View source for Milan Stepanov

{{short description|Serbian footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Milan Stepanov
| image = MilanStepanov.jpg
| caption = Stepanov with [[Bursaspor]]
| full_name = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|4|2|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Kisač]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]]
| height = 1.90 m
| position = [[Centre-back]]
| currentclub = 
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Tatra Kisač
| years1 = 2001–2006 | clubs1 = [[FK Vojvodina|Vojvodina]]               | caps1 = 105| goals1 = 6
| years2 = 2006–2007 | clubs2 = [[Trabzonspor]]                          | caps2 = 37 | goals2 = 1
| years3 = 2007–2010 | clubs3 = [[FC Porto|Porto]]                       | caps3 = 10 | goals3 = 0
| years4 = 2009–2010 | clubs4 = → [[Málaga CF|Málaga]] (loan)            | caps4 = 12 | goals4 = 0
| years5 = 2010–2012 | clubs5 = [[Bursaspor]]                            | caps5 = 25 | goals5 = 2
| years6 = 2012–2013 | clubs6 = [[Mersin Talim Yurdu|Mersin İdmanyurdu]] | caps6 = 26 | goals6 = 2
| years7 = 2014–2015 | clubs7 = [[AC Omonia|Omonia]]                     | caps7 = 6  | goals7 = 0
| years8 = 2015      | clubs8 = [[FK Sarajevo|Sarajevo]]                 | caps8 = 5  | goals8 = 0
| years9 = 2016      | clubs9 = [[FK Vojvodina|Vojvodina]]               | caps9 = 0  | goals9 = 0
| totalcaps = 226 | totalgoals = 11
| nationalyears1 = 2006–2007 | nationalteam1 = [[Serbia national football team|Serbia]] | nationalcaps1 = 6 | nationalgoals1 = 0
}}

'''Milan Stepanov''' ([[Serbian Cyrillic]]: Милан Степанов; born 2 April 1983) is a Serbian retired [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[central defender]].

==Club career==
Born in [[Kisač]], [[Novi Sad]], [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|Serbia]], [[Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia]], Stepanov came up through [[FK Vojvodina|Vojvodina]]'s ranks, making his first-team debut during the 2000–01 season and becoming [[Captain (association football)|team captain]] five years later. In the 2006 January [[transfer window]], he transferred to [[Turkey|Turkish]] club [[Trabzonspor]].

In July 2007, Stepanov moved to [[FC Porto|Porto]] in Portugal for a reported [[Euro|€]]3.5 million.<ref>[https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0254-0d7bb01fb828-0383a66dff56-1000--porto-sign-serbia-defender-stepanov/ Porto sign Serbia defender Stepanov]; UEFA.com, 27 July 2007</ref> Initially on the [[Substitute (association football)|substitutes bench]] he gradually made room for himself in the starting eleven but, on 28 November, in a [[UEFA Champions League]] match at [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]], his team [[2007–08 UEFA Champions League|lost 1–4]], with him having a subpar performance and subsequently losing the starting place to veteran [[Pedro Emanuel]]; this situation was aggravated in [[2008–09 Primeira Liga|his second year]] with the signing of [[Rolando (footballer)|Rolando]] (he would only play in the penultimate [[Primeira Liga]] game).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.record.xl.pt/Futebol/Nacional/1a_liga/Porto/interior.aspx?content_id=325102|title=Um onze às voltas|trans-title=Revolving XI|newspaper=[[Record (Portuguese newspaper)|Record]]|language=Portuguese|date=30 November 2007|accessdate=4 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.record.xl.pt/Futebol/Nacional/1a_liga/Porto/interior.aspx?content_id=325306|title=Pedro Emanuel: "Temos presente a época passada"|trans-title=Pedro Emanuel: "Last season still on our minds"|newspaper=Record|language=Portuguese|date=2 December 2007|accessdate=4 July 2014}}</ref>

On 27 July 2009, Stepanov moved on loan to [[Spain]]'s [[Málaga CF|Málaga]], with the [[Andalusia]]ns having a buying option at [[2009–10 La Liga|the season]]'s end.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/07/27/andalucia_malaga/1248712377.html|title=Milan Stepanov: 'Doy gracias por la oportunidad de llegar al Málaga'|trans-title=Milan Stepanov: 'I thank for the opportunity of arriving at Málaga'|newspaper=[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]]|language=Spanish|date=27 July 2009|accessdate=4 July 2014}}</ref> He only made four [[La Liga]] appearances in the first half of the campaign, and was left out of the squad for almost three months, only playing again in a 0–0 home draw against [[Deportivo de La Coruña|Deportivo La Coruña]] on 7 February 2010, where he started.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130102220615/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/275761?cc=5739 Ten-man Deportivo hold on]; [[ESPN Soccernet]], 7 February 2010</ref>

In late July 2010, Stepanov returned to Turkey, signing for [[Süper Lig]] [[2009–10 Süper Lig|champions]] [[Bursaspor]] for an undisclosed fee.<ref>[http://www.superlignews.com/2010/07/stepanov-agrees-on-terms-with-bursaspor.html Stepanov agrees on terms with Bursaspor] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122032317/http://www.superlignews.com/2010/07/stepanov-agrees-on-terms-with-bursaspor.html |date=22 January 2011 }}; Super Lig News, 29 July 2010</ref> In May 2012 his contract was terminated, and he joined fellow league side [[Mersin İdmanyurdu]] shortly after.

Subsequently, Stepanov represented [[AC Omonia|Omonia]] and [[FK Sarajevo|Sarajevo]] in quick succession. On 2 January 2016, after almost ten years, he returned to Vojvodina, signing a one-and-a-half-year deal with the club.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fkvojvodina.rs/2016/01/stepanov-i-meleg-ponovo-kod-kuce/|title=Stepanov i Meleg ponovo kod kuće|trans-title=Stepanov and Meleg return home|publisher=FK Vojvodina|language=Serbian|date=2 January 2016|accessdate=2 January 2016}}</ref>

==International career==
Stepanov was a part of the [[Serbia national under-21 football team|Serbian and Montenegrin team]] that was [[Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics|knocked out in the first round]] of the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] after finishing fourth in Group C behind eventual winners [[Argentina national under-23 football team|Argentina]], [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]] and [[Tunisia national football team|Tunisia]]. He played against the first and the third teams in two losses.<ref>{{FIFA player|210129}}</ref>

In November 2005, Stepanov appeared in a [[2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs|two-match qualification playoff]] against [[Croatia national under-21 football team|Croatia]] for the [[2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship]] in [[Portugal]], and scored in the second leg in a 2–1 away win, netting the winner in the 86th minute (5–2 on aggregate).<ref>[https://archive.today/20130105010830/http://en.archive.uefa.com/competitions/under21/history/season=2006/round=2155/match=82017/index.html Job done for Serbia and Montenegro]; UEFA.com, 16 November 2005</ref> He eventually helped the national side reach the semifinals in the final stages, with many pundits agreeing he was the team's most consistent performer with a string of confident defensive displays throughout the tournament.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.archive.uefa.com/competitions/under21/history/season=2006/round=1912/match=83595/index.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712202041/http://en.archive.uefa.com/competitions/under21/history/season=2006/round=1912/match=83595/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 July 2012 |title=Ivanović caps Portugal misery |publisher=UEFA |date=25 May 2006 |accessdate=4 July 2014 }}</ref>

Stepanov made his [[Serbia national football team|senior team]] debut in a [[Exhibition game|friendly match]] against [[Czech Republic national football team|Czech Republic]] on 16 August 2006,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=20072|title=Milan Stepanov, international football player|access-date=19 July 2025|website=EU-football.info}}</ref> in which he was [[Ejection (sports)|sent off]]. In March 2007, during the nation's [[UEFA Euro 2008]] [[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying|qualifying campaign]], he started in the 1–2 loss to [[Kazakhstan national football team|Kazakhstan]] and was on the bench against [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]].

==Honours==
'''Porto'''
*[[Primeira Liga]]: [[2007–08 Primeira Liga|2007–08]], [[2008–09 Primeira Liga|2008–09]]
*[[Taça de Portugal]]: [[2008–09 Taça de Portugal|2008–09]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{TFF player|950513}}
*{{ForaDeJogo}}
*{{BDFutbol|12416}}
*{{Reprezentacija|stepanov-milan}}
*{{NFT player|15169}}
*{{Soccerway|milan-stepanov/4811}}

{{Commons category}}
{{Serbia and Montenegro Squad 2004 Summer Olympics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepanov, Milan}}
[[Category:1983 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Novi Sad]]
[[Category:Men's association football central defenders]]
[[Category:Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers]]
[[Category:Serbia and Montenegro men's under-21 international footballers]]
[[Category:Olympic footballers for Serbia and Montenegro]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Serbian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Serbia men's international footballers]]
[[Category:FK Vojvodina players]]
[[Category:Trabzonspor footballers]]
[[Category:Bursaspor footballers]]
[[Category:Mersin Talim Yurdu footballers]]
[[Category:FC Porto players]]
[[Category:Málaga CF players]]
[[Category:AC Omonia players]]
[[Category:FK Sarajevo players]]
[[Category:First League of Serbia and Montenegro players]]
[[Category:Süper Lig players]]
[[Category:Primeira Liga players]]
[[Category:La Liga players]]
[[Category:Cypriot First Division players]]
[[Category:Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina players]]
[[Category:Serbian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Spain]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey]]
[[Category:Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal]]
[[Category:Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Spain]]
[[Category:Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus]]
[[Category:Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]