Jan Oblak

Jan Oblak

Oblak with Atlético Madrid in 2014
Personal information
Full nameJan Oblak
Date of birth7 January 1993
Place of birthŠkofja Loka, Slovenia
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing positionGoalkeeper
Club information
Current team
Atlético Madrid
Number13
Youth career
1999–2003Ločan
2003–2004Olimpija
2005–2009Olimpija Ljubljana
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2009–2010Olimpija Ljubljana34(0)
2010–2014Benfica16(0)
2010→ Beira-Mar (loan)0(0)
2011→ Olhanense (loan)0(0)
2011–2012→ União Leiria (loan)16(0)
2012–2013→ Rio Ave (loan)28(0)
2013Benfica B2(0)
2014–Atlético Madrid6(0)
National team‡
2009Slovenia U17
2009Slovenia U18
2010–2012Slovenia U204(0)
2009–2013Slovenia U2118(0)
2012–Slovenia5(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2014

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.

He signed for Portuguese club Benfica at the age of 17, and then was loaned to four Portuguese clubs until 2013, when he returned to the Eagles to be part of the team that won the domestic treble in the 2013–14 season.

Club career

Olimpija

Born in the Upper Carniolan town of Škofja Loka, Oblak started his career in his hometown playing for Ločan. At the age of ten he moved to Olimpija youth academy where he remained until the end of the 2004–05 season when the club was dissolved. He then moved to the newly founded Bežigrad who, after a series of name changes, became Olimpija Ljubljana in 2008. The following year Oblak rejected a contract from Empoli F.C. in favour of a trial at Fulham,[1] but he eventually didn't leave the club and committed his future with a contract extension until 2011.[2][3] 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 on the league table.

Benfica

On 14 June 2010 Oblak signed a contract with S.L. Benfica,[4] being immediately loaned to fellow top level club S.C. Beira-Mar. He finished 2010–11 with S.C. Olhanense, totalling ten bench appearances combined.

Still owned by Benfica Oblak moved to another Portuguese team, U.D. Leiria, for the 2011–12 campaign.[5] He made his league debut on 15 January 2012, in a 2–2 away draw against C.D. Nacional.

In July 2013 Oblak failed to present himself for preseason training, claiming he had no contract with Benfica.[6] Late into the following month he signed a contract extension until 2018, describing the situation as a "misunderstanding".[7]

After longtime incumbent Artur Moraes made some mistakes midway through the 2013–14 campaign, 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 F.C. Porto[8][9] and a 0–0 draw at Juventus F.C. for the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League.[10] He eventually won the league's Best Goalkeeper of the Year award on 6 July 2014, only conceding three goals in 13 games.[11]

Atlético Madrid

On 16 July 2014, Atlético Madrid announced they had reached an agreement with Benfica for the transfer of Oblak, pending a medical examination.[12] Atlético paid £12.6 million (€16 million) for the Slovenian player, making him the eighth most expensive goalkeeper in football history and the most expensive in La Liga history.[13][14][15] 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 expiring.[16][17] During his presentation, on 22 July, he 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".[18]

Oblak was an unused substitute in his first competitive fixture on 19 August, the first leg of the 2014 Supercopa de España against Real Madrid, with Miguel Ángel Moyà playing instead.[19] He made his debut on 16 September in a 2–3 defeat away to Olympiacos in Atlético's first Champions League group match of the season.[20] His first clean sheet came in his first Copa del Rey match, a 3–0 win away to CE L'Hospitalet in the first leg of the last 32 on 3 December.[21] 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.[22] His first league appearance was on 21 March 2015 in a match against Getafe.

International career

Oblak was first called by the Slovenia under-21 team in August 2009, replacing 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 1–2 away loss against Norway for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[23]

Club statistics

As of 25 April 2015[24]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Olimpija 2008–09 Slovenian Second League 1000—10
2009–10 Slovenian PrvaLiga 33000—330
Total 34000—340
Benfica 2013–14 Primeira Liga 160504[lower-alpha 1]0250
Beira-Mar (loan) 2010–11 Primeira Liga 0010—10
Olhanense (loan) 2010–11 Primeira Liga 0000—00
União Leiria (loan) 2011–12 Primeira Liga 16000—160
Rio Ave (loan) 2012–13 Primeira Liga 28030—310
Atlético Madrid 2014–15 La Liga 60604[lower-alpha 2]0160
Career total 1000150801230
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Personal life

Oblak's older sister, Teja (b. 1990), is a professional basketball player who plays for CCC Polkowice and is a member of the Slovenia national team.[25][26] Although he has the same last name as Brane Oblak, he is not related to the former Yugoslav international.[27]

Honours

Club

Benfica
Atlético Madrid

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Fulham move for Olimpic Ljubljana goalkeeper Jan Oblak". Tribal Football. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  2. ↑ Bohoric, Jure (29 July 2009). "Slovenian shuns Cottagers". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "Jan Oblak rejects Fulham after trials". Tribal Football. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  4. ↑ Jan Oblak v Benfici (Jan Oblak to Benfica); NK Olimpija, 14 June 2010 (Slovene)
  5. ↑ "Cajuda: "Oblak tem excelentes capacidades"" [Cajuda: "Oblak has great skills"] (in Portuguese). Record. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "Oblak ainda não se apresentou" [Oblak still hasn't showed up] (in Portuguese). Futebol 365. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. ↑ "Oblak fecha a porta da baliza ao dragão" [Oblak closes goal to dragon] (in Portuguese). Record. 12 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Oblak morde os calcanhares ao melhor Artur" [Oblak bites best Artur in the heels] (in Portuguese). Record. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Juventus 0–0 Benfica". BBC Sport. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "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.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "Atlético and Benfica reach an agreement for the transfer of Oblak". Atlético Madrid. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Atletico Madrid agree deal for Benfica goalkeeper Jan Oblak". BBC Sport. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  14. ↑ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). CMVM. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "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.
  16. ↑ "Thibaut Courtois: Jose Mourinho says keeper will return to Chelsea". BBC Sport. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  17. ↑ Newman, Liam (16 July 2014). "Atletico Madrid Sign Goalkeeper Jan Oblak from Benfica". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "Jan Oblak: "I’ll do everything in my power to help the team"". Atlético Madrid. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "Spanish Super Copa: Real Madrid and Atletico draw 1-1 in first leg". Sky Sports News. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  20. ↑ Wood, Graham (16 September 2014). "Olympiacos stun Atlético in five-goal thriller". UEFA. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  21. ↑ "L'Hospitalet 0-3 Atletico Madrid: Griezmann and Gabi grind out the win". Goal.com. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  22. ↑ Smith, Jonathan (17 March 2015). "Atl Madrid 1-0 Bayer Levkn". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  23. ↑ "Slovenia undone as Norway strike late". UEFA. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  24. ↑ "J. Oblak". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  25. ↑ "Teja Oblak odhaja v Evroligo, lanska smola pozabljena" [Teja Oblak departs to the Euroleague, last season forgotten] (in Slovenian). Kosarka. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  26. ↑ "Video: Kako trenira Teja Oblak?" [Video: How does Teja Oblak train?] (in Slovenian). Kosarka. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  27. ↑ Rok Plestenjak (12 September 2012). "Bratje, bratranci, kapetani ... zdaj pa še Oblaki" [Brothers, cousins, captains ... now Oblaks] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  28. ↑ "Spot-on Sevilla leave Benfica dreams in tatters". UEFA. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  29. ↑ "Una pequeña revancha". Marca (in Spanish). 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.

External links