Stefan Ristovski (; born 12 February 1992) is a Macedonian footballer who plays as a right-back.
Club career Born in Skopje, Ristovski began his career at hometown club Vardar before he signed a five-year deal with Italian club Parma in January 2010. He was 17 at the time but the deal could not become official until he turned 18.
Ristovski joined Serie B club Crotone on loan on 6 July 2011. After not receiving much playing time, the loan was cancelled in the January 2012 and he was then loaned to Frosinone for the remainder of the campaign. On 5 July 2012, he was again sent on loan, to Serie B side Bari. He was then loaned out to Latina in the same division for the 2013–14 season, returning to them for a second time in January 2015. Before the bankruptcy of Parma, Ristovski was under contract with Parma until 30 June 2019.PARMA FOOTBALL CLUB S.P.A. IN FALLIMENTO VALUTAZIONE DELLA AZIENDA SPORTIVA
In July 2015, Ristovski moved to Rijeka in Croatia. The transfer was facilitated through Rijeka's Italian partner club, Spezia. In order for Ristovski to remain eligible under Italy's non-EU quota, he was signed by Spezia on a free transfer and then loaned to Rijeka. On 7 August 2017, Ristovski signed with Sporting. On 2 February 2021, he signed for GNK Dinamo Zagreb. He made his debut for Dinamo on 13 February in a derby against Osijek. In his debut, he received two yellow cards and was sent off.
International career
Ristovski made his debut for Macedonia on 10 August 2011 in an away friendly against Azerbaijan and has, as of April 2020, earned a total of 52 caps, scoring 1 goal.Appearances for (North) Macedonia National Team – RSSSF He represented the nation at UEFA Euro 2020, their first major tournament. In August 2023, while captain of the national team (a title inherited from Goran Pandev), Ristovski feuded with head coach Blagoja Milevski over team philosophy and cohesion. He released a public statement on social media announcing his withdrawal from the national team. The announcement came within a month of two national team Euro 2024 qualifiers. The impasse was spawned after the previous head coach Igor Angelovski announced that his contract would not be renewed as he himself had problems with the new administration team of FFM in 2021 despite the team's qualification for its first major tournament. Ristevski subsequently returned for two friendlies the following year.
Personal life His younger brother Milan is also a professional footballer and North Macedonia international.
Ristovski also has Portuguese citizenship, and his son was born in Portugal.
Career statistics Club
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsVardar2008–09 1. MFL60————602009–10111————111Total171————171Crotone (loan)2011–12Serie B1010———20Frosinone (loan)2011–12Lega Pro120————120Bari (loan)2012–13Serie B20010———210Latina (loan)2013–14Serie B37310———383Parma2014–15Serie A60————60Latina (loan)2014–15Serie B190————190Rijeka2015–16Prva HNL32050—10—3802016–17Prva HNL33061—20—4112017–18Prva HNL30——41—71Total680111—71—862Sporting (loan)2017–18Primeira Liga80701070—230Sporting2018–19Primeira Liga230203050—3302019–20Primeira Liga210003020—260Total5209070140—820Dinamo Zagreb2020–21Prva HNL8020—60—1602021–2230120—130—4512022–2328420—110—4142023–2426030—140104402024–2528220—90—392Total1207110—530101857Sarajevo2025–26Bosnian Premier League28330—20103432026–27Bosnian Premier League0000—20—20Total28330—4010363Career total38014371707812050416
International
National team Year Apps GoalsMacedonia 2011 1 0 2012 3 0 2013 7 0 2014 4 0 2015 6 0 2016 8 0 2017 9 1 2018 6 0NorthMacedonia 2019 8 0 2020 8 1 2021 14 0 2022 2 0 Total 76 2
As of match played 8 September 2020. North Macedonia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ristovski goal.
+ International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competitionNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition111 June 2017Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia331–21–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification28 September 2020Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia541–11–12020–21 UEFA Nations League C
Honours Club Rijeka Prva HNL: 2016–17 Croatian Cup: 2016–17
Sporting CP Taça de Portugal: 2018–19 Taça da Liga: 2017–18, 2018–19
Dinamo Zagreb Prva HNL: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24 Croatian Cup: 2020–21 ,2023-24
Individual Croatian First Football League Team of the Year: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
References
External links Stefan Ristovski at Football Federation of Macedonia Stefan Ristovski at MacedonianFootball.com