Vesna Milivojevic is the Liberty A-League Golden Boot leader and a genuine star of the competition. The Canberra United playmaker is also the one that got away for Australian football. She speaks to aleagues.com.au’s Sacha Pisani.
With each passing week, Matildas fans are left thinking what could have been as Sydney-born Vesna Milivojevic tears up the Liberty A-League.
The 21-year-old Canberra United sensation is leading the Golden Boot with eight goals to her name already, but she will never play for Australia.
Milivojevic is already capped at international level by Serbia, racking up 14 caps since her international debut in 2021 for the country where her parents were born.
“I don’t think I was ever close to being involved in the Australian setup,” Milivojevic told aleagues.com.au as she continues to take the Liberty A-League by storm.
“I was never a Junior Matilda, Young Matilda. I was never in the Future Matildas Program. I was never even called into a single camp in the Australian system.
“That’s okay. I’m still going train hard and try to become a professional footballer, which I did.
“I thought I’d be more conflicted but I wasn’t because I really had no ties with the Australian national team unfortunately. I would have loved to have played for Australia, but I was never selected.
“No hard feelings but I play for Serbia.”
According to Football Australia, Milivojevic did train with the Future Matildas program and also attended a Young Matildas camp in 2019 before deciding not to continue.
Clearly, she sees things differently.
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Serbia had been monitoring Milivojevic for years before bringing her into the national team for her debut against Portugal in a FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier back in October 2021.
She scored her maiden international goal against Bulgaria in December that year.
“International football is different to club football. I can’t really describe it in one word,” she said.
“It’s a privilege and honour. It’s very special to play for Serbia. It means a lot to my parents and extended family.
“At that point, it’s more than football. When you hear the national anthem, you get goosebumps. It’s like wow, it’s a really surreal moment. I’m really proud.”
Milivojevic is a player at the top of her game this season, almost unplayable for Canberra.
After joining Canberra ahead of the 2022-23 season, she scored eight goals and supplied three assists as the capital club agonisingly missed out on finals football on goal difference.
This term she already has eight goals in six matches, taking her tally to 16 goals in just 24 appearances for Canberra.
Incredibly, she has found the back of the net 13 times in her last 10 matches.
“I’m really enjoying it, in this team and this club,” Milivojevic said.
“My coach gives me a lot of freedom. He has a lot of belief in me that I can perform on the field, what needs to be done for the team.
“I play my best football when I have freedom.”
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She scored a stunning hat-trick in a 5-1 rout of Brisbane Roar in Round 7. It was a merciless performance, all done with a smile on her face.
“I’ve played football everyday of my life for as long as I can remember. If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, there’s no point doing it. My teammates make it enjoyable for me.
“This is probably the best team I’ve been on. Our environment is so positive and we’re always joking around and having a good time.”
Playing alongside a legend of Australian football in Michelle Heyman has helped Milivojevic thrive in the nation’s capital.
Heyman, who is within touching distance of becoming the first women ever to reach 100 A-Leagues goals, and Milivojevic have struck up an almost telepathic understanding.
“Funny enough, I remember the first training session at Canberra,” she recalled. “I went to the changeroom and I was so intimidated by her. I was like ‘omg, it’s Michelle Heyman!’ But she automatically said hello, introduced herself and then I felt at ease.
“But from day one, we clicked. Off the field and then on the field, we can somehow read each other’s games. I read her runs.
“Having a player of her stature to look up to and play with is really good for me. Her knowledge and her experiences, she tries to pass that down to young players.”
Milivojevic is also benefiting from sacrifices made and experiences abroad.
Growing up, she played “every sport you could think of” before joining a local football club and from there she “never stopped playing”.
The midfielder looked up to a quartet of Brazilian superstars, headlined by former Barcelona and AC Milan playmaker Ronaldinho.
“I loved Ronaldinho, (Lionel) Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo. They were my big inspirations,” said Milivojevic.
“I remember I would go to the local library and I’d go on YouTube and just type in Ronaldinho highlights. Then I would try to copy what he did in training.”
Having emerged from Bankstown City in New South Wales, Milivojevic had her first taste of A-Leagues football with Western Sydney Wanderers in 2019-20 before moving to Serbia.
Back in the land of her parents’ birth, she played for Spartak Subotica, who had won nine successive league titles before her arrival.
During her two stints with Spartak, she went up against two-time European champions Wolfsburg in UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifying and Tameka Yallop’s Brann.
It was an eye-opening experience.
“They dominate the league really. That’s changing now which is good to see other teams are getting stronger,” Milivojevic said of Spartak.
“I went there and knew there were national team players in the squad. I knew it would be a really big experience for me. The fact we played Champions League qualifiers. I versed some big European teams and to do that at a young age was really beneficial for me. I saw the level I needed to be at.
“Just to see players who have played in Euros or World Cups and to play against them, it was eye opening for me.”
In between those two spells in Serbia, Milivojevic also spent a brief stint with Borussia Bocholt in Germany prior to joining Canberra last year.
“It wasn’t the best six months of my life I admit. Any experience where you’re away from home, you know you’re going to grow as a person,” she reflected.
“I spent two-and-a-half years away from home at a young age. At the time it was tough of course, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without the sacrifices me and my family made.”
Now, Milivojevic is flourishing in Canberra and while she doesn’t like to think too far ahead, she has a big international dream.
“With the national team, we have the chance to qualify for our first Euros,” said Milivojevic, who has also been playing for Serbia alongside Western United’s TJ Vlajnic – a player described as a “support system” for her in the national team.
“In February we have a playoff game. If we beat Iceland, then we qualify for our first ever Euros tournament. It would make history for women’s football in Serbia. I want to give my all for the national team in whatever role that is.
“To play in a big tournament like a Euros or World Cup is a big goal for me.
“On an individual level, I would love to play in a big club overseas. You want to be playing in the Champions League and those big games. But there is still a way to go. I need to stay humble, not get ahead of myself which I never do.”
