Quick Facts
Biography
Antonio Rukavina (Serbian Cyrillic: Антонио Рукавина; born 26 January 1984) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Spanish club Villarreal and the Serbia national team.
Club career
Rukavina started out at his local club Bežanija, making his senior debuts in the 2002–03 season, as they won promotion to the Second League of Serbia and Montenegro. He also helped them win the 2005–06 Serbian First League, thus earning promotion to the Serbian SuperLiga.
In December 2006, it was announced that Partizan and Bežanija have agreed terms for the transfer of Rukavina and Žarko Lazetić. Both players signed four-year deals in January 2007. Under newly appointed manager Miroslav Đukić, Rukavina immediately established himself as a first team regular, scoring three league goals from 15 appearances in the second half of the 2006–07 season. He was subsequently named the team's captain ahead of the 2007–08 campaign.
In January 2008, Rukavina was transferred to German club Borussia Dortmund. He made his Bundesliga debut on 2 February 2008, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–3 away draw at MSV Duisburg. In February 2009, Rukavina moved on loan to 2. Bundesliga side 1860 Munich until the end of the season. He was permanently transferred to 1860 Munich in June 2009, with Sven Bender making the opposite move in lieu of a transfer fee.
In July 2012, Rukavina moved to Spain and signed with Valladolid, on a three-year deal, thus joining his countryman and former manager Miroslav Đukić. He made his La Liga debut in a 1–0 away win against Zaragoza on 20 August 2012, playing the whole match. In his two seasons at José Zorrilla, Rukavina collected 71 appearances and scored twice in the top flight of Spanish football.
On 8 July 2014, Rukavina signed a two-year contract for Villarreal.
International career
Rukavina represented Serbia at the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. They eventually finished as runners-up after losing 1–4 to the Netherlands in the final.
On 2 June 2007, Rukavina made his full international debut for Serbia, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–0 win away at Finland in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier. He was named in the final 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but failed to make any appearances.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 10 September 2017
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Super Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bežanija | 2002–03 | 27 | 8 | — | — | — | 27 | 8 | |||
| 2003–04 | 30 | 11 | — | — | — | 30 | 11 | ||||
| 2004–05 | 33 | 2 | — | — | — | 33 | 2 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 36 | 3 | — | — | — | 36 | 3 | ||||
| 2006–07 | 16 | 2 | — | — | 16 | 2 | |||||
| Partizan | 2006–07 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | |
| 2007–08 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 19 | 1 | ||
| Borussia Dortmund | 2007–08 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1860 Munich (loan) | 2008–09 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| 1860 Munich | 2009–10 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| Valladolid | 2012–13 | 37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 1 | ||
| 2013–14 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 1 | |||
| Villarreal | 2014–15 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 422 | 33 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 474 | 33 | |
International
- As of 5 September 2017
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 2007 | 7 | 0 |
| 2008 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 0 | |
Honours
Club
- Bežanija
- Serbian First League: 2005–06
- Serbian League Belgrade: 2002–03
- Borussia Dortmund
- German Supercup: 2008
- DFB-Pokal: Runner-up 2007–08
International
- Serbia
- UEFA Under-21 Championship: Runner-up 2007
