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Lazar Stefanovic

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Lazar Stefanovic
Stefanovic in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth (2006-08-10) August 10, 2006 (age 18)
Place of birth Clearwater, Florida, United States
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Toronto FC
Number 76
Youth career
Oakville SC
2016– Toronto FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2024 Toronto FC II 31 (0)
2023 → Toronto FC (loan) 2 (0)
2025– Toronto FC 0 (0)
International career‡
2022 Canada U17 13 (1)
2024 Canada U20 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 12, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of February 27, 2024

Lazar Stefanovic (Serbian Cyrillic: Лазар Стефановић, romanized: Lazar Stefanović; born August 10, 2006) is a professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. Born in the United States, he is a youth international for Canada.

Early life

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Born in Clearwater, Florida, Stefanovic moved to Canada at a young age and was raised in Oakville, Ontario.[1] He began playing soccer at age three with Oakville SC.[2] In 2016, he joined the Toronto FC Academy.[3] In June 2023, he was named to the MLS Next All-Star Game.[4]

Club career

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Stefanovic with Toronto FC II in 2023

On April 30, 2022, Stefanovic made his professional debut with Toronto FC II in MLS Next Pro against FC Cincinnati 2, as an academy call-up.[1] On June 30, 2023, he signed an official professional contract with Toronto FC II, after having already played 13 games that season as an academy call-up.[1] The next day, he joined the Toronto FC first team on a short-term loan,[5] making his Major League Soccer debut that day in a substitute appearance in a 1–0 loss to Real Salt Lake.[6][7] He became the second-youngest player to appear in an MLS match for Toronto FC (16 years, 10 months and 22 days).[8] He signed another short-term loan ahead of a Leagues Cup match against Mexican club Atlas.[9][10] He joined the first team for their 2024 preseason training camp.[11] He missed much of the 2024 season due to injury from a broken bone, suffered while on international duty.[12]

After initially signing as an off-roster player earlier, he would officially join the Toronto FC first team roster for the 2025 season.[12]

International career

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Stefanovic is of Serbian descent, born in the United States, and raised in Canada, and eligible for all three nations at international level.[13]

In August 2022, Stefanovic was called up to a training camp for the United States U17 team.[14]

In October 2022, he made his debut in the Canadian program, attending a camp with the Canada U17 team.[2] He represented Canada at the 2023 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, where he scored his first goal on 22 February 2023, against Puerto Rico U17.[15] In February 2024, he was named to the Canada U20 for the 2024 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship qualifiers.[16]

Career statistics

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As of match played June 12, 2024[17]
Club Season League Playoffs National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Toronto FC II 2022 MLS Next Pro 1 0 0 0 – – — 1 0
2023 25 0 – – – — 25 0
2024 5 0 — – – — 5 0
Total 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 0
Toronto FC (loan) 2023 Major League Soccer 2 0 – 0 0 – 1[a] 0 3 0
Career total 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 34 0
  1. ^ Appearance in Leagues Cup

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Toronto FC II sign Academy product Lazar Stefanovic". Toronto FC. June 30, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Lazar Stefanovic at the Canadian Soccer Association
  3. ^ Garbutt, Herb (March 9, 2016). "Four Oakville soccer players selected to join TFC Academy". Oakville Beaver.
  4. ^ "Rosters for 2023 MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate". Major League Soccer. June 29, 2023.
  5. ^ "Toronto FC sign Gavran and Stefanovic to short-term agreements". Toronto FC. July 1, 2023.
  6. ^ "Toronto FC loses to Real Salt Lake in Terry Dunfield's debut". Sportsnet. July 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Molinaro, John (August 2, 2023). "Lazar Stefanovic a beacon of light during dark times for TFC". TFC Republic.
  8. ^ Molinaro, John (December 14, 2023). "TFC 2's Lazar Stefanovic offers Toronto FC hope for the future". TFC Republic.
  9. ^ "Toronto FC sign Stefanovic and Batiz to short-term agreements ahead of Leagues Cup match". Toronto FC. July 30, 2023.
  10. ^ "Toronto FC call up Lazar Stefanovic and Jesús Batiz from TFCII for Leagues Cup clash". Waking the Red. July 30, 2023.
  11. ^ Molinaro, John (February 8, 2024). "Random thoughts on TFC: Reds shouldn't rush Lazar Stefanovic". TFC Republic.
  12. ^ a b Davidson, Neil (October 29, 2024). "Toronto FC takes first steps on 'total rebuild,' leaves forward Prince Owusu in limbo". Toronto Star.
  13. ^ Molinaro, John (July 21, 2023). "Lazar Stefanovic: From writing a math exam to making his MLS debut with TFC". TFC Republic.
  14. ^ "U17 MNT Heads to California Training Camp". Top Drawer Soccer. August 16, 2022.
  15. ^ Tierney, Mitchell (February 23, 2023). "Future looking bright at centre-back for Canada at U-17 Concacaf Championship". Canadian Premier League.
  16. ^ Molinaro, John (February 12, 2024). "TFC 2's Lazar Stefanovic named to Canada's under-20 squad". TFC Republic.
  17. ^ Lazar Stefanovic at Soccerway
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