Neven Subotic is a Saint-Etienne player !

After Robert Beric, Yann M’Vila and Paul-Georges Ntep, As Saint-Etienne is continuing its ambitious, winter recruitment process. This Thursday the Verts welcome Neven Subotic, the Serbian, central defender who has officially joined ASSE by signing a year and a half contract. Another powerful weapon in the arsenal of Jean-Louis Gasset and his staff.

Neven Subotic was born December 10^th, 1988 in Banja Luka, in present Bosnia. As a young man, he fled his war-torn country in order to live in Germany and then the United States. It was there that he discovered his love of football with The South Florida Bulls men’s soccer team.
 
In 2006, he returned to Germany where he integrated himself into the FSV Mayence Academy. He was quickly noticed by the professional team’s coach Jürgen Klopp, who didn’t wait long in giving him a chance at the professional level. The German coach called him two seasons later when he took the reigns of Borussia Dortmund.

Neven Subotic established himself there as well. His club contested the supremacy of Bayern Munich by becoming the Germany Champion of 2011, then by winning the Double Cup championship the following season. Dortmund performed very well in the Champions League, only giving way in the finals against FC Bayern München (1-2), after having been the ones to eliminate Real Madrid in the semi-finals (4-1, 0-2).
 
As part of a team that performs spectacularly, Neven Subotic became the standard for a central defender. Between 2008 and 2013, he played five consecutive seasons, playing more than 40 official matches. He had a huge impact on the recent history of Ruhr where he stayed for nine years! It’s because of his commitment that his managers were willing to thank him by letting him sign with the team of his choice.
 
Moreover, Neven Subotic has been selected for the Serbian National Team 37 times and he played in the World Cup Championship in South Africa in 2010.
 
The central defender of impressive physical proportions (1.93m, 85 kg) has played more than 347 official matches since the beginning of his career, of which 27 were in the Ligue des Champions.

As one of the Verts, he will wear the number 28.
 
Neven Subotic: “I’m very happy to join ASSE. I spoke with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with Loïc Perrin and with the coach as well. The discussions went very well. These last few days, I was waiting for the signing, but today I know that my future is with ASSE. My qualities? I’m combatant, I like to fight. I know the entire history of the club, its rich past. I also know that the French Championship is very athletic. Physically, I’m ready, ready to give everything I’ve got to the team, to Saint-Etienne.
 
Roland Romeyer, President of AS Saint-Etienne: “Neven Subotic is a player of international renown like Yann M'Vila and Paul-Georges Ntep. He has a lot of experience and the temperament of a leader who will bring the team to an even higher level of performance. Before the break, we had taken it upon ourselves to hire a player that has experience playing every position, we respect this level of commitment. We’re in a difficult situation right now but we have a solid base, which allowed us to recruit ambitiously. By welcoming to our team a former finalist in the Champions League who has won not once but twice the German Championship, we prove once again that ASSE is still an active club.