Wisconsin Soccer Central

Todor Atlija (Franklin) went to Serbia in June for what was supposed to be a few weeks of summer training with Belgrade club FK Vozdovac. But how things have changed for the 17-year-old over the past seven months.

Atlija accepted an offer to remain at Vozdovac, has been playing for the club's youth teams and recently acquired Serbian citizenship.

The trip to Belgrade in June wasn't his first to his family's homeland – he and his older brother Nikola, who now plays for the University of Wisconsin, trained with Red Star Belgrade four years ago and Todor returned to train with Vozdovac in 2013.

Something was different for him this time, though.

"I actually wasn't planning on staying when I was going there, but the coaches really wanted me to stay. They really liked me," Atlija said in a phone interview from Franklin last month, just before he returned to Belgrade after spending three weeks back home.

"I realized this is kind of the age where if I want to take soccer as something serious, this is the age that I need to take it more seriously. The years before, I wasn't planning on staying, I just wanted the opportunity to see what it was like."

Atlija came up through United Serbians SC and Kenosha's United FC before playing two years in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, first with FC Wisconsin Nationals in 2013-14 and then moving to the Chicago Fire the next season – he had 19 goals in 52 appearances (37 starts) over those two seasons. And he also played on the Wisconsin and Region II Olympic Development Program teams.

But Europe was never far from his mind.

He trained at Scottish powerhouse Celtic FC in summer 2014 in addition to his trips to Serbia, which always included visiting family members. Atlija's father, Zoran, was born in Croatia but moved to Serbia at a young age before coming to the U.S., and both of his maternal grandparents are Serbian.

Vozdovac's first team plays in the Serbian SuperLiga, the country's top league, and Atlija has been training with the club's team at his age group (1998 birth year) and with the 1997 team. He wasn't allowed to appear in league matches until becoming a Serbian citizen, which happened in the past few weeks. He's now a registered club player and eligible to play in league, cup and international matches.

However, he did play in some friendlies in the fall and winter. Just before his trip home in December, Atlija had a goal and an assist in three matches with the 1997 side. Coincidentally, the assist came in a match against FK Brodarac, whose roster includes Vuk Latinovich (Brookfield Central) – unfortunately, Latinovich was sidelined by injury at the time. But Atlija said the two southeast Wisconsin natives have found some time to hang out together in Serbia.

Atlija said he goes to school from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, then has training at 2:30 p.m. five days a week. He has three other weekly sessions with an individual trainer to work on things such as weight training and coordination skills, and spends most evenings doing homework and studying.

"I don't really have time to do anything else," said Atlija, who has an apartment 30 minutes from his grandmother's house – she and his grandfather helped Todor during the fall, and Zoran went back from Franklin with him last month.

Atlija said in the U.S., he usually played either up top as a striker or on the right flank, but he's playing mainly as an attacking midfielder for Vozdovac.

"They think that's the best spot for me, they think I'm a good playmaker," he said. "The play is a lot different than it is here in America, for sure. It's like a lot more organized on the field, the ball moves a lot faster – you can just tell, the system is lot more professional."

And that is just the environment he's looking for. Asked if he's considering following his brother's footsteps by playing college soccer, Atlija said: "I definitely want to commit to a college, so I have something to fall back on just in case. But I think I want to play soccer as a professional, that is my first priority."

Might that be at Vozdovac?

"The coaches have been kind of talking to me and telling me that they have plans for my future here ... They want me to stay, for sure. They think I can go up to the next level with their club," Atlija said. "I definitely want to be a professional player, so if this is the right path for me, I'm on the right track."