Ilija Stolica

Ilija Stolica
Personal information
Date of birth (1978-07-07) 7 July 1978
Place of birth Zemun, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position Forward
Youth career
–1997 Zemun
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 Zemun 24 (5)
1998–1999 Lleida 18 (2)
1999–2000 Zemun 24 (5)
2000–2001 Partizan 4 (0)
2001–2002 Zemun 35 (25)
2003–2004 Metalurh Donetsk 26 (8)
2005 OFK Beograd 11 (6)
2005–2007 Sint-Truiden 44 (10)
2007–2008 Mons 42 (10)
2009 OFI 10 (1)
2010 Budućnost Podgorica 10 (4)
2010–2011 New England Revolution 16 (4)
2011 → FC New York (loan) 1 (0)
Total 259 (80)
International career
1999 FR Yugoslavia U21[a] 3 (0)
Managerial career
2015 Partizan (assistant)
2015–2016 Serbia U17
2016–2017 Voždovac
2017–2018 Vojvodina
2018 Olimpija Ljubljana
2019–2021 Serbia U21
2021 Serbia (caretaker)
2022 Partizan
2023–2024 Trenčín
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ilija Stolica (Serbian Cyrillic: Илија Столица; born 7 July 1978) is a Serbian football manager and former player.

Club career

Due to his promising performances at Zemun, Stolica earned a transfer to Spanish club Lleida in 1998. He played one season in Spain's second division, but failed to score in 18 games and eventually returned to his parent club.

In 2000, Stolica signed a contract with Partizan.[1] He, however, failed to make an impact with the Crno-beli and returned to Zemun the following year. By the end of the 2001–02 season, Stolica became the league's second-highest scorer with 19 goals.

In the 2003 winter transfer window, Stolica was transferred to Ukrainian club Metalurh Donetsk. He managed to play only 20 league games over the next two years, before returning to his homeland and joining OFK Beograd.

Between 2005 and 2008, Stolica spent three seasons in Belgium. He played for Sint-Truidense and Mons, scoring 20 goals combined. He subsequently had two unassuming spells in Greece and Montenegro.

In March 2006, while at Sint-Truidense, Stolica and two other players were questioned by the police as part of an investigation into match-fixing.[2]

New England Revolution

On 30 July 2010, Stolica signed with Major League Soccer club New England Revolution.[3][4] He made his Revolution debut on 7 August, coming on as a 73rd minute substitute for Zack Schilawski in a 1-0 win over D.C. United.[5] He made his first start the following week and scored his first Revolution goal, a game-winning effort against FC Dallas on 14 August.[6]

He scored twice more in the remainder of the 2010 New England Revolution season; on 28 August in a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union, and on 22 September against FC Dallas.[4] He recorded his first Revolution assist on 4 September, setting up Kheli Dube's goal in a 3-1 win over Seattle Sounders FC.[4] He played the entirety of the 2010 North American SuperLiga final.[7]

Stolica made only 2 appearances in the 2011 New England Revolution season, scoring one goal, a 93rd minute equaling effort against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on 6 April.[8]

In April 2011, Stolica was loaned to USL Pro team FC New York.[9]

On 30 June, the Revolution declined Stolica's contract.[10]

International career

At international level, Stolica was capped for FR Yugoslavia U21, making three appearances during the qualifications for the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[11]

Managerial career

In November 2016, Stolica was appointed as manager of Serbian SuperLiga club Voždovac. He resigned from his position in December 2017,[12] only to take over as manager of Vojvodina later that month.[13]

In October 2019, Stolica was named as manager of the Serbia under-21s, taking over the team from Nenad Milovanović after poor start to the qualifications for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Managerial statistics

Updated 11 August 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Serbia U17 1 January 2015 10 November 2016 18 8 3 7 044.44
Voždovac 9 November 2016 31 December 2017 46 20 10 16 043.48
Vojvodina 1 January 2018 4 April 2018 8 2 2 4 025.00
Olimpija Ljubljana 11 June 2018 31 July 2018 5 1 2 2 020.00
Serbia U21 7 October 2019 15 October 2021 14 5 4 5 035.71
Serbia (caretaker) January 2021 March 2021 2 0 2 0 000.00
Partizan 8 June 2022 12 August 2022 6 1 3 2 016.67
Trenčin 26 May 2023 Present 36 15 11 10 041.67
Total 134 52 36 46 038.81

Notes

  1. ^ Official UEFA matches only

References

  1. ^ "Ilija Stolica" (in Serbian). partizanopedia.rs. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Police arrest Sint Truiden players". CNN. 9 March 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Revolution signs two forwards". New England Revolution. Archived from the original on 9 August 2010.
  4. ^ a b c "2024 Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  5. ^ Connolly, John (15 August 2010). "Ilija Stolica rescues Revs". Boston Herald. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  6. ^ Lemieux, Jeff (14 August 2010). "New England Revolution 1, Houston Dynamo 0". Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Monarcas defeat Revs, capture SuperLiga crown". Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  8. ^ Lemieux, Jeff (6 April 2011). "Revs 1, Whitecaps FC 1". Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Murray, Stolica loaned to FC New York". revolutionsoccer.net. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Revs decline contract options on Perovic, Stolica | New England Revolution". Revolutionsoccer.net. 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Ilija Stolica". 11v11.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Ilija Stolica podneo ostavku" (in Serbian). b92.net. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Ilija Stolica novi trener Vojvodine" (in Serbian). b92.net. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
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