Darko Savić (Serbian Cyrillic: Дарко Caвић; born 19 January 1979) is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a defender and currently manager of Septemvri Sofia II.[1] He has played much of his career in a centre back role, but he has also been used as a right back.[2]

Darko Savić
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-01-19) 19 January 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Vršac, Yugoslavia
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Centre back / Right back
Team information
Current team
Septemvri Sofia II (manager)
Youth career
FK Vršac
Sartid Smederevo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2000 Sartid Smederevo
2000–2002 OFK Beograd
2002–2004 Spartak Varna 37 (0)
2004–2011 Lokomotiv Sofia 176 (1)
2012–2015 Botev Vratsa 67 (1)
2015–2016 Lokomotiv Sofia 16 (1)
2017–2018 Botev Ihtiman 10 (0)
2018–2019 Sportist Svoge 32 (0)
2020–2021 Kostinbrod
Managerial career
2019–2020 Sportist Svoge
2020–2021 Kostinbrod (assistant)
2021– Septemvri Sofia II
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Savić began his career with Sartid Smederevo, before transferring to OFK Beograd in June 2000. After five years of playing in the Serbian Superliga, he was signed by Spartak Varna in the summer of 2002.[3]

Spartak Varna

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Savić made his Bulgarian A PFG debut on 10 August 2002, replacing Stefan Donchev in a 3–1 away loss against CSKA Sofia. Seven days later, he made his first start for Spartak, in a 1–0 loss against Lokomotiv Plovdiv at Spartak Stadium.

On 24 February 2004, Savić scored an own goal in a 2–1 home loss against Cherno More in the derby of Varna.

Lokomotiv Sofia

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On 3 September 2004, Savić joined Lokomotiv Sofia on a free transfer. He made his first league appearance for Lokomotiv in the 4–0 defeat by Lokomotiv Plovdiv on 11 September.

On 18 April 2009, he scored his first goal in Bulgaria in a 3–2 win over Cherno More, opening the scoring with a trademark strike from 25 yards out. On 31 May Savić was sent off in a match against his previous side Spartak Varna for a foul on Angel Stoykov.

On 11 April 2011, Savić became the second foreign player after Nebojša Jelenković, who has made 200 appearances in the Bulgarian A PFG. As of March 2015, he has played 246 matches in the top division of Bulgarian football, being third in the all-time appearance list for foreigners. Savić is also the non-Bulgarian defender with the most games.[4] It was announced on 10 June 2011 that, along with Valentin Galev, Kristian Dobrev, Marcho Dafchev and Rumen Goranov, Savić had agreed to sign a new two-year contract, which would keep him with Lokomotiv until 2013. The contract was finally signed on 19 June.[5]

On 9 February 2012, his contract with Lokomotiv was terminated.[6]

Botev Vratsa

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On 14 February 2012, Savić joined Botev Vratsa.[7] He made his debut for Botev in a 1–0 home loss against Slavia Sofia on 3 March.

Managerial career

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On 23 August 2019, Savić was appointed manager of Sportist Svoge.[8] He was fired on 4 January 2020.[9]

In February 2020, Savić was appointed manager of Kostinbrod.[10] He left the position shortly before the start of the 2021–22 season.[11]

Career statistics

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Updated 8 May 2016

Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Spartak Varna 2002–03 18 0 2 0 20 0
2003–04 19 0 2 0 21 0
Total 37 0 4 0 41 0
Lokomotiv Sofia 2004–05 22 0 1 0 23 0
2005–06 26 0 0 0 26 0
2006–07 27 0 1 0 5 0 33 0
2007–08 26 0 3 0 4 0 33 0
2008–09 22 1 1 0 0 0 23 1
2009–10 23 0 0 0 23 0
2010–11 24 0 0 0 24 0
2011–12 6 0 0 0 3 0 9 0
Total 176 1 6 0 12 0 194 1
Botev Vratsa 2011–12 13 0 0 0 13 0
2012–13 20 0 0 0 20 0
2013–14 14 1 1 0 15 1
2014–15 20 0 1 0 21 0
Total 67 1 2 0 0 0 69 1
Lokomotiv 1929 Sofia 2015–16 16 1 0 0 16 1
Total 16 1 0 0 0 0 16 1
Career totals 296 3 12 0 12 0 320 3

References

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  1. ^ "Darko Savić Facts". Footballdatabase.eu.
  2. ^ "Stats Centre: Darko Savić Facts". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012.
  3. ^ Georgiev, Dragomir (5 August 2002). "Целта на Спартак (Вн) е Г-7. Фаталните 13 пристигнаха при варненци това лято" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Топ-Клуб 100 за чуждестранни футболисти". bgfootball.eu. 1 March 2015. Archived from the original on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Локо София продължи договорите на петима титуляри" (in Bulgarian). sportisimo.bg. Retrieved 19 June 2011.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "И Дарко Савич избяга от Локо (Сф)" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Ботев (Вр) със светкавичен трансфер на опитен бранител" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  8. ^ СПОРТИСТ (СВОГЕ) ПРОДЪЛЖАВА С УДАРНАТА СИ СЕЛЕКЦИЯ. КЛУБЪТ ПОДПИСА С ..., novini247.com, 23 August 2019
  9. ^ Спортист (Своге) смени треньора, sportal.bg, 4 January 2020
  10. ^ Герои на Локо (Сф) преминаха в Костинброд, vitoshanews.com, 27 February 2020
  11. ^ Александър Гидионов пред Efirbet: Манталитетът на младите е под всякаква критика, duma.bg, 27 October 2021
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