# Strahinja Eraković

Strahinja Eraković (Serbian Cyrillic: Страхиња Ераковић; born 22 January 2001) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Serbia national team.

## Club career
### Red Star Belgrade

Strahinja Eraković joined Red Star Belgrade in 2010 as a nine-year-old. He played for every youth category for the Belgrade club and was the captain of the Under-19 side. He appeared for the club in the UEFA Youth League in matches against Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain.
He made his first-team debut for Red Star Belgrade on 1 August 2020 in a Superliga match against Novi Pazar. Despite being just 19, he quickly became a first-team regular for the champions of Serbia. In his first season with the senior side, he played against Hoffenheim, Gent and Slovan Liberec in the UEFA Europa League. He was a part of the Red Star Belgrade side that won the first league and cup double after a 14-year wait.
In the 2021–22 campaign, he became one of the most important players for the team and ranked among the players with most minutes spent on the pitch. He was a first-team regular in European competition as well, playing against Braga, Midtjylland and Ludogorets in the Europa League group stage. He captained the side in the away match at Ludogorets. Red Star Belgrade qualified for the competition's knockout stage and Eraković played in both legs as Red Star Belgrade bowed out of the competition with a 4–2 aggregate defeat against Rangers FC of Scotland. Eraković played as Red Star Belgrade secured back-to-back Superliga and Kup Srbije doubles.
At the start of the 2022–23 season, Eraković signed a new contract to remain at Red Star Belgrade until June 2026.

### Loan to Grafičar

Eraković spent the 2019–20 season playing for RFK Grafičar, Red Star Belgrade's affiliate club in the Prva liga Srbije, the second tier of Serbian football. Eraković appeared in 21 games and scored two goals for Grafičar.

### Zenit Saint Petersburg

On 23 July 2023, Eraković agreed to join Russian champions Zenit Saint Petersburg on a four-year contract, with the option to extend for another year.

## International career

Eraković was eligible to represent Australia via his mother, who has Australian citizenship, but he rejected the offer.
Having been captain of all Serbian youth national teams, Eraković debuted for the Serbian senior squad in a 2022–23 UEFA Nations League match against Norway. In November 2022, he was selected in Serbia's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but did not appear in any match.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Grafičar Beograd (loan) | 2019–20 | Serbian First League | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 21 | 2 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 2020–21 | Serbian SuperLiga | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 2021–22 | Serbian SuperLiga | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 0 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 2022–23 | Serbian SuperLiga | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 0 |
| Red Star Belgrade | Total | Total | 79 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0 | — | — | 103 | 0 |
| Zenit | 2023–24 | Russian Premier League | 27 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 37 | 0 |
| Zenit | 2024–25 | Russian Premier League | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| Zenit | Total | Total | 41 | 0 | 14 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 56 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 141 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 180 | 2 |
* ↑ Includes Serbian Cup, Russian Cup
* ↑ Appearance in Russian Super Cup

### International

    As of 15 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Serbia | 2022 | 2 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2023 | 4 | 1 |
| Serbia | 2024 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 12 | 1 |
    Scores and results list Serbia's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 16 June 2023 | Franz Horr Stadium, Vienna, Austria | 5 | Jordan | 1–0 | 3–2 | Friendly |

## Honours

Red Star Belgrade
* Serbian SuperLiga: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
* Serbian Cup: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
Zenit Saint Petersburg
* Russian Premier League: 2023–24
* Russian Cup: 2023–24
* Russian Super Cup: 2024
Individual
* Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season: 2022–23
* Serbian SuperLiga Young Player of the Season: 2022–23