Lazar Stefanovic
Stefanovic in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth (2006-08-10) August 10, 2006
Place of birth Clearwater, Florida, United States
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Toronto FC II
Number 76
Youth career
Oakville SC
2016– Toronto FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Toronto FC II 26 (0)
2023 → Toronto FC (loan) 2 (0)
International career‡
2022– Canada U17 13 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 15, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 16, 2023

Lazar Stefanovic (Serbian Cyrillic: Лазар Стефановић, romanized: Lazar Stefanović; born August 10, 2006) is a professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for Toronto FC II in MLS Next Pro. Born in the United States, he is a youth international for Canada.

Early life

Born in Clearwater, Florida, Stefanovic moved to Canada at a young age and was raised in Oakville, Ontario.[1] He began playing soccer at age three with Oakville SC.[2] In 2016, he joined the Toronto FC Academy.[3] In June 2023, he was named to the MLS Next All-Star Game.[4]

Club career

Stefanovic with Toronto FC II in 2023

On April 30, 2022, Stefanovic made his professional debut with Toronto FC II in MLS Next Pro against FC Cincinnati 2, as an academy call-up.[1] On June 30, 2023, he signed an official professional contract with Toronto FC II, after having already played 13 games that season as an academy call-up.[1] The next day, he joined the Toronto FC first team on a short-term loan,[5] making his Major League Soccer debut that day in a substitute appearance in a 1–0 loss to Real Salt Lake.[6][7] He became the second-youngest player to appear in an MLS match for Toronto FC (16 years, 10 months and 22 days).[8] He signed another short-term loan ahead of a Leagues Cup match against Mexican club Atlas.[9][10]

International career

Stefanovic is of Serbian descent, born in the United States, and raised in Canada, and eligible for all three nations at international level.[11]

In August 2022, Stefanovic was called up to a training camp for the United States U17 team.[12]

In October 2022, he made his debut in the Canadian program, attending a camp with the Canada U17 team.[2] He represented Canada at the 2023 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, where he scored his first goal on 22 February 2023, against Puerto Rico U17.[13]

Career statistics

As of match played September 15, 2023[14]
Club Season League Playoffs National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Toronto FC II 2022 MLS Next Pro 1000––—10
2023 250–––—250
Total 26000000000260
Toronto FC (loan) 2023 Major League Soccer 20–00–1[lower-alpha 1]030
Career total 28000000010290
  1. ↑ Appearance in Leagues Cup

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Toronto FC II sign Academy product Lazar Stefanovic". Toronto FC. 30 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 Lazar Stefanovic at the Canadian Soccer Association
  3. ↑ Garbutt, Herb (9 March 2016). "Four Oakville soccer players selected to join TFC Academy". Oakville Beaver.
  4. ↑ "Rosters for 2023 MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate". Major League Soccer. 29 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "Toronto FC sign Gavran and Stefanovic to short-term agreements". Toronto FC. 1 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Toronto FC loses to Real Salt Lake in Terry Dunfield's debut". Sportsnet. 1 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Molinaro, John (2 August 2023). "Lazar Stefanovic a beacon of light during dark times for TFC". TFC Republic.
  8. ↑ Molinaro, John (14 December 2023). "TFC 2's Lazar Stefanovic offers Toronto FC hope for the future". TFC Republic.
  9. ↑ "Toronto FC sign Stefanovic and Batiz to short-term agreements ahead of Leagues Cup match". Toronto FC. 30 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Toronto FC call up Lazar Stefanovic and Jesús Batiz from TFCII for Leagues Cup clash". Waking the Red. 30 July 2023.
  11. ↑ Molinaro, John (21 July 2023). "Lazar Stefanovic: From writing a math exam to making his MLS debut with TFC". TFC Republic.
  12. ↑ "U17 MNT Heads to California Training Camp". Top Drawer Soccer. 16 August 2022.
  13. ↑ Tierney, Mitchell (23 February 2023). "Future looking bright at centre-back for Canada at U-17 Concacaf Championship". Canadian Premier League.
  14. ↑ Lazar Stefanovic at Soccerway
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