

Partizan

Matija Nastasić is a product of Partizan youth academy. Unable to find space in the Partizan first team setup, he was sent out on loan to Serbian second division side FK Teleoptik from Zemun. There, the young, left footed centre back made 21 appearances and caught the eye of Fiorentina sporting director at that time, Pantaleo Corvino, who signed him in a deal for €4 million.[4]

Fiorentina

Nastasić spent some time in the Fiorentina youth side but, due to a lack of quality centre backs in the squad and suspensions and injuries, he trained with the first team on many occasions. Fellow Serbian and Fiorentina manager Siniša Mihajlović handed him his Serie A debut on 11 September 2011 in a 2–0 win against Bologna. He went on to make a further 25 appearances that season but one stood out more than any and it was during this performance that he announced himself to Italian and World football. It was a match between La Viola and Milan at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Nastasić showed many of his qualities – tackling, comfort on the ball, tactical astuteness. It was these qualities that led to a deadline day transfer to English side Manchester City in a move worth €24.4 million,[5] excluding the value of Stefan Savić who was given to Fiorentina as part of the exchange.[6]

Manchester City

Nastasić with Manchester City in 2013

Nastasić signed a five-year contract with Manchester City, ending on 30 June 2017. He was part of an exchange deal with Stefan Savić.[7] He made his debut for the club on 18 September 2012, starting in a Champions League away fixture against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. He made his Premier League debut on 29 September in a 2–1 win against Fulham.[8] He cemented his place in the starting XI and his great form won him the club's Player of the Month Award for November. Quickly becoming a fan favourite,[9] the youngster pushed 30-year-old Joleon Lescott out of the starting lineup in centre-back position and was selected to start in the 2013 FA Cup Final, a 1–0 defeat by Wigan Athletic. In May 2013, he was named Manchester City's Young Player of the Season.[10]

Nastasić had a less successful season in 2013–14, missing the majority of the campaign through injury.[11] He made 13 league appearances and Manchester City won the Premier League title.[12]

Schalke 04

On 13 January 2015, having not featured for City during the season, he was loaned to German club Schalke 04 for its remainder.[13] He made his debut on 31 January, starting in a 1–0 home win over Hannover 96.[14] Having not featured in the Champions League that season, he featured in both legs of Schalke's elimination by Real Madrid in the Last 16.

On 11 March 2015, Schalke 04 activated the transfer clause on his loan deal, believed to be €12 million, and Nastasić signed a four-year contract with the German club.[15][16]

On 8 August 2015, Nastasić marked his season debut by scoring his first goal for the club, in a 5–0 win at MSV Duisburg in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.[17]

In June 2018, along with goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann, Nastasić sign a contract extension with Schalke to stay with the club until the summer of 2022.[18][19]

Return to Fiorentina

In August 2021, Nastasić signed for Fiorentina again following Schalke 04's relegation from the Bundesliga as a replacement for Germán Pezzella, who moved to Real Betis Balompie the same week.[20]

Mallorca

On 1 September 2022, Nastasić signed a one-year contract with Mallorca in Spain, with an option to extend.[21] On 26 April 2023, he scored his first goal for Mallorca against Atlético Madrid, a header from a corner kick.

On 1 September 2023, free agent Nastasić returned to Mallorca again on a one-year deal.[22]

Leganés

On 30 August 2024, Nastasić joined fellow Spanish top tier side Leganés on a two-year contract.[23]

International career

Having represented Serbian youth football teams,[24] Nastasić made his debut for the senior squad on 29 February 2012 in a friendly match against Cyprus.[25] He was named in Serbia's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, but did not appear in the 23-man final squad.[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of end of 2023—24 season[24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Teleoptik 2009–10 Serbian First League 9 0 — — — 9 0
2010–11 Serbian First League 12 0 0 0 — — 12 0
Total 21 0 0 0 — — 21 0
Fiorentina 2011–12 Serie A 25 2 2 0 — — 27 2
2012–13 Serie A 1 0 1 0 — — 2 0
Total 26 2 3 0 — — 29 2
Manchester City 2012–13 Premier League 21 0 3 0 5[b] 0 1[c] 0 30 0
2013–14 Premier League 13 0 2 0 4[b] 0 1[c] 0 20 0
2014–15 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[d] 0 1 0
Total 34 0 5 0 9 0 3 0 51 0
Schalke 04 2014–15 Bundesliga 16 0 0 0 2[b] 0 — 18 0
2015–16 Bundesliga 1 0 1 1 0 0 — 2 1
2016–17 Bundesliga 22 0 3 0 10[e] 0 — 35 0
2017–18 Bundesliga 24 0 3 0 — — 27 0
2018–19 Bundesliga 28 1 3 0 6[b] 0 — 37 1
2019–20 Bundesliga 16 0 4 0 — — 20 0
2020–21 Bundesliga 15 0 3 0 — — 18 0
Total 122 1 17 1 18 0 — 157 2
Fiorentina 2021–22 Serie A 5 0 1 0 1 0 — 7 0
Mallorca 2022–23 La Liga 14 1 3 0 — — 17 1
2023–24 La Liga 26 2 6 0 — — 32 2
Total 40 3 9 0 — — 49 3
Career total 248 6 35 1 28 0 3 0 314 7
  1. ^ Includes Coppa Italia, FA Cup, DFB-Pokal, Copa del Rey
  2. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ a b Appearance in League Cup
  4. ^ Appearance in FA Community Shield
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 29 March 2022[27]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Serbia 2012 6 0
2013 7 0
2014 3 0
2015 3 0
2016 4 0
2017 3 0
2018 1 0
2019 1 0
2020 0 0
2021 4 0
2022 2 0
Total 34 0

Honours

Manchester City

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Matija Nastasic: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  3. ^ Matija Nastasić at WorldFootball.net
  4. ^ ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2011, PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A. (in Italian)
  5. ^ ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2012, PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A. (in Italian)
  6. ^ "Summer 2012 British Transfers". Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Manchester City sign Matija Nastasic as Stefan Savic departs for Fiorentina". The Daily Telegraph. London. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Fulham 1-2 Manchester City" BBC Sport. 29 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Matija Nastasic has been voted as the Etihad Player of the Month for November". Manchester City F.C. official website. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Brazil World Cup squad: Scolari leaves out Kaká and Philippe Coutinho". Manchester City Football Club. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Pellegrini admits Nastasic injury is still baffling City". Manchester Evening News. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  12. ^ "Games played by Matija Nastasic in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  13. ^ "Manchester City loan Matija Nastasic to Schalke". BBC Sport. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  14. ^ "TEN-MAN SCHALKE HOLD ON TO BEAT HANNOVER". Bundesliga. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  15. ^ Uersfeld, Stephan. "Matija Nastasic signs for Schalke from Man City in permanent transfer". ESPN FC. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  16. ^ Akerman, Nick (25 March 2015). "Matija Nastasic Transfer Clause Activated by Schalke". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Wolfsburg, Leverkusen, Schalke all win DFB-Pokal openers; Hoffenheim lose". ESPN FC. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  18. ^ "Matija Nastasic and Ralf Fährmann extend contracts to 2022". Schalke 04. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Schalke extend Nastasic, Fahrmann contracts". Sports Star. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Official: Fiorentina bring back Nastasic – Football Italia". Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  21. ^ "Matija Nastasić signs for RCD Mallorca". Mallorca. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  22. ^ "Matija Nastasić regresa al RCD Mallorca" [Matija Nastasić returns to RCD Mallorca] (in Spanish). RCD Mallorca. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  23. ^ "El C.D. Leganés suma la experiencia de Nastasic para el centro de su defensa" [C.D. Leganés add up the experience of Nastasic for the centre of their defense] (in Spanish). CD Leganés. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  24. ^ a b Matija Nastasić at Soccerway
  25. ^ Настасић: Доктори су прерано хтели да ме врате на терен. Sportski žurnal (in Serbian). 2 June 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  26. ^ Један тим, срцем свим | Младен Крстајић одабрао [One team, with all their hearts – Mladen Krstajić selects] (in Serbian). Football Association of Serbia. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  27. ^ Matija Nastasić at National-Football-Teams.com
  28. ^ McNulty, Phil (11 May 2013). "Man City 0–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013.
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