Savo Miloà ¡evià(, ; born 2 September 1973) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Bosnian Premier League club à ½eljezniÃÂar.
A former forward, Miloà ¡eviàwas Aston Villa's record signing after making a name for himself at Partizan. He would go on to spend the vast majority of his career in Spain, where he amassed La Liga totals of 91 goals in 241 games for Zaragoza, Espanyol, Celta and Osasuna. Over the course of his 16-year professional career, Miloà ¡eviàplayed for eight clubs and scored over 220 goals in nearly 600 official appearances.
At the international level, Miloà ¡eviàplayed for the national team of FR Yugoslavia (later renamed Serbia and Montenegro) and Serbia, making over 100 caps for both teams combined. He appeared in two World Cups and one European Championship, at which he earned the Golden Boot at Euro 2000.
Miloà ¡eviàstarted playing football at the age of six and spent his youth in the Drina Valley. At the age of 14, he was spotted by Partizan scouts, who convinced the club to secure his transfer for 5,000 Deutsche Mark.
In 1992, Miloà ¡eviàmade his senior debut for Partizan, scoring 14 goals in 31 games during his first season at the club. He went on to score an impressive 21 and 30 league goals in his next two seasons respectively â competition-bests in both years â as the Belgrade-based club won back-to-back national championships, including the double in the 1993âÂÂ94 season.
In the summer of 1995, then Aston Villa manager Brian Little bought Miloà ¡eviàfrom Partizan for ã3.5 million, a club record at the time. His spell in England lasted three seasons, during which time he earned the tabloid nickname "Miss-a-lot-eviÃÂ" owing to his frequent goalscoring dry spells.
However, Miloà ¡eviàdid score 33 goals in 117 games for Villa (29 in the Premier League), including one in the 1996 Football League Cup final, a 3âÂÂ0 win against Leeds United.
Miloà ¡eviàsigned for La Liga club Real Zaragoza in 1998 for ã8.5 million, again recording some impressive goalscoring performances, notably netting 21 in the 1999âÂÂ2000 season as the team secured fourth place.
After rediscovering his form in Spain, Miloà ¡eviàjoined Parma in the summer of 2000 for â¬25 million. He was a regular starter in his first season in Italy, playing in 21 out of 34 Serie A matches and scoring 8 goals; in the next season, however, he was sparingly used.
Miloà ¡eviàwas loaned back to Spain in January 2002, re-joining his former club Zaragoza to replace Blackburn Rovers-bound Yordi. He scored six times during his second spell, finishing as the club's joint top scorer â alongside Yordi and Roberto Acuña. His second spell at Zaragoza ended unsuccessfully, with the club eventually relegated.
In the 2002âÂÂ03 campaign, Miloà ¡eviàplayed for Espanyol on loan, again finishing as his team's top scorer but narrowly escaping relegation, a fate that would befall him the following year with Celta de Vigo. Miloà ¡eviàwas able to help Celta reach the round-of-16 in their first ever appearance in the UEFA Champions League, with his one goal in seven appearances in the competition coming in a 3âÂÂ2 group stage home win against Ajax.
In mid-July 2004, aged 30, Miloà ¡eviàsigned a three-year contract with another Spanish top flight club, Osasuna. In his second season with the Navarrese, he scored 11 goals in 32 games to help the team qualify for the Champions League. Though Miloà ¡eviàfailed to score in ten appearances in the subsequent UEFA Cup semi-final run, he did provide two assists in a 3âÂÂ0 away win against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of the quarter-final (which Osasuna won 4âÂÂ0 on aggregate).
In the summer of 2007, Miloà ¡eviÃÂ's contract expired and he left Osasuna after three seasons at the club. He took an eight-month break from competitive football, during which â in October 2007 â he had a trial with Major League Soccer's Toronto FC with a view of signing with them for the 2008 season. The deal fell through and, on 8 March 2008, he agreed terms with Rubin Kazan prior to the start of the Russian Premier League campaign.
On 2 November 2008, Miloà ¡eviàscored the decisive goal for Rubin in a game against Saturn Ramenskoye, securing the team their first ever national championship. He retired shortly afterwards, aged 35.
Miloà ¡eviàrepresented the Yugoslavia under-21 national team at the 1992 Toulon Tournament, reaching the final with the team. He later earned 102 caps for Serbia, making his international debut for the nation (then named Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) on 23 December 1994, in a 2âÂÂ0 friendly loss to Brazil. Miloà ¡eviàscored 37 goals for his country over the course of a 14-year international career.
After appearing in two games at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Miloà ¡eviàscored five goals at UEFA Euro 2000, earning him the Golden Boot, an award he shared with Dutch forward Patrick Kluivert.
Miloà ¡eviàmade his 100th international appearance on 16 June 2006 during the FIFA World Cup in Germany, in a 6âÂÂ0 group stage loss against Argentina, becoming the first Serbian player to reach this milestone. As a formal farewell from international football, he was called up for a friendly with Bulgaria on 19 November 2008, scoring twice and missing two penalties in a 6âÂÂ1 win before being replaced by Dragan MrÃÂa.
From 2011 to 2012, Miloà ¡eviàwas an assistant manager to Branko Brnoviàat the Montenegro national team.
On 27 March 2019, Miloà ¡eviàwas named by the board of directors at Partizan as the club's new manager. His first win as Partizan manager came on 3 April 2019, beating ÃÂukariÃÂki 3âÂÂ2 at home.
In Miloà ¡eviÃÂ's first Eternal derby as manager of Partizan, his team suffered a 2âÂÂ1 away loss to Red Star Belgrade, with Ricardo Gomes's 90th-minute strike proving only a consolation.
At the end of his first season in charge, Miloà ¡eviàsucceeded in qualifying Partizan for the 2019âÂÂ20 UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds, and on 23 May 2019, won his first managerial trophy as his side beat Red Star Belgrade 1âÂÂ0 in the 2018âÂÂ19 Serbian Cup final, courtesy of a Bojan Ostojiàgoal.
In July and August 2019, Partizan secured their ninth participation in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League. Under Miloà ¡eviÃÂ's leadership, Partizan knocked-out Connah's Quay Nomads, Yeni Malatyaspor and Molde in the qualifiers. On 30 August, Partizan was drawn in to Group L of the 2019âÂÂ20 UEFA Europa League, alongside Manchester United, Astana and AZ Alkmaar.
On 16 June 2021, Miloà ¡eviàwas named new manager of Slovenian PrvaLiga side Olimpija Ljubljana. He left the club less than four months later, on 10 October 2021.
On 29 September 2023, Miloà ¡eviàwas appointed as the new head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He was victorious in his first game in charge against Liechtenstein in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match on 13 October 2023. Miloà ¡eviàsuffered his first defeat against Portugal on 16 October; Bosnia and Herzegovina lost the game 5âÂÂ0 at Bilino Polje, the biggest defeat in its history on home ground.
Miloà ¡eviÃÂ's contract expired on 21 March 2024, following the country's defeat against Ukraine in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs. On 16 April 2024, it was officially announced that the contract would not be extended.
In late September 2024, Miloà ¡eviàreturned to Partizan succeeding Aleksandar StanojeviÃÂ. His first competitive game back in charge of Partizan ended in a 3âÂÂ1 away win over Mladost LuÃÂani on 29 September. Despite embarking on a nine-game undefeated run, and securing seven wins, Miloà ¡eviàleft Partizan in December over disagreements with the club's management.
In January 2025, Miloà ¡eviàwas appointed manager of Iranian side Nassaji Mazandaran. However, after winning two of his ten opening matches at the club, he left Nassaji in April 2025.
On 28 February 2026, Miloà ¡eviàwas appointed manager of Bosnian Premier League club à ½eljezniÃÂar. He took charge of the squad on 3 March, a day after their league match against Zrinjski Mostar. In his first match in charge, he led à ½eljezniÃÂar to a 3âÂÂ0 away win over Sloga Doboj on 7 March. Miloà ¡eviàsuffered his first defeat as à ½eljezniÃÂar manager on 14 March, conceding a late goal at home against Borac Banja Luka in the league.
Miloà ¡eviàwas born into an ethnic Serb family in the Semberija city of Bijeljina and was raised in Johovac, Republic of Srpska, both in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, the then-SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia, where he lived with a younger brother Andrija (1975âÂÂ2013) and younger sister Cvijeta "Mira". He also holds Bosnian citizenship. Miloà ¡eviÃÂ's mother died in 2000 from cancer; he has paternal ancestry from the large Miloà ¡eviàbrotherhood of the VasojeviÃÂi tribe in northeastern Montenegro, and was a relative of Slobodan Miloà ¡eviÃÂ.
Miloà ¡eviàwas a political supporter of the Democratic Party led by Boris TadiÃÂ, having supported it since 1993 after meeting with Zoran ÃÂinÃÂiàand officially becoming a member in 2003. He took part in the 1996âÂÂ97 protests and the 5 October overthrow.
Miloà ¡eviàwas married to Vesna, with whom he has two sons and a daughter. One of his sons, Nikola, was also a footballer. Since 2017 he has been in a relationship with Serbian cellist Natalija TipsareviÃÂ. On 11 June 2011, his father Stevan (1953âÂÂ2011) was shot in the chest and killed in the family house in GlaviÃÂice by his grandfather Savo (1928âÂÂ2012), after a family row; the latter was later detained.
Partizan
Aston Villa
Rubin Kazan
Individual
Partizan