Ivan Šaponjić
Ivan Šaponjić (Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Шапоњић; born 2 August 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Slovak club ŠK Slovan Bratislava. At international level, Šaponjić won the gold medal for Serbia at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, scoring two goals in the process. Club career. Partizan. Born in Nova Varoš, Šaponjić started playing football at local clubs Zlatar Nova Varoš and Sloboda Užice before joining the youth academy of Partizan. He made his senior debut for the club in a league game on 30 November 2013, coming on as a 76th-minute  substitute in a 2–0 home win over Spartak Subotica. He eventually failed to make any other competitive appearance in the 2013–14 season. On 30 May 2014, he signed his first professional contract with Partizan, penning a three-year deal. He scored his first competitive goal for the team in a 2–0 away victory over Jagodina in the second leg of the Serbian Cup semi-final on 8 April 2015. Five days later, he scored his first league goal in a 3–1 away win over OFK Beograd. In total, he scored 5 goals in 16 appearances in all competitions during the  2014–15 season. On 25 July 2015, Šaponjić scored a brace in a 6–0 home league win over Jagodina. He scored his first international goal for Partizan with an overhead kick in a 2–1 home win over BATE Borisov in the return leg of the Champions League play-off round on 26 August 2015. This was the club's 100th victory in European football. He also scored both goals for Partizan in their 2–0 Serbian Cup win over Sinđelić Beograd on 28 October 2015. Benfica. On 12 January 2016, Šaponjić signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with Portuguese champions  Benfica and was immediately assigned to their reserve team. In July 2017, he was loaned out to Belgian club Zulte Waregem. Atlético Madrid. On 11 July 2019, Šaponjić signed a three-year contract with Atlético Madrid for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in region of 500 thousand euros. He made his debut on 23 January 2020, in a Copa del Rey clash against Cultural Leonesa. On 22 January 2021, Šaponjić joined fellow La Liga side Cádiz on loan until the end of the season. On 31 January 2021, he made his club debut in a 2–4 home league defeat  against his contractual owners, Atlético Madrid. Slovan Bratislava. In January 2022, Slovan Bratislava announced the signing of Šapnjić on a 3,5 year deal. International career. Internationally, Šaponjić represented his homeland at various youth levels. He was the team's joint top scorer (alongside Luka Jović) with five goals in their unsuccessful qualification campaign for the 2014 UEFA Under-17 Championship. With three goals, Šaponjić was the team's joint top scorer (again with Jović) in their unsuccessful qualification campaign for the 2015 UEFA Under-19 Championship. Šaponjić was included in the final 21-man squad for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup . He scored an injury time equalizer against Hungary in the round of 16 on 10 June 2015, with Serbia eventually winning the game 2–1 after extra time. On 17 June 2015, he scored an extra time winning goal in the semi-final against Mali. He was the team's joint top scorer (alongside Nemanja Maksimović, Staniša Mandić and Andrija Živković) with two goals, as Serbia eventually won the tournament. Honours. Club. Partizan Slovan Bratislava International. Serbia