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All Whites midfielder Marko Stamenic has traded Denmark for Serbia after signing for Red Star Belgrade.
All Whites midfielder Marko Stamenic has agreed to join Serbian powerhouse Red Star Belgrade on a four-year deal from next season which will guarantee more Champions League football for the 20 year old player.
Red Star confirmed on Tuesday that they have won the race to sign one of New Zealand’s brightest prospects, posting a photoshopped image on social media of Stamenic holding out his hand for a ring, a reference to the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings filmed in New Zealand.
Stamenic, whose father is Serbian, made his Champions League debut for Danish Superliga club FC Copenhagen last year, playing against Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and English Premier League giants Manchester City on the biggest European scene.
A graduate of Ole Football Academy in Porirua, Stamenic joined FC Copenhagen in 2020 after catching their eye while playing for New Zealand in the Under-17 World Cup.
After a man of the match performance on his debut, Stamenic had to bide his time at FC Copenhagen, sent on loan to second division club HB Koge last season.
It was only this season that he established himself as a first-team regular this season, making 15 appearances in all competitions.
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Red Star were among a handful of clubs chasing the signing of Stamenic after FC Copenhagen announced they had rejected a new deal and would move on when his current deal expires .
“We think Marko has developed well here, but we have to face the fact that he doesn’t want to extend his contract,” Copenhagen sporting director Peter Christiansen said last month.
Red Star are flying high atop the Serbian SuperLiga, eight points clear of nearest rivals Partisan, having gone through the first 20 rounds without a single loss.
A record 34th league title would ensure automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League group stage.
Red Star is one of 22 clubs to have won the Champions League, crowned European champions in 1991.
Despite no longer being the European force they used to be, Red Star have played in the Champions League group stage twice in the last five years.
They picked up a shock 2-0 win over Liverpool in 2018.
Red Star’s local derby with Partisan, dubbed the Eternal Derby, is considered one of the most intense rivalries in world sport.
