Neven Subotic

Date of Birth: - 10th December 1988.



Nationality: - Subotic was born in Yugoslavia (when it was a country), and is eligable to play for a number of teams such as Boznia, USA and Serbia. Subotic later decided to play for Serbia though and now represents them at national level.



Height: - 6ft 4inches



Position: - Centre Back.



Club History: - Mainz 05

- Borussia Dortmund



Linked With: - Arsenal

- Inter Milan

- Manchester City (U)

- Manchester United (U)

- Real Madrid (U)

- Tottenham (U)

It's difficult to say who exactly he is linked with, and who he isn't, as Dortmund have made it EXTREMELY clear he is not for sale for any price and are refusing to listen to any offers etc, so clubs keep their interest to themselves.



Estimated Market Value: - Around 20million Euro's.





Club Career:



Mainz 05

Subotic made his professional debut for Mainz 05 in the final match of the 2006/2007 season against Bayern Munich as his team was relegated from the Bundesliga.



In the 2nd Division Bundesliga the following season, Subotic seized a starting role in what was the leagues best defence that season, conceding only 37 goals. The team finished in fourth place, missing the promotion back to Bundesliga by only two points.



In the summer of 2008, Klopp (Mainz manager) received the job of taking over Borussia Dortmund, and one of the first things done by Klopp as Dortmund manager was to sign Subotic from Mainz for around 800,000 Euro's, an absolute steal!





Borussia Dortmund:

4th June 2008 - It was announced that Subotic had signed with Borussia Dortmund on a 5-year contract. He then debuted for his new club just days after in the unofficial German Supercup match against Bayern Munich, which Dortmund won 2-1.



December 2008 - Subotic's defensive displays quickly turned a lot of heads, as he was named in the ideal 11 team of the first part of the 2008/2009 Bundesliga season alongside such defensive stars as Lucio and Philip Lahm. In addition to confident and effective defensive displays far beyond his age/experience, Subotic was also a factor on the offensive end - scoring 6 league goals throughout the season.



June 2009 - Subotic signed a new contract which last until summer 2014.



In the 2009/2010 Bundesliga season, Subotic was one of only four players in the entire league to play every minute of every league match.



15th December 2010 - Subotic got his first goal ever in European competition, scoring a header from a set-piece at Sevilla in the Europa League to tie the score at 2-2. The match was a decider on which of the two teams would go on from the group stage as Borussia needed to win away, while Sevilla was fine even with a draw. It ended 2-2 and Borussia were eliminated.



So far in the 2011/2012 season, Subotic has made over 25 appearances, and played pretty much every game for Dortmund, and has been a significant figure in Dortmunds current league position of 1st. He and Hummels have one of the best records in the league and are certainly 2 of the bets central defenders in the league, thus play a pivital part in Dortmund's position etc.





Club Statistics:

Mainz - 35 appearances, 4 goals.

Dortmund (as of 01/04/2012) - 142 appearances, 12 goals.



International Career:

28th March 2009 - Subotic made his debut for the Serbian national team in the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Romania (away) that Serbia won 2-3. He came on as a 65th minute substitute with Serbia leading 1-3, Subotic played the slightly altered central defensive role.



6th June 2009 - After starting against Sweden in a friendly, Subotic's first competitive start took place versus Austria just after the end of club season, and Serbia eventually won 1-0 after numerous defensive breakdowns.



10th June 2009 - Subotic scored his first goal for Serbia in a fairly straightforward 2-0 win over Faroe Islands.



At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Subotić was left out of the starting lineup for the opening group stage match versus Ghana. However, during the second half of the Ghana match, Lukovic got sent off, meaning Subotic came on for the remaining 14 minutes. Due to Lukovic's one-match suspension as a result of the red card, Subotic started the next match in a must-win situation versus Germany, putting in a confident and effective performance against German forwards who despite mounting great pressure spells throughout the match ultimately failed to score as Serbia recorded a famous 1-0 win. Playing against the players he knew well from Bundesliga, Subotic's showed excellent positional play with a few crucial reactions to cut out goal-scoring opportunities. For the group decider against Australia, Subotic was back on the bench as Lukovic returned from suspension.



Subotic in total has made 29 appearances for Serbia scoring 1 goal.







General Comments:

It's difficult to comment on defenders, so these comments won't be extremely long. Subotic is one half of the best partnership in Europe in my opinion. He and Hummels are truly outstanding players and it'll be a real shame when they're broken up in the future and touted across Europe separately. I for one am just enjoying the time they play together, as I know eventually one will be sold. I for one think they are of similar capabilities and playing style, so anything I say about Subotic can also be found on the Hummels profile. However, I feel Subotic tends to stay on his feet more before 'lunging in', whereas Hummels can sometimes do the opposite. I also feel that Hummels has a much better passing ability, but Subotic is able to get the ball down and play the simple passes, before the danger is created. I believe that in the future, Subotic will be a great signing for any club that get him, and I can only hope it's to a team in the PL. Recent reports suggest Chelsea put in an 18million bid for him this January, but I don't believe this is true, but I am aware of Chelsea's potential interest in him, and I feel he would be a great replacement for Terry when he retires. I apologise that these comments aren't of much use, but it's difficult to assess a defender in a few words.



Thanks all,



Ed022-}