Matija Nastasić

Matija Nastasić is a Serbian defender who currently plays for Manchester City in the Premier League. He was born on 28 March 1993 in Valjevo, Serbia.

Groomed at one of the most prestigious Serbian football club Partizan, Matija reached its first team in 2010. Aged only 17 and lacking enough experience, he couldn’t break into the starting lineup at once and the club management sent him out on loan to develop his skills and abilities at Teleoptik. There a young hopeful channeled all his energy and efforts to playing professional football. He made 21 decent appearances for a season-long spell at his temporary club.

In the summer 2011, Nastasić returned to his parent club but didn’t stay on for long there as Italian side Fiorentina bought out his contract from Partizan in 2011. He made his Serie A debut for La Viola in a 2-0 win over Bologna on 11 September 2011. During the 2011/12 season, Serbian defender scored 2 goals in 26 games for the club.

It was a match between Fiorentina and AC Milan which became a crucial turn in his life. Matija Nastasić brought out his full potential and strength providing defensive cover against Zlatan Ibrahimovic and immediately sparked incredible interest of Manchester City scouts. In the 2012 inter-season, he joined the English giants in the Premier League signing a five-year contract with the top-flight club. He made his decent debut for the City in the UEFA Champions League group stage opener against Real Madrid on 18 September 2012.

Matija Nastasić was a regular for the Serbia youth squad from 2009 till 2011, coming through U-17, U-19 and U-21 teams. Since 2012, he is capped to the national team of the country.