Who is Milos Degenek, Columbus Crew's new central defender?

Today the Columbus Crew made official the arrival of their new central defender, but upon announcing his name, Crew fans wondered, who is Milos Degenek? Here are all the answers to that question.

Who is Milos Degenek?

Milos Degenek is an Australian soccer player now playing as a defender for Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew S. C. as a free agent, who hails from Red Star Belgrade of Serbia's First Division and is 27 years old.

The player comes to the Crew for the entire 2022 and 2023 season, with an option to renew for 2024 and 2025. 

Where and when was Milos Degenek born?

The player was born in Knin, Croatia on April 28, 1994, and had a complicated childhood due to the socio-political context that his country was living at the time of his birth. In fact, in his first years of life, he lived an exodus with his family. 

This is because his family was part of the Croatian Serb population that was expelled during Operation Storm in the Croatian War of Independence.

For this reason, they had to emigrate to the Serbian and Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade in 1995, where he and his family had to live in a refugee camp and were subjected to NATO airstrikes during the Kosovo War in 1999.

But everything changed for the player's family when he and his parents emigrated to Sydney, Australia a year later and from then on, the player was able to live a normal life, in which he decided to take up soccer. 

How did Milos Degenek perform in the Serbian First Division?

Like many soccer players, Degenek had to play in the lower divisions of the country until he reached the Serbian Super League. 

But his luck changed when he reached the top circuit of his country's soccer, especially playing for Red Star Belgrade, where he played 132 league games and won three consecutive league titles. 

The player also has experience in international tournaments as he participated in 24 matches in the Champions League and Europa League, playing 12 matches in each of these competitions. 

In addition, he has also tried his luck in Asian soccer as in 2019, Degenek played for Al-Hilal Riyadh in the Saudi Arabian Premier League and was a key part of the team winning the AFC Champions League, Asia's continental title.

Despite being born in Croatia, the player has been international with the Australian team being an undisputed starter and playing 33 international duels.

The player joined the Socceroos for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the 2019 Asian Cup.

How has the Columbus Crew received Milos Degenek?

Columbus Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko were quite effusive with the arrival of the player, who he said will bring his championship experience to the Crew to give the team a boost. 

On this, Bezbatchenko said, "Milos is a center back who brings championship experience and leadership to our squad."

He added: "In addition to winning national and continental titles at club level, Milos has gained valuable experience with the Australian national team, including the 2018 World Cup. We believe his attributes will serve him well in our league and look forward to seeing him make an impact on our team."