Kingston City have further bolstered their squad with the return of playmaker Velibor Mitrovic who becomes the club’s ninth signing of the summer.
The 24-year-old spent the 2014/15 season playing in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Radnik Bijeljina before osteitis pubis cut short his Balkan adventure.
A South Melbourne junior, Mitrovic had a stint in his teenage years in the illustrious academy of Serbian giants Partizan Belgrade.
He made his breakthrough in senior football with the Bentleigh Greens in 2009, helping Dean Hennessey’s men earn promotion to the top flight.
However he struggled for game time at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex under Goran Lozanovski in 2010 before signing for the Springvale White Eagles whom he also helped clinch promotion to the VPL.
A move to the Southern Stars in 2011 followed where Mitrovic was reunited with Hennessey and once more played his part in a promotion-winning outfit as the Dingley-based club achieved elevation into top tier of Victorian football.
In 2012 he made the short move to Kingston City in State League 2, where his performances drew wide praise and included a stunning volley strike against rivals South Springvale which went viral.
His first spell at the Grange Reserve culminated in a successful debut NPL1 campaign where the attacking midfielder scored nine goals in 25 league outings.
A move to Europe at the end of 2014 followed as he joined FK Radnik and featured in contests against league powers Zeljeznicar, Sarajevo, Zrinjski Mostar and Siroki Brijeg.
Injuries forced him to return to Melbourne and having missed the NPL transfer deadline he turned out for Gus MacLeod’s Langwarrin outfit in State League One, where he spent the latter half of the 2015 campaign.
Mitrovic had recently trialled with South Melbourne and scored in their friendlies matches against Box Hill United and Port Melbourne Sharks respectively, but decided to stay with Kingston City to ensure more first-team football.
His return to the Grange Reserve is an added boost for Nick Tolios’ side who have already signed Ryan Love (Bentleigh Greens), Rowan McNamee (Oakleigh Cannons), Slaven Vranesevic (Casey Comets), Mouad Zwed (Canberra FC), Jerry Karpeh (South China), Simo Jovanovic (Springvale White Eagles) and recent visa additions Julien Chaumet (France) and Zdenek Koukal (Czech Republic).
Kingston City open their NPL2 campaign with a Monday night home clash against Box Hill United on February 22.
Image: Graeme Furlong