The Swope Park Rangers have signed Swedish winger Robert Mirosavic, the club announced on Monday. Mirosavic played under current SPR head coach Nikola Popovic at Benfica, and will join the Rangers pending the receipt of his P-1 Visa, International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and pending USL and federation approval.
āIām very excited to start playing for the Swope Park Rangers,ā Mirosavic said. āIām very happy because Iāve known Nikola Popovic for a long time, I know how he wants to play and I feel like I fit in his game. Itās a good step for me in my career.ā
āRobert was an extremely promising player when he was younger, so weāre very happy to have him here,ā Swope Park Rangers head coach Nikola Popovic said. āHe has excellent characteristics to play anywhere in the front line. I think itās a very good addition for the club.ā
Mirosavic was born and raised in Ćngelholm, Sweden and joined local club Helsingborg IFās Academy. After scoring 49 goals in 45 games for the clubās youth sides, Mirosavic spent time on trial at Arsenal in 2011 before opting to join Portuguese side Benfica in 2012 amid interest from Real Madrid.
The 22-year-old spent two years at Benfica, playing alongside current Rangers midfielder Kevin Oliveira in the clubās Academy. In 2014, Mirosavic returned to Sweden to join hometown club Ćngelholms FF, making 15 appearances for the side in all competitions ā scoring the winning goal in a Swedish Cup victory over SƤvedalens IF.
In early 2016, Mirosavic moved to fellow Swedish outfit Hƶgaborgs BK ā the same club where former Barcelona, Manchester United and Celtic forward Henrik Larsson began his career.
On the international stage, Mirosavic has represented Sweden at various youth levels and captained Sweden Under-17 National Team in the 2012 UEFA U-17 Championship qualifiers.
VITALS
Robert Mirosavic (mirro-SAV-itch)
Position: Midfielder
Born: 2/6/95 (22 years old)
Height: 5-8
Weight: 165 lbs.
Last Club: Hƶgaborgs BK
Hometown: Ćngelholm, Sweden
Birthplace: Ćngelholm, Sweden
Citizenship: Sweden
Instagram: @robertmirosavic