Neven Subotià(Serbian Cyrillic: Heòeý CÃÂñoÃÂøÃÂ, ; born 10 December 1988) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he played for the Serbia national team.
SubotiÃÂ made his professional debut in 2007 for 1. FSV Mainz 05. In the following year, he signed with Borussia Dortmund, where he spent the majority of his career, winning two Bundesliga titles. After leaving Dortmund in 2017, he had a series of spells at clubs in Germany, France, and Turkey, before signing for SC Rheindorf Altach in January 2021.
Born to Bosnian Serb parents, SubotiÃÂ lived in Germany and the United States during his youth and played for the latter nation at under-17 and under-20 levels. At the senior level, he elected to represent Serbia, making his full international debut in 2009 and appearing at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Born in Banja Luka, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina), to Bosnian Serb parents, father à ½eljko from the village of and mother Svjetlana from Brestovo, Subotiàspent his early childhood in Prnjavor. In 1990, when Subotiàwas two years old, his father went to Germany in search of work. In 1994, with the Bosnian War raging, the rest of the family including five-year-old Neven, his sister and their mother joined their father in Germany, settling in Schömberg. Neven took up football at the age of seven with the local outfit TSV Schwarzenberg.
In the late 1990s, the SubotiÃÂ family's residence authorisation in Germany expired, and in order to avoid being deported back to Bosnia, they opted to move to the United States in 1999. They settled in Salt Lake City, Utah, where SubotiÃÂ's father had a cousin. SubotiÃÂ played football with Sparta Gold and Impact Black youth clubs.
Within two years, the family was on the move again, this time to Bradenton, Florida, so that SubotiÃÂ's sister Natalija could pursue a tennis career at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. The city also happens to be the base for the United States under-17 national team. SubotiÃÂ trained on his own in G.T. Bray Park, where he got spotted by Keith Fulk, one of the American team's assistant coaches who then informed the team's head coach, John Ellinger, about SubotiÃÂ. After arranging a tryout, they offered SubotiÃÂ a spot in the residency camp. At the time, he was not attached to any club sides, but eventually started playing with the University of South Florida soccer team.
While playing with the under-17 team in the Netherlands, SubotiÃÂ was approached by player agent Steve Kelly, who inquired about his career plans and offered the possibility of playing in Europe. After impressing at the tryout for 1. FSV Mainz 05, young SubotiÃÂ was on his way there, initially playing for the club's youth and fourth-division teams (1. FSV Mainz 05 II). SubotiÃÂ holds a German, American, Bosnian, and a Serbian passport.
Subotiàmade his professional debut for 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the last match of the 2006âÂÂ07 season against Bayern Munich, as his team was relegated from the Bundesliga. In the 2. Bundesliga the following season, he seized a starting role in what was the league's best defence, conceding only 37 goals. The team finished in fourth place, missing the promotion back to Bundesliga by only two points.
In the 2008 summer off-season, Mainz head coach Jürgen Klopp got a job coaching Borussia Dortmund and was instrumental in bringing Subotiàalong with him.
On 4 June 2008, it was announced that Subotiàhad signed with Borussia Dortmund on a five-year contract. He debuted for his new club in the unofficial DFL-Supercup match against Bayern Munich, which Dortmund won 2âÂÂ1. SubotiÃÂ's defensive displays quickly turned a lot of heads. In December 2008, he was named in the ideal XI team of the first part of the 2008âÂÂ09 Bundesliga season, alongside such defensive stars as Lúcio and Philipp Lahm. In addition to confident and effective defensive displays far beyond his years, Subotiàwas also a factor on the offensive end, scoring six league goals throughout the season.
In June 2009, he signed a new contract that lasts until the summer of 2014. In the 2009âÂÂ10 Bundesliga season, Subotiàwas one of only four players in the entire league to play every minute of every league match.
On 15 December 2010, Subotiàscored his first-ever goal in the European competition, scoring a header off a corner at Sevilla in the Europa League to tie the score at 2âÂÂ2. 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 2âÂÂ2, however, and Borussia was eliminated.
On 27 July 2013, Subotiàwon the 2013 DFL-Supercup with Dortmund 4âÂÂ2 against rivals Bayern Munich.
On 27 May 2015 he signed a new contract until the end of the 2017âÂÂ18.
On 1 April 2016, it was announced that Subotiàwould miss the remainder of Dortmund's season as he was suffering from thrombosis in his arm. On 26 June 2016, Subotiàconfirmed that he planned to leave the club. He moved temporarily on 26 January 2017 on loan to Bundesliga rivals 1. FC Köln until the end of the season.
At the start of the 2017âÂÂ18 season, he was brought back into the Dortmund team under the new manager Peter Bosz.
On 25 January 2018, SubotiÃÂ signed an 18-month contract with Ligue 1 outfit AS Saint-ÃÂtienne.
On 1 July 2019, he left the club when his contract expired.
On 4 July 2019, SubotiÃÂ returned to the Bundesliga, in which he signed for the newly promoted Union Berlin. In August 2020, he agreed the termination of his contract which was due to expire in 2021.
On 18 September 2020, Subotiàjoined Süper Lig club Denizlispor. On 22 January 2021, the club announced that he had decided to cancel his contract unilaterally. He left having made five league appearances and scored once, the opening goal in a 2âÂÂ1 away win over GençlerbirliÃÂi on 19 October.
On 1 February 2021, SubotiÃÂ joined Austrian Football Bundesliga club SC Rheindorf Altach on a six-month contract.
SubotiÃÂ announced his retirement in 2022.
Subotiàwas part of the squad selected and coached by John Hackworth for the U.S. entry in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship during September 2005 in Peru. Sixteen years of age at the time, he entered all three group matches as a substitute during the final five minutes. In the quarter-final versus the Netherlands, where the U.S. team lost 0âÂÂ2 and were eliminated, he played from the start but received a red card in the 73rd minute.
He has also made two appearances for the USA U-20 team. What would prove to be his last one took place in November 2006 in a friendly after which head coach Thomas Rongen criticised SubotiÃÂ, who had signed for Mainz several months earlier, for "not accelerating over there to the point where we feel he belongs on the [U.S.] team." Next summer, Rongen controversially did not select him to play in the 2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada, picking defenders such as Nathan Sturgis, Anthony Wallace, Julian Valentin, Ofori Sarkodie, Tim Ward, and Amaechi Igwe ahead of SubotiÃÂ, a decision that has resulted in Rongen receiving a fair amount of criticism. While Rongen insisted that a groin injury was to blame, there has been considerable speculation since then that SubotiÃÂ was so stung by Rongen's criticism that he decided to reconsider his international future:
Subotiàwas eligible to represent the United States, Serbia, or Bosnia and Herzegovina. During September 2008, when the issue of his national team eligibility first started getting wider coverage in the football media, playing for Croatia or even Germany were mentioned as possibilities as well. Both options, however, were soon revealed to be media concoctions more than anything else. Bosnia and Herzegovina fell out of the running early as Subotiàpublicly rejected overtures by the country's football officials and head coach Miroslav Blaà ¾eviÃÂ.
By late fall 2008, it became clear that only Serbia figured in his international choice. Citing sources close to SubotiÃÂ's family, many reports in the Serbian press appeared about his decision to play for Serbia already being made, but waiting for the right moment to state it publicly since he had until 10 December 2009 (his 21st birthday) to declare his choice. In mid-December 2008, SubotiÃÂ informed national team head coach Radomir AntiÃÂ about his decision to represent Serbia. Then in late December 2008, SubotiÃÂ notified the US Soccer Federation about his decision, the first official step in the process of changing national team attachment.
On 28 March 2009, Subotiàmade his debut for the Serbia national team in the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Romania in Constanà £a that Serbia won 2âÂÂ3. Coming on as a 65th-minute substitute for striker Marko Panteliàwith Serbia leading 1âÂÂ3, Subotiàplayed the slightly altered central defensive role as Antiàlooked to protect the lead for the remaining 30 minutes in the crucial qualifying match. Afterward, head coach Antiàwas very supportive of his new young defender, comparing him to Fernando Hierro. After starting against Sweden in a friendly, SubotiÃÂ's first competitive start took place against Austria on 6 June just after the end of the club season, partnering Nemanja Vidiàin central defence (if only for one half, since Vidiàgot injured and replaced by Antonio Rukavina) â the contest in which Serbia displayed a very lethargic overall team effort and was lucky to win 1âÂÂ0 after numerous defensive breakdowns. Four days later, on 10 June 2009, Subotiàscored his first goal for Serbia in a fairly straightforward 2âÂÂ0 win over the Faroe Islands. For the next qualifying match, at the end of summer against France, Serbia's chance to seal qualification by winning at home, Subotiàgot benched and did not enter the contest at all, as Antiàpreferred Aleksandar Lukoviàto partner Vidiàon this occasion. The same central defensive pairing started the next qualifier against Romania at home (another chance to automatically qualify with a win after failing to beat the French), while Subotiàgot a chance to run out for the last 15 minutes as a sub for Vidiàwith the score 2âÂÂ0 for Serbia as it eventually clinched the World Cup spot with a 5âÂÂ0 thrashing. In the last meaningless qualifier against Lithuania, Subotiàplayed the full 90 minutes in a free role on the wing as Antiàlooked to experiment and try different setups without any fear of dropping points.
Though he came in with high praise and even higher hopes, SubotiÃÂ's initial performances for Serbia weren't stellar. Following unconvincing defensive displays and fairly frequent mistakes, he had to deal with plenty of criticism in the Serbian press.
At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, SubotiÃÂ was left out of the starting line-up for the opening group stage match against Ghana, with Nemanja VidiÃÂ and Aleksandar LukoviÃÂ the preferred choices for central defensive spots by coach AntiÃÂ. SubotiÃÂ's benching came as a result of his poor starting displays in the friendlies leading up to the World Cup against New Zealand, Poland, and Cameroon. During the second half of the Ghana match, however, LukoviÃÂ received a red card and was sent off, forcing AntiÃÂ to bring SubotiÃÂ into the game for the remaining 14 minutes.
Due to LukoviÃÂ's one-match suspension as a result of the red card, Subotiàstarted 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 1âÂÂ0 win. Playing against the players he knew well from Bundesliga, Subotiàshowed excellent positional play with several crucial reactions, including the clearance in front of Mesut ÃÂzil to prevent the rebound following goalkeeper Vladimir StojkoviÃÂ's penalty save on Lukas Podolski.
For the group decider against Australia, SubotiÃÂ was back on the bench as LukoviÃÂ returned from suspension.
Subotiàreturned to the starting line-up for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers that began under beleaguered head coach AntiÃÂ, who was serving a four-match touchline ban as a result of the verbal altercation with the Uruguayan referee at the World Cup. The youngster played the full 90 minutes at the Faroe Islands in the opener and also in the following match versus Slovenia. SubotiÃÂ's somewhat inconsistent form continued as he established a strong presence in central defence with VidiÃÂ, but also the duo's hesitant reaction to Milivoje NovakoviÃÂ's run off the ball led to the Slovenian go-ahead goal. Following the Slovenian draw, Antiàwas fired and Pià ¾on Petroviàtook over the job. Subotiàgot called up for the new coach's debut match against Estonia, but was an unused sub as Serbia disastrously lost a competitive match at home for the first time in nine years. Petroviàgave Subotiàa starting assignment for the next qualifier away at Italy in October 2010, but the infamous contest in Genoa got interrupted after six minutes due to rioting by the travelling Serbian hooligans, which resulted in an automatic 3âÂÂ0 loss for Serbia.
As the qualifying resumed in late March 2011, Subotiàgot the start at home against Northern Ireland. Since center-back Lukoviàannounced his retirement from international football before this match, 22-year-old Subotiàessentially became an automatic first-team choice. However, partnering Milan Bià ¡evac in central defence (on instead of injured VidiÃÂ), Subotiàagain had a shaky performance as the duo failed to properly deal with Chris Brunt's set-piece cross that led to Gareth McAuley's headed goal. Furthermore, Subotiàpicked up an injury during the match that ruled him out of the next qualifier four days later at Estonia.
With Sinià ¡a MihajloviÃÂ's May 2012 arrival to the head coaching post, Subotiàfeatured in a few preparation friendlies and even scored a goal in the loss to Sweden, but was omitted from the final friendly at home versus the Republic of Ireland reportedly due to injury.
Once the 2014 World Cup qualifying cycle began in September 2012, Subotiàwas benched for the opening match away at Scotland as the duo of Bià ¡evac and 19-year-old Matija Nastasiàgot the nod in central defence. Three days later, at home versus Wales, the same situation repeated.
The following qualifier was a big test at home versus group favourites Belgium, and it still brought no change in SubotiÃÂ's status, as Mihajloviàcontinued with Nastasiàand Bià ¡evac as his preferred central defenders. Despite creating many opportunities, Serbia failed to convert them, losing the match 0âÂÂ3 in the end. The heartbreaking loss brought Mihajloviàmedia criticism, including that over his continual omission of SubotiÃÂ. Four days later, however, playing Macedonia away in Skopje in a must-win situation, Mihajloviàonce again left Subotiàon the bench without a minute of action. In a match of poor quality, amid reports of discord within the squad stemming from the Belgium loss, Serbia conceded a late penalty and disastrously lost 0âÂÂ1 thus almost losing a chance of getting one of the top two spots in the group with only four points from four match at the winter break.
Throughout October 2012, Subotiàcontinued with stellar performances for Borussia, both in the Champions League and in the Bundesliga, leading to more questions and criticism for Mihajloviàin the Serbian press over continually leaving the player on the bench in national team matches. Asked about it explicitly in interviews, Mihajloviàsaid, "Subotiàmissed the final friendly versus Ireland because of injury. He was supposed to start against Scotland, but out of the five training sessions we held leading up to the match, he did very poorly at two of them. I decided to give Bià ¡evac a chance in the match at Hampden Park and he was excellent. Then, before the Belgium match, I said a had two question marks over the starting lineup and one of them was if I should start SubotiÃÂ. Now Bià ¡evac picked up a second yellow card of the qualifying, and Neven will start the next match in March versus Croatia, if he shows commitment in training, of course. It is now up to him to make that spot his again. The second part of the problem is that both Subotiàand Nastasiàaren't very vocal during matches, Bià ¡evac is the only one who talks and commands the back line. Neven is a very important player for us, and of course, I'm counting on him, but these things happen â I had it happen to me as a player on the occasion that a spot competitor on the squad makes the most of an opportunity coach gave him thus relegating me temporarily to the bench to wait for my next opportunity."
SubotiÃÂ did not play in qualification matches for Euro 2016. After new Serbian coach Dick Advocaat announced his squad for qualifying rounds against Armenia and Albania, he also announced that SubotiÃÂ may have finished his international career. He has earned a total of 36 caps, scoring 2 goals and his final international was a September 2013 World Cup qualification match against Croatia.
In 2010, SubotiÃÂ recorded a dance song called "Kings of Africa" along with Serbian rapper Filip Filipi.
He founded the Neven SubotiÃÂ Foundation in 2012, which works on realisation of the human right for access to clean water, with a particular focus in Ethiopia.
Borussia Dortmund