“It was definitely a big shock for me leaving home at such a young age away from family, friends, my life that I grew up with in Wellington, New Zealand. But ultimately it was for the thing that I love most — football.”
Stamenic’s journey begins with a story of displacement. His father fled Serbia’s city of Novi Sad during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, seeking safety far from the chaos.
“It was during the Yugoslavian war. It was a difficult time for him and his family and they were just looking for an out, to get away from the chaos,” Stamenic explains. “Luckily, and fortunate enough for me, it was New Zealand where he met my mum.”
His mother, of Samoan descent, added another rich cultural layer to his upbringing. The family’s household in Wellington was an exotic blend.
“Yeah, it’s quite a weird mix,” he laughs.
“There is a huge culture difference when it comes to Christmases and New Year’s and Easters. But it was crazy how connected and how well they got along. They’re from different sides of the world and completely different cultures — but it’s a nice mix and I’m proud to be both.”
The combination made Stamenic as comfortable in a rugby-mad Samoan family gathering as in a Serbian kitchen.
“All of my family from my mum’s side were huge Samoan boys and they all played rugby,” he says.
“But my dad had that love for football, who pushed me to try and play football. I touched the football for the first time when I was really young and I loved it.”