The "Matija Šarkić" memorial football tournament, dedicated to the prematurely deceased goalkeeper of the Montenegrin national team, will be held on April 4th and 5th in Brussels and will become traditional.
The tournament will feature the youngest categories (U13) of the clubs of which Matija was a member, as well as guest clubs from Belgium.
Four teams from England are arriving - Aston Villa, Wolverhampton, Millwall and Birmingham - all four of which Matija played for, and there are also four "Belgians" - Anderlecht, the club where he began his career in the youth categories, as well as Standard Liege, Antwerp and Leuven.
In total, eight respectable clubs will compete in honor of the goalkeeper who passed away suddenly on June 15th of last year, when his career was just in full swing.
The organizers of the memorial are Matija's family and the British School in Brussels.
Matija's oldest brother, Danilo, works at that school as a football coach.
"We have phenomenal conditions - like in the Premier League. It's a school where Matija used to come, train sometimes to stay in shape during the break between seasons, and he also gave lectures to children, school students, talked to them, and shared his experiences," says Danilo Šarkić.
All of Matija's former clubs enthusiastically accepted the invitation.
"We sent an email to Aston Villa - it only took them 20 minutes to respond, in the affirmative of course. And when such a giant as Aston Villa comes, it's easier for others to come too. They even said that they would like to take over the organization of the memorial, maybe from next season, which would be great because it's a club with a big budget," Danilo said.
There was also the idea that the younger football players from Budućnost Podgorica would also participate in the tournament.
"It was not realized, due to the high costs of such a trip, but I hope it will be realized on another occasion, at another Memorial," Danilo said.
Matija Šarkić started playing defense at Anderlecht's academy as an eight-year-old, spent a whole decade at the academy of the biggest Belgian club, and then moved to Aston Villa, where, in addition to working in the youth ranks, he also encountered senior football for the first time.
Villa sent him on loan to Wigan, Stratford and Livingston in Scotland, where he stepped onto the biggest stage. He defended brilliantly, so Wolverhampton bought out his contract in 2020.
New loans followed - Shrewsbury, Birmingham, then Stoke, growing up in the strong Championship, and then moving to Millwall - it turned out to be Matija's last club.
He saved the goal of the senior Montenegrin national team nine times, and passed away just 10 days after his best game in his favorite jersey, against Belgium in Brussels.
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