Energie Cottbus secured another deal on deadline day in addition to Tolga Cigerci. Mladen Cvjetinovic joins from second division side Holstein Kiel.

On the last day of the winter transfer window, FC Energie Cottbus not only signed midfielder Tolga Cigerci, but also strengthened its defense with Mladen Cvjetinovic. The 3rd division leaders announced this on Tuesday evening.

The 22-year-old center back will be on loan from second division club Holstein Kiel until the summer of 2026.

Head coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz said of the signing: “We agreed within the coaching staff that we wanted to do something in defense. When the opportunity arose to bring Mladen in on loan, we jumped at it. Despite his young age, Mladen has already gained a lot of experience at a high level in the 3rd division and brings assertiveness and quality to the team. We are convinced that he can help us move forward.“

Squad planner Maniyel Nergiz continued: ”Mladen is a really good guy who has everything we could want in terms of athleticism and personality. I know him from his time in Ingolstadt. We had great discussions and would like to thank Holstein Kiel for their cooperation and the smooth transfer process.” Cvjetinovic was born in Berlin, where he took his first steps in soccer in Neukölln. From there, he moved to the Hertha BSC youth academy and later to Viktoria Berlin. His first season playing for Viktoria Berlin in the Northeast Regional League was followed by a move to FC Ingolstadt in 2023. In Ingolstadt, he played a total of 58 games in the 3rd division over two seasons before making the move to second division club Holstein Kiel last summer.

Due to injury, the 1.88 m tall center back only made one appearance of 76 minutes for the Baltic Sea club this season and is now set to gain as much playing experience as possible with the Lusatians. The defender could make his debut this coming Saturday (February 7, 2 p.m.) against his former club Ingolstadt, of all teams.