Stefan Šćepović

Stefan Šćepović (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Шћеповић, pronounced [stêfa:n ʃtɕêpoʋitɕ]; born 10 January 1990) is a Serbian footballer who plays as a striker for Machida Zelvia.[1]

Stefan Šćepović
Šćepović with Sporting Gijón in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-01-10) 10 January 1990
Place of birth Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Machida Zelvia
Number 9
Youth career
1996 Mérida
Partizan
OFK Beograd
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 OFK Beograd 16 (1)
2008 → Mladi Radnik (loan) 2 (0)
2009 → Sopot (loan) 11 (4)
2010 → Sampdoria (loan) 2 (0)
2010–2011 Club Brugge 4 (0)
2011 → Kortrijk (loan) 8 (1)
2011–2012 Hapoel Acre 31 (13)
2012–2013 Partizan 14 (8)
2013 → Ashdod (loan) 13 (6)
2013–2014 Sporting Gijón 39 (23)
2014–2016 Celtic 19 (4)
2015–2016 → Getafe (loan) 33 (6)
2016–2018 Getafe 25 (3)
2017–2018 → Sporting Gijón (loan) 15 (4)
2018–2019 MOL Vidi 16 (7)
2019 Jagiellonia Białystok 6 (0)
2020– Machida Zelvia 31 (1)
National team
2009–2011 Serbia U21 12 (7)
2012–2014 Serbia 8 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:02, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

He has represented clubs in his homeland, Italy, Belgium, Israel, Spain, Scotland, Hungary, Poland and Japan. In his first season at Celtic, he contributed to them winning a double of the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup.

Formerly an under-21 international, Šćepović made his senior debut for Serbia in 2012.

Club career

Early career

Šćepović started his professional career at OFK Beograd in 2007. In 2010, he left on loan to Sampdoria.[2] As part of the agreement, Sampdoria have an option to sign him permanently at the end of the season.[3] At the end of the season, Šćepović was linked to Juventus and Belgian Club Brugge, signing with the latter.[4]

Club Brugge

In July 2010 Šćepović joined Belgian club Club Brugge.[5] After suffering a goal drought in the first half of the season, he was loaned to Kortrijk in January 2011.[6] Belgian media also described that he was most remembered in Brugge for accidentally locking himself in a bathroom in Affligem hours before a friendly.[7]

Partizan

On 8 June 2012, Šćepović signed a two-year contract with FK Partizan.[8] On the same day, he married his longtime girlfriend Jovana Šćepović.[9] He featured with Partizan in the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League and played against the likes of Internazionale, Rubin Kazan, and Neftchi Baku.

Sporting Gijón

In July 2013, Šćepović signed a three-year loan deal with Sporting de Gijón, with a buyout clause.[10] In September he became the first player in the history of the club who managed to score in his first five consecutive games (against Real Madrid Castilla, Recreativo de Huelva, Mallorca, Ponferradina and Deportivo de La Coruña).[11] This great performance was rewarded with the Segunda División Player of Month prize.[12]

In January 2014 Šćepović was voted by the readers of Spanish sports newspaper Marca, best player of the first half of season, being referred as "the king of Segunda".[13] Also, he was named in the campaign's midway best eleven, chosen by LFP.[14]

On 6 February 2014 Šćepović was bought by Sporting outright for a €1 million fee,[15] signing a contract until 2018.[16] He scored 22 goals in 39 appearances for the club.

Celtic

On 2 September 2014, Šćepović signed a four-year deal with Celtic for £2.3 million, having turned down a move the day before.[17] Eleven days later, he made his debut as a starter in a 2–1 victory against Aberdeen at Celtic Park.[18]

On 23 October, he scored his first goal for the club against Astra Giurgiu in the UEFA Europa League, scoring a header from an Anthony Stokes free kick in a 2–1 home win.[19] Three days later, he netted his second goal for the club and his first in the league, in a 2–0 victory over Kilmarnock. The other goal of that game was a free kick from John Guidetti, earned after Manuel Pascali was sent off for a professional foul on Šćepović.[20]

On 15 March 2015, Šćepović was an unused substitute as Celtic won the Scottish League Cup with a 2–0 win over Dundee United in the final at Hampden Park, with Stokes and Leigh Griffiths starting and Guidetti as a substitute.[21] On 24 May, he scored in each half as Celtic concluded their fourth consecutive league-winning season with a 5–0 home win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[22]

Getafe

On 31 August 2015, Šćepović joined Spanish club Getafe on a season long loan. Scepovic scored his first goal for Getafe a diving header in the 1–0 win over Málaga.[23]

On 28 June 2016, after suffering relegation, Šćepović signed a permanent contract with Geta. He helped the club in their immediate return to the top tier, notably scoring a brace against RCD Mallorca on 10 June 2017.

Sporting Gijón (loan)

On 12 July 2017 Šćepović returned to Sporting, after agreeing to a one-year loan deal.[24] However, on 31 January 2018 and scoring four goals in 16 games played, Getafe and Sporting agreed to terminate the loan[25] and was transferred to Hungarian club Videoton.[26]

International career

Šćepović made his debut for the Serbia national football team on 29 February 2012 in a friendly match against Cyprus. He scored his first international goal on 15 October 2013 in a qualifier for the following year's World Cup against Macedonia at the Jagodina City Stadium; after replacing Filip Đorđević in the 62nd minute, he netted his team's last goal of a 5–1 victory eleven minutes later.[27]

Career statistics

Club
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
OFK Beograd 2007–08 4000––40
2009–10 12110––131
Total16110––171
Mladi Radnik 2008–09 2000––20
Sopot 2008–09 11400––114
Sampdoria 2009–10 2000––20
Club Brugge 2010–11 40003171
Kortrijk 2010–11 8100––81
Hapoel Acre 2011–12 311300––3113
Partizan 2012–13 14810101259
Ashdod 2012–13 13600––136
Sporting Gijón 2013–14 412300––4123
2017–18 15411––165
Total552711––5628
Celtic 2014–15 1841042236
2015–16 10000010
Total1941042246
Getafe 2015–16 34620––366
2016–17 25310––263
Total59930––629
MOL Vidi 2017–18 1460000146
2018–19 21004061
Total1670040207
Career Total 260807121427885

Updated to games played as of 18 December 2018.

Personal life

He is the older brother of Marko Šćepović and the son of former Partizan striker and now one of the youth coaches, Slađan Šćepović.

Honours

Club
Celtic

Individual

References
  1. "STEFAN SCEPOVIĆ WZMACNIA JAGIELLONIĘ!". jagiellonia.pl. 17 January 2019.
  2. Šćepović potpisao za Sampdoriju (Šćepović signs for Sampdoria); Blic Sport, January 21, 2010 (in Serbian)
  3. "Baby rinforzo: dall'OFK Belgrado arriva Stefan Scepovic" [Youth reinforcement: from OFK Beograd arrives Stefan Scepovic] (in Italian). UC Sampdoria. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  4. "Official: Club Brugge beat Juventus to signing of Stefan Scepovic from OFK Belgrade". Goal.com. 9 July 2010.
  5. "Club Brugge haalt spits van Sampdoria" [Club Brugge takes striker from Sampdoria]. v-bal.nl (in Dutch). 8 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  6. "Nieuwe aanwinst voor KV Kortrijk" [New addition for KV Kortrijk]. kvk.be. 31 January 2011.
  7. Belgijanci o Šćepoviću: Zaključao se u toaletu, a sada senzacija u Španiji (Belgians on Šćepović: He locked himself in a bathroom, and now is a sensation in Spain) Archived 11 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine; Sportal, 24 October 2013 (in Serbian)
  8. "Stefan Šćepović novi igrač Partizana!" [Stefan Šćepović new player of Partizan!] (in Serbian). Hoboctи. 7 June 2012.
  9. http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/sport.294.html:383281-Scepovic-Ovaj-Partizan-moze-mnogo
  10. "Stefan Šćepović prešao u Sporting Hihon" [Stefan Šćepović loaned to Sporting Gijón]. Tanjug.rs (in Serbian). 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  11. "Los goles de Scepovic conducen al Sporting al liderato" [Scepovic's goals leads Sporting to leadership] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 15 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013.
  12. Liga de Fútbol Profesional (22 October 2013). "Prizes for the month's best performers in Liga BBVA and Liga Adelante".
  13. "Scepovic es el 'rey' de Segunda" [Scepovic is the 'king' of Segunda] (in Spanish). Marca. 16 January 2014.
  14. "The best from the first half". Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 16 January 2014.
  15. "Gijón compra a Stefan Scepovic" [Gijón buys Stefan Scepovic] (in Spanish). Marca. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  16. "Scepovic, rojiblanco hasta 2018" [Scepovic, rojiblanco until 2018] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  17. Lamont, Alasdair (2 September 2014). "Celtic sign striker Stefan Scepovic, line up John Guidetti". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  18. Southwick, Andrew (13 September 2014). "Celtic 2-1 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  19. Lamont, Alasdair (23 October 2014). "Celtic 2-1 Astra Giurgiu". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  20. Murray, Keir (26 October 2014). "Celtic 2–0 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  21. Wilson, Richard (14 March 2015). "Dundee Utd 0-2 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  22. "Celtic 5-0 Inverness: Champions celebrate in style at Parkhead". Sky Sports. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  23. Lamont, Alasdair (31 August 2015). "Celtic striker Stefan Scepovic joins Getafe on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  24. "Scepovic regresa al Sporting" [Scepovic returns to Sporting] (in Spanish). Sporting Gijón. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  25. "Scepovic queda desvinculado del Sporting" (in Spanish). Sporting de Gijón. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  26. "Stefan Scepovic joins Videoton FC". Videoton FC. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  27. "Serbia finish with a flourish against FYROM". UEFA. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  28. Liga de Fútbol Profesional. "La LFP premia a los mejores del mes Prizes for the month's best performers in Liga BBVA and Liga Adelante" [Prizes for the month’s best performers in Liga BBVA and Liga Adelante].
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