Jan Oblak

Jan Oblak
Oblak playing for Atlético Madrid in 2015
Personal information
Full name Jan Oblak
Date of birth (1993-01-07) 7 January 1993
Place of birth Škofja Loka, Slovenia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Atlético Madrid
Number 13
Youth career
1999–2003 Ločan
2003–2004 Olimpija
2005–2009 Olimpija Ljubljana
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Olimpija Ljubljana 34 (0)
2010–2014 Benfica 16 (0)
2010 → Beira-Mar (loan) 0 (0)
2011 → Olhanense (loan) 0 (0)
2011–2012 → União de Leiria (loan) 16 (0)
2012–2013 → Rio Ave (loan) 28 (0)
2014– Atlético Madrid 116 (0)
National team‡
2008 Slovenia U15 1 (0)
2009 Slovenia U16 2 (0)
2010–2012 Slovenia U20 4 (0)
2009–2013 Slovenia U21 18 (0)
2012– Slovenia 18 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 May 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 October 2017

Jan Oblak (born 7 January 1993) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the Slovenia national team as a goalkeeper.

Oblak signed for Portuguese club Benfica at the age of 17, and was part of the team that won the domestic treble in the 2013–14 season. He then moved to Atlético Madrid for a fee of €16 million, becoming La Liga's most expensive goalkeeper at that time. In 2015–16 he won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper, conceding an all-time record low of 18 goals. He won the award again in the following two seasons.

Oblak made his senior international debut for Slovenia in 2012.

Club career

Olimpija

"Robert Volk was a goalkeeper and a goalkeeper coach at the same time. He had young Jan Oblak and also Damir Botonjič, who wanted to return back to football after his brother's death. One day Volk noticed Oblak's immense talent had outgrown everybody. He said "this kid is better than me" and gave up his spot in the team to a 16-year-old. We were a bit stunned, not to mention Oblak's father, who could not believe we took his son to training camp with the main squad. We quickly realized Volk is not mistaken."

—Former Olimpija Ljubljana coach Janez Pate about Jan Oblak's beginnings[2][3]

Born in the Upper Carniolan town of Škofja Loka, Oblak started playing football at the age of five for his home town club Ločan. At the age of ten, he moved to the Olimpija youth academy,[4] where he remained until the end of the 2004–05 season when the club was dissolved. He then moved to the newly founded Bežigrad, which, after a series of name changes, became Olimpija Ljubljana in 2008. The following year, Oblak rejected a contract from Italian club Empoli in favour of a trial at Fulham,[5] but he eventually did not leave the club and committed his future with a contract extension until 2011.[6][7] Oblak made his professional debut for Olimpija Ljubljana in the 2009–10 season aged 16, only missing three PrvaLiga games as the club finished fourth in the league table.

Benfica

On 14 June 2010, Oblak signed a contract with Portuguese club Benfica,[8] who loaned him to fellow top level club Beira-Mar in August 2010.[9] He then joined Olhanense on loan in January 2011, until the end of the 2010–11 season.[10]

Benfica loaned Oblak to another Portuguese team, União de Leiria, for the 2011–12 campaign.[11] He made his league debut on 15 January 2012, in a 2–2 away draw against Nacional.

In July 2013, Oblak failed to present himself for pre-season training, claiming he had no contract with Benfica.[12] Late into the following month, he signed a contract extension until 2018, describing the situation as a "misunderstanding."[13]

After long-time starting goalkeeper Artur made a series of mistakes midway through the 2013–14 campaign, Benfica manager Jorge Jesus dropped him in favour of Oblak, and the latter went on to keep several clean sheets in his first starts, notably in a 2–0 home win against Porto[14][15] and a 0–0 draw at Juventus in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League.[16] He eventually won the league's Best Goalkeeper of the Year award on 6 July 2014.[17]

Atlético Madrid

Oblak with Atlético Madrid before a match

On 16 July 2014, Atlético Madrid announced they had reached an agreement with Benfica for the transfer of Oblak, pending a medical examination.[18] Atlético paid €16 million for the Slovenian player,[19][20] making him the most expensive goalkeeper in La Liga history.[21] Oblak moved to Madrid on a six-year deal as a replacement for Thibaut Courtois, who had returned to play for his parent club Chelsea following his loan expiration.[22][23] During his presentation, on 22 July 2014, Oblak said, "I don't come to replace anyone. I come as another player. I'm here along with the rest of the players and goalkeepers. I'll do everything in my power to defend this shirt and achieve great results this season. I will do everything in my hand to help the team."[24]

Oblak was an unused substitute in his first competitive fixture on 19 August 2014, the first leg of the 2014 Supercopa de España against Real Madrid, with Miguel Ángel Moyà playing instead.[25] He made his debut on 16 September 2014, in a 3–2 defeat away to Olympiacos in Atlético's first Champions League group match of the season.[26] His first clean sheet came in his first Copa del Rey match, a 3–0 win away to L'Hospitalet in the first leg of the last 32 on 3 December 2014.[27] On 17 March 2015, he replaced the injured Moyà in the 23rd minute of a Champions League last 16 second leg against Bayer Leverkusen, and kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 home victory. The tie went to a penalty shootout, in which he saved Leverkusen's first attempt by Hakan Çalhanoğlu in an eventual triumph.[28] Four days later, due to the injury, he made his league debut, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 home win over neighbours Getafe.[29]

On 3 May 2016, Oblak saved Thomas Müller's penalty at the Allianz Arena in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals; although Atlético lost the match 2–1, they advanced to the final on away goals.[30] As the domestic season ended, he won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper, having conceded 18 goals in 38 games, equalling the 22-year-old record of Deportivo de La Coruña's Francisco Liaño.[31]

Oblak received attention on 15 March 2017, in a Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen, where he made three saves in succession to ensure a goalless draw and passage to the quarter-finals. He told UEFA's website "These are things that happen. Sometimes you save three efforts and other times they score all three."[32]

International career

Oblak was first called by the Slovenia under-21 team in August 2009, replacing the injured Jan Koprivec. He made his debut 9 September of that year, against France.

On 11 September 2012, Oblak made his first appearance for the senior side, starting in a 2–1 away loss against Norway for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[33]

He became the first-choice goalkeeper of the national team after the international retirement of Samir Handanović at the end of 2015.

Personal life

Oblak's older sister, Teja (born 1990), is a professional basketball player who plays for Good Angels Košice and is a member of the Slovenia national team.[34][35] He is not related to the former Yugoslav international Brane Oblak, who was his coach during his time with Olimpija.[36]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 April 2018[37][38]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Olimpija Ljubljana 2008–09 2. SNL 1000———10
2009–10 1. SNL 33000———330
Total 34000———340
Benfica 2010–11 Primeira Liga 000000000000
2011–12 00000000—00
2012–13 00000000—00
2013–14 16020304[lower-alpha 1]0—250
Total 16020304000250
Beira-Mar (loan) 2010–11 Primeira Liga 002000——20
Olhanense (loan) 2010–11 000000——00
União de Leiria (loan) 2011–12 1601000——170
Rio Ave (loan) 2012–13 2800030——310
Atlético Madrid 2014–15 La Liga 11060—4[lower-alpha 2]000210
2015–16 38000—13[lower-alpha 2]0—510
2016–17 30000—11[lower-alpha 2]0—410
2017–18 34000—10[lower-alpha 3]0—440
Total 113060—380001570
Career total 207011060420002660
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ↑ 6 appearances in UEFA Champions League and 4 appearance in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 10 June 2017[39]
Slovenia national team
YearAppsGoals
201210
201320
201410
201520
201660
201720
Total140

Honours

Club

Benfica
Atlético Madrid

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Jan Oblak". Atlético Madrid. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  2. ↑ Borut Planinšič ml. (19 May 2018). "S "ta mali je boljši od mene" se je začelo" [It all began with "this kid is better than me"] (in Slovenian). Večer. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Jani Pate... o Janu Oblaku" [Jani Pate... about Jan Oblak] (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "How Jan Oblak rose to shine at Atlético". UEFA. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Fulham move for Olimpic Ljubljana goalkeeper Jan Oblak". Tribal Football. 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 September 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  6. ↑ Bohoric, Jure (29 July 2009). "Slovenian shuns Cottagers". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Jan Oblak rejects Fulham after trials". Tribal Football. 30 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 September 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  8. ↑ "Jan Oblak tudi uradno v Benfici" [Jan Oblak officially in Benfica] (in Slovenian). 24ur.com. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  9. ↑ "Jan Oblak emprestado ao Beira-Mar" [Jan Oblak on the Beira-Mar] (in Portuguese). Record. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  10. ↑ "Oblak e Tiero apresentados" [Oblak and Tiero presented] (in Portuguese). Record. 30 January 2011. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  11. ↑ "Cajuda: "Oblak tem excelentes capacidades"" [Cajuda: "Oblak has great skills"] (in Portuguese). Record. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "Oblak ainda não se apresentou" [Oblak still hasn't showed up] (in Portuguese). Futebol 365. 13 July 2013. Archived from the original on |archive-url= requires |archive-date= (help). Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Jan Oblak foi reintegrado: "O Benfica é o meu clube e estou feliz"" [Jan Oblak has been reinstated: "Benfica is my club and i am happy"] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  14. ↑ "Oblak fecha a porta da baliza ao dragão" [Oblak closes goal to dragon] (in Portuguese). Record. 12 January 2014. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Oblak morde os calcanhares ao melhor Artur" [Oblak bites best Artur in the heels] (in Portuguese). Record. 20 January 2014. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  16. ↑ "Juventus 0–0 Benfica". BBC Sport. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Prémios da Liga: Veja quem são os vencedores" [League awards: Look who the winners are] (in Portuguese). Zerozero. 6 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Atlético and Benfica reach an agreement for the transfer of Oblak". Atlético Madrid. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "Atletico Madrid agree deal for Benfica goalkeeper Jan Oblak". BBC Sport. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  20. ↑ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). CMVM. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  21. ↑ "El Atleti ficha al portero más caro de la historia de la Liga" [Atleti signs most expensive goalkeeper in league history] (in Spanish). Marca. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  22. ↑ "Thibaut Courtois: Jose Mourinho says keeper will return to Chelsea". BBC Sport. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  23. ↑ Newman, Liam (16 July 2014). "Atletico Madrid Sign Goalkeeper Jan Oblak from Benfica". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "Jan Oblak: "I'll do everything in my power to help the team"". Atlético Madrid. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  25. ↑ "Spanish Super Copa: Real Madrid and Atletico draw 1-1 in first leg". Sky Sports News. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  26. ↑ Wood, Graham (16 September 2014). "Olympiacos stun Atlético in five-goal thriller". UEFA. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  27. ↑ "L'Hospitalet 0-3 Atletico Madrid: Griezmann and Gabi grind out the win". Goal.com. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  28. ↑ Smith, Jonathan (17 March 2015). "Atl Madrid 1-0 Bayer Levkn". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  29. ↑ "El Calderón cantó a Griezmann el "cumpleaños feliz"" [The Calderón sings "Happy Birthday" to Griezmann] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  30. ↑ "Oblak relieved after Atlético edge out Bayern". UEFA. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  31. 1 2 Farrell, Sarah (15 May 2016). "Oblak equals Liano as the best Zamora in history". Marca. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  32. ↑ Walker, Joe (15 March 2017). "Atlético's Oblak on his triple save against Leverkusen". UEFA. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  33. ↑ "Slovenia undone as Norway strike late". UEFA. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  34. ↑ "Teja Oblak odhaja v Evroligo, lanska smola pozabljena" [Teja Oblak departs to the Euroleague, last season forgotten] (in Slovenian). Kosarka. 24 May 2013. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  35. ↑ "Video: Kako trenira Teja Oblak?" [Video: How does Teja Oblak train?] (in Slovenian). Kosarka. 9 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  36. ↑ Rok Plestenjak (12 September 2012). "Bratje, bratranci, kapetani ... zdaj pa še Oblaki" [Brothers, cousins, captains ... now Oblaks] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  37. ↑ Jan Oblak at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  38. ↑ Jan Oblak at ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  39. ↑ "Jan Oblak". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  40. ↑ "Spot-on Sevilla leave Benfica dreams in tatters". UEFA. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  41. ↑ "Una pequeña revancha" [A little revenge]. Marca (in Spanish). 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  42. ↑ "Oblak wins Zamora, Messi captures Pichichi". Marca. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  43. ↑ "Oblak secures hat-trick of Zamora trophies". Marca. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  44. ↑ "The Liga BBVA 2015–16 Team of the Season". Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  45. ↑ "La Liga Team of the Season - FIFA 17 Ultimate Team". EA Sports. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  46. ↑ UEFA.com. "UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season".
  47. ↑ "Atletico dominate UEFA's La Liga team of the season". MARCA.com. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  48. ↑ "Once ideal de LaLiga para UEFA: 4 del Madrid, 3 del Barça..." [UEFA's LaLiga All-Star XI: 4 from Madrid, 3 from Barça...]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 22 May 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  49. ↑ http://es.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2560163.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  50. ↑ "2016-2017 World 11: the Reserve Teams - FIFPro World Players' Union". FIFPro.org. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  51. ↑ "UEFA Europa League Squad of the 2017/18 Season". UEFA.com. 17 May 2018.
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