At 185 centimetres tall, with an instinct for goals and experience across several European football cultures, Milica Babić is a striker with a profile that is becoming increasingly valuable in the modern women’s game.
Last season, she once again showed exactly what she can offer in the final third. In just half a season with Emina, Babić scored 12 goals and earned a place among the Kristalnih 11 – the Best XI of the Bosnian championship.
But her football story stretches well beyond those numbers. She has already experienced Italian football with Sassuolo, as well as playing in Greece, Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the international stage, she was part of the historic Serbia U19 generation that finished fifth at the European Championship – the best result ever achieved by a Serbian women’s youth national team.
In an exclusive interview with womengool.com, Babić speaks about becoming a complete number nine, what different European football cultures have taught her, the emotions of scoring goals for Serbia, life away from the pitch – and why the rapid rise of Turkish women’s football has caught her attention.
Milica, last season was a very successful one for you individually. You scored 12 goals in half a season for Emina and were selected in the league’s Best XI at the Kristalnih 11 awards. How do you look back on that period?
As a striker, I believe individual achievements are important because they usually reflect how much you have been able to contribute to your team. Looking back, I’m very proud of that period. Scoring 12 goals in half a season and being selected for the league’s Best XI was a great recognition of my performances, but the most important thing for me was knowing that those goals were helping the team.
At the same time, I try not to look at achievements as a finish line. They give you confidence, but they should also create even more motivation to improve and reach another level.
As a 185cm centre-forward, you have a very distinctive profile for women’s football. How would you describe yourself as a striker, and which qualities do you believe make you most dangerous in the final third?
First and foremost, I see myself as a goalscorer. I’m also a very hardworking and determined player, and giving up is simply not part of my mentality.
Of course, at 185cm my physical presence is naturally one of my strengths. I can compete in duels, protect the ball and give the team a strong reference point in attack, but I don’t want my game to be defined only by my height. One quality I particularly value is that I’m genuinely comfortable with both feet, which gives me more solutions inside and around the penalty area and makes me less predictable for defenders.
Do you feel that playing as a classic number nine is becoming a special quality in modern women’s football, where many teams are looking for forwards who can combine physical presence, movement and technical ability?
Absolutely. I think a true number nine is becoming an increasingly valuable profile because modern football asks a striker to do much more than simply wait inside the penalty area.
My height and physical qualities give me an advantage in holding up the ball, competing in duels and attacking crosses, but movement and understanding space are equally important. A striker today has to know when to come towards the ball, when to attack the space behind the defence and how to create space for teammates. The more complete you become in those areas, the more difficult you are to defend against.
You have already experienced football in several different countries, including Italy with Sassuolo, as well as Greece, Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina. What has playing abroad taught you, both as a footballer and as a person?
Playing abroad has taught me to look at both football and life from different perspectives. Every country has its own mentality, football culture and way of working, so every new experience forces you to adapt and learn something about yourself.
It has also helped me understand more clearly what I want from my career and what kind of player and person I want to become. Probably the most important lesson has been learning to compete with myself every day. Wherever you are, the objective should be to become a better version of yourself than you were yesterday.
Which football culture or league has influenced your game the most so far, and what have you taken from each of those experiences?
Italy and Sweden probably influenced my development the most, but in very different ways.
Italy taught me to think and react more quickly. The tactical side of the game forces you to understand situations earlier and make decisions faster. Sweden, on the other hand, helped me become physically stronger and develop the qualities that are especially important for my position.
I think combining those experiences has made me a more complete striker. Every league has left something in my game, and that is one of the biggest benefits of building a career in different football environments.
One of the biggest moments of your international career came with Serbia U19, when the team finished fifth at the European Championship – the best result in the history of Serbian women’s football. What memories do you have from that tournament?
All the years I spent with the national team are among the most beautiful memories of my life, and that European Championship will always have a special place in my career.
What we achieved was definitely not a coincidence. From the first day, we were a real team. We supported one another both on and off the pitch, and there was a genuine feeling that we were fighting for something together.
For me personally, the tournament carries both very happy and emotional memories because we achieved something historic, but it was also my final camp with that national team. Maybe that mixture of emotions is exactly why I remember it so strongly.
You and Nina Matejić were Serbia’s only goalscorers at that European Championship. How much confidence did performing and scoring at that level give you at such an important stage of your career?
First of all, Nina Matejić is one of my closest friends, both in football and in life, so the fact that she assisted my goal made that moment even more special.
Performing and scoring on a stage like the European Championship naturally gives you confidence because you prove to yourself that you can make a difference against very strong opposition. But scoring for your country is difficult to compare with anything else in football.
It was an extremely emotional moment for me. You can even see in the video that I cried afterwards. Wearing the Serbian jersey was always an honour, and scoring at a European Championship while representing your country is a memory that stays with you forever.
When you look at your development since that tournament, in which areas do you think you have improved the most as a striker?
Probably the biggest improvement has come in my movement and my overall understanding of the striker position.
With experience, you begin to understand that good movement is sometimes more important than simply being faster or stronger than your opponent. I’ve become better at recognising spaces, choosing the right moment to make my runs and understanding how defenders react.
At the same time, I’ve improved my explosiveness and physical strength. I feel that today I understand my own qualities much better and know how to use them more efficiently.
You have already played in different European leagues. Do you follow Turkish women’s football and the development of the Turkish league? What is your impression of the level, the clubs and the growing investment in women’s football there?
Yes, definitely. I’ve been following the development of the Turkish league, and I think the progress it has made is very interesting.
You can see that the competition is becoming increasingly professional and ambitious. Strong clubs are investing more, there are more international players arriving, and that naturally raises both the quality and visibility of the league.
For a player, it is always attractive when you see a football environment moving forward and clubs showing real ambition. From what I have seen, Turkey is becoming exactly that kind of environment, which is why I look at the league very positively.
From a striker’s perspective, do you think the Turkish league could suit your characteristics – physical football, attacking teams, strong clubs and an increasingly international environment?
Definitely. From a football perspective, I actually think my characteristics could fit the Turkish league very well.
There is a strong physical component to the game, but at the same time there are ambitious teams that want to attack and have quality players around the final third. For a striker with my profile, that combination can be very interesting.
I also like the increasingly international character of the league because playing alongside and against footballers from different countries always helps you develop. I believe it would be an environment where I could show my qualities immediately, but also continue improving as a player.
Would playing in Turkey be an interesting challenge for you at some point in your career, especially with the league attracting more international players and becoming increasingly competitive?
Absolutely. I would see playing in Turkey as a very exciting challenge and, under the right circumstances, I could definitely imagine it being the right next step in my career.
Every league I have experienced so far has taught me something different, and Turkey seems to offer a very interesting combination of physical football, technical quality, passionate clubs and an increasingly international atmosphere.
As a player, you always want to put yourself in environments that challenge you and allow you to discover another level of your game. I would genuinely enjoy the opportunity to test myself there and see what I could achieve in that kind of competition.
Away from football, what is Milica Babić like? How do you usually spend your free time, and what helps you switch off mentally from training and matches?
Off the pitch, I’m probably a little different from the person people see during matches. I have a strong personality, but my friends would probably describe me as energetic, funny and maybe just a little bit crazy! (laughs)
I love spending time with my friends, and I also enjoy being active with my dog. Running, cycling and swimming are some of the things that help me relax and clear my mind.
I’m generally a very positive and happy person. When I step onto the pitch, though, another side comes out – I become much more intense, competitive and completely focused on winning.
You have already lived in several countries at a relatively young age. Has that made you more adventurous in your private life as well – do you enjoy travelling, discovering new cultures and adapting to new environments? And when you think about the next step in your career, what would make a new club and country feel like the right choice for you?
Definitely. Travelling and living in different countries has become an important part of who I am, and I genuinely enjoy discovering new environments, cultures and ways of thinking.
Football has given me the opportunity to experience things that I probably wouldn’t have experienced otherwise, and I think every move has made me more independent and open-minded.
For my next step, the football project is obviously very important. I want a competitive league where I can play, develop and be challenged every day. But I also value an environment with ambitious and open-minded people, where I can feel comfortable enough to be myself.
Ultimately, I don’t want the next move to be simply another country on my football CV. I want it to be an experience that helps me become a better footballer and a better version of myself.
