Full name Antonio Rukavina Number 22 Name Antonio Rukavina Height 1.77 m Career start 2002 | Playing position Years Team Role Footballer Weight 74 kg | |
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Date of birth (1984-01-26) 26 January 1984 (age 31) Similar People Mario Gaspar Perez, Miroslav Dukic, Radomir Antic, Ljubinko Drulovic, Radovan Curcic | ||
Antonio rukavina cro vol 2
Antonio Rukavina (Serbian Cyrillic: antonio Rukavina, born 26 January 1984) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Villarreal CF as a right back.
Contents
- Antonio rukavina cro vol 2
- Antonio rukavina gruesst bvb fans und do21 de leser
- Club career
- International career
- Personal life
- References
Antonio rukavina gruesst bvb fans und do21 de leser
Club career
Rukavina joined FK Partizan in January 2007 after an impressive spell with FK Bezanija, and eventually became team captain. On 5 January 2008, Rukavina was transferred to German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €2.5m. After one year Rukavina left Dortmund on 2 February 2009; he was loaned to TSV 1860 Munchen until the end of the season. In July 2009, he transferred permanently to 1860 Munich, with Sven Bender making the opposite move to Borussia Dortmund in lieu of a transfer fee. In June 2012, he was released from 1860 Munich and signed for Spanish side, Real Valladolid, who recently won promotion to La Liga under the guidance of Rukavina's countrymen and former coach Miroslav Dukic. On 8 July 2014, he completed his move to La Liga side Villarreal, signing a two-year deal.
International career
Rukavina is a member of the Serbian national team after being called up from the U21 team. He made his international debut for Serbian national team on 6 June 2007, in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match in Helsinki against Finland. He was part of the Serbian 23-man squad at the FIFA World Cup 2010.
Personal life
In 2006, Croatian newspapers erranously claimed that he is of Croatian descent, and thus eligible to play for the Croatian national team, the leaders of the Croatian team seeking to win him over, however, Rukavina stated that "I have to disappoint all of the leadership of the Croatian Football Association, because I'm a Serb and I intend to play exclusively for the country where I was born. There has never been talks of me playing for Croatia, nor have I thought about it. Serbia is my choice, and every time I hear the hymn Boze pravde I have goose bumps and feel joy." Sharing the surname with Ante Rukavina, a Croatian footballer, the newspaper said that the surname was Croatian, upon which he replied: "What about the surname? So many people, Serbs and Croats, have the same surnames. I know that my dad's grandmother was born in Croatia and that is my only connection with Croatians. My mother and father are from here [Serbia], and I repeat once again that Serbia is my choice.
