Goran Slavkovski

Goran Slavkovski (Macedonian: Горан Славковски; born 8 April 1989) is a former Macedonian-Swedish footballer who played as a forward. He made his only Serie A appearance for Inter Milan at the age of 17 years and 1 month – a then club record.

Goran Slavkovski
Personal information
Date of birth (1989-04-08) 8 April 1989
Place of birth Malmö, Sweden
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
FBK Balkan
2004–2005 Malmö FF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2009 Internazionale 1 (0)
2008 → Sheffield United (loan) 0 (0)
2010 VfL Bochum II 8 (1)
2011 LB07 5 (0)
2013–2017 KSF Makedonija
National team
2008 Macedonia U21 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2016

Club career

Early career

Earlier in his career, Slavkovski was nicknamed "Ibrahimović II", because of his similar stature and style of play to the Swedish striker, and as he also played for FBK Balkan and Malmö FF.[1]

Internazionale

Slavkovski made his first team debut at the age of 17 years and one month on 7 May 2006 in a Serie A league match against Siena, taking the field at the 83rd minute, thus becoming the youngest footballer ever to play for Internazionale. This record has since been broken by Federico Bonazzoli. Previously, the record was held by Giuseppe Bergomi.

He made his Coppa Italia debut against F.C. Messina Peloro, on 29 November 2006.

Sheffield United

On 30 January 2008 Inter reached a loan agreement with Middlesbrough which fell through after he failed a medical and would be unlikely to challenge for a first team place.[2] The next day Inter announced to have loaned Slavkovski to Sheffield United.[3][4] On 18 March 2008, Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell claimed that he was still not ready to play in the first team stating that he would play in the reserve team where he could be assessed.[5] Slavkovski returned to Italy at the end of the season without having made a first team appearance for the Blades.[6] He did, however, make six appearances for the reserve team, scoring twice.

2008–09 season and beyond

On 27 June 2008, Slavkovski confirmed a 5-year deal with Hajduk Split. It was subsequently confirmed that he is in a very weak physical condition as a result of unsporting behavior and that it would have taken weeks for him to regain fitness.[7] The announced transfer was later cancelled due to his condition, and Slavovski remained contracted with Inter. In October 2008, he started training with Malmö FF, confirming he was still an Inter player and announcing that he will stay on in Sweden for the remainder of the year.[8][9] His contract with Inter expired in June 2009, and was not extended; since then, he allegedly rejected a number of offers from Serie B and Lega Pro Prima Divisione clubs.[10] On 22 January 2010, it was announced that VfL Bochum II had signed Slavkovski. The Macedonian and former Inter Milan forward signed a six-month contract with the option to renew the contract. Slavkovski also had a trial with Barnet.[11] He was however released by the end of the season, after failing to play a single game for the club's first team. Since then, his career has faded into obscurity and, in 2011, he returned to Sweden where he briefly joined third division amateurs IF Limhamn Bunkeflo.[12]

International career

Recently the media reported a "war" going on between the Macedonian and Swedish football federations, in attempt to get him to join their national football teams.[1] Slavkovski and his father have stated that it would be an honour to play for his country of origin, Macedonia.

Slavkovski also met the Macedonian Prime Minister where they talked about his chances playing for the Macedonian national team. The Prime Minister handed him a football jersey with his name on the backside. On 11 June 2008 Slavkovski finally spoke out about his international career and decided to play for Macedonia. In August 2008 Slavkovski made his debut for the Macedonian under-21 team, in the qualification matches against Estonia and Norway.[13] He has made three scoreless appearances hitherto.[14]

References
  1. "Dinamo Zagreb interested for Slavkovski". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  2. Slavkovski Loan Move Off
  3. "Mercato: giovanili, arrivi e partenze" (in Italian). Inter.it. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  4. "Blades sign Inter Milan teenager". BBC Sport. 4 February 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  5. "Slavkovski not ready - Blackwell". BBC Sport. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  6. "Taylor: Why I turned down Blades". Sheffield Star. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  7. HNK Hajduk Split Archived 1 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Slavkovski's eurotrip continues". Macedonian Football. 25 October 2008. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  9. "Goran Slavkovski tränar med Malmö FF – "Han är välkommen"" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen.com. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  10. "La storia di Slavkovski, da 'nuovo Ibra' a giovane disoccupato" (in Italian). FC Inter News. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  11. http://www.barnetfc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10431~1373847,00.html
  12. "From Inter to Limhamn Bunkeflo". MacedonianFootball.com. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  13. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under21/fixturesresults/round=15084/match=300276/report=lu.html
  14. "Slavkovski signs professional contract with VfL Bochum 1848". VfL Bochum. 22 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
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