# Marko Stamenić

Marko Seufatu Nikola Stamenić (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Сеуфату Никола Стаменић; born 19 February 2002) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Super League Greece side Olympiacos, on loan from Premier League club Nottingham Forest, and the New Zealand national team.
Born in Wellington and raised in Stokes Valley, Stamenić graduated from the Olé Football Academy and signed for FC Copenhagen in September 2020 following extended trials. Following sporadic appearances for the club, including in the UEFA Champions League, Stamenić departed to join Red Star Belgrade in 2023.

## Club career
### Western Suburbs

Born in Wellington, Stamenić attended St Patrick's College, Silverstream, Wellington. and came through the ranks of the Olé Football Academy. During this time, Stamenić played for Olé-affiliated club Western Suburbs in the Central Premier League, making his debut in 2017 and reaching the final of the 2018 Chatham Cup.

### Team Wellington

Following Olé's affiliation with ISPS Handa Premiership side Team Wellington, Stamenić signed for them on 2 October 2019. He made seven league appearances, scoring one goal on 15 December 2019 against Southern United.

### Copenhagen

Following his standout performances for New Zealand in the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup, and despite interest from Brazilian Série A club Flamengo, Stamenić was invited for a three-week trial at Danish Superliga side FC Copenhagen in March 2020. However, following an order from the New Zealand Government for all foreign-based New Zealand citizens to urgently return to the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was forced to abort the trial. FC Copenhagen retained their interest, and Stamenić eventually returned to Denmark, signing for the club's under-19 team on 1 September 2020.
Stamenić made his debut for the first team on 23 November 2020, starting in a 2–1 Superliga loss to Randers FC.
On 9 January 2023, Copenhagen announced they would not be extending his contract, which expired in June 2023, as Stamenić had elected to explore other opportunities.

### Red Star Belgrade

On 6 February 2023, Red Star Belgrade (Crvena zvezda) announced that they had signed Stamenić on a four-year deal beginning the next season.

### Nottingham Forest

On 21 June 2024, Stamenić signed for English Premier League side Nottingham Forest on a five-year deal, immediately joining Super League Greece side Olympiacos on a season-long loan deal.

## International career
### Under-17

Stamenić made his first appearance for the New Zealand U-17 team coming off the bench in their 0–5 loss to the Solomon Islands at the 2018 OFC U-16 Championship. He then followed that up starting in New Zealand's next matches against Papua New Guinea in the last pool game, Tahiti in the semi-finals and in the final which saw a rematch against the Solomon Islands that New Zealand won 5–4 on penalties.
Stamenić played all three games for New Zealand in their 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup campaign, finishing third in their group.

### Senior

Stamenić made his international debut with the senior New Zealand national team in a 2–1 friendly win over Curaçao on 9 October 2021.

## Personal life

Stamenić was born in New Zealand to a Serbian father from Novi Sad and a Samoan mother.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 21 June 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Team Wellington | 2019–20 | NZ Premiership | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 1 |
| Copenhagen | 2020–21 | Danish Superliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Copenhagen | 2021–22 | Danish Superliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Copenhagen | 2022–23 | Danish Superliga | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Copenhagen | Total | Total | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| HB Køge (loan) | 2021–22 | Danish 1st Division | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 23 | 2 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 2023–24 | Serbian SuperLiga | 27 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | 35 | 2 |
| Nottingham Forest | 2024–25 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Olympiacos (loan) | 2024–25 | Super League Greece | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 82 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 102 | 5 |
* ↑ Includes Danish Cup, Serbian Cup, Greek Football Cup
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

### International

    As of match played on 18 November 2024
    Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Stamenić goal.
List of international goals scored by Marko Stamenić :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 19 June 2023 | Sonnensee Stadium, Ritzing, Austria | Qatar | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 18 November 2024 | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | Samoa | 5–0 | 8–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
* ↑ Michael Boxall was racially abused during the first half of the game by a Qatari player. No official action was taken so the team have agreed not to come out for the second half of the match.

## Honours

Western Suburbs
* Central League: 2017, 2019
* Chatham Cup runner-up: 2018
Copenhagen
* Danish Cup: 2022–23
Red Star Belgrade
* Serbian SuperLiga: 2023–24
* Serbian Cup: 2023–24