A journeyman, Svitlica played for several clubs in FR Yugoslavia, as well as France and Greece, before Dragan Okuka brought him to Legia Warsaw in the summer of 2001.
He scored ten goals from 28 appearances in all competitions during his debut season in Poland, helping the club win the national championship that year.
In the following season, Svitlica netted 29 goals in 38 games (24 in 29 in the league), becoming the first foreigner ever to win the Golden Boot in the Polish Ekstraklasa.
[1] Despite an impressive start (Svitlica scored against Bayern Munich beating Oliver Kahn on his debut after coming off the bench), his career in the Bundesliga never really took off and Hannover offloaded him after just half a year.
He spent the following two seasons with LR Ahlen in the second tier of German football, before returning to Poland and joining Wisła Kraków.