Valter Birsa
![]() | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Valter Birsa[1] | ||
Date of birth | 7 August 1986 | ||
Place of birth | Šempeter pri Gorici, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||
Playing position | Winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Chievo | ||
Number | 23 | ||
Youth career | |||
1991–2003 | Bilje | ||
2003–2004 | Primorje | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
2003–2004 | Primorje | 1 | (0) |
2004–2006 | Gorica | 61 | (26) |
2006–2009 | Sochaux | 66 | (8) |
2009 | → Auxerre (loan) | 15 | (1) |
2009–2011 | Auxerre | 68 | (8) |
2011–2013 | Genoa | 9 | (0) |
2012–2013 | → Torino (loan) | 17 | (2) |
2013– | Milan | 15 | (2) |
2014– | → Chievo (loan) | 27 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2003–2004 | Slovenia U19 | 9 | (3) |
2004–2006 | Slovenia U21 | 10 | (3) |
2005– | Slovenia | 71 | (5) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 March 2015. † Appearances (Goals). |
Valter Birsa (born 7 August 1986 in Šempeter pri Gorici) is a Slovenian footballer, who plays for Chievo and the Slovenian national team.
Club career
Born in Šempeter pri Gorici, he spent his childhood in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Birsa's career began at the age of five, when he started playing for ND Bilje, the village club of Bilje near Nova Gorica. As he was a talented player, he was soon transferred first to Primorje, then to Gorica at the age of 17. By the second season he was already the second best striker and one of the best in the Slovenian first league, scoring 29 goals for his home team, an outstanding goalscoring record for a midfielder.
Sochaux
In 2006, he signed for French club Sochaux in Ligue de Football Professionnel, Ligue 1. He was declared the best Slovenian player of 2006–2008 by the leading Slovenian football website.[2]
Auxerre (on loan)
On 22 January 2009 AJ Auxerre signed him on a loan deal until June 2009 from Sochaux.[3] He scored his first Auxerre goal against giants Lyon. On 29 May, it was announced that Auxerre had made the loan permanent.[4] In the 2010–11 season, Birsa scored a 23 yard free kick and his first Champions league goal against Ajax in the group stage, Ajax eventually won 2–1.
Genoa
On 2 February 2011, despite interest from big Premier league teams such as Liverpool and Fulham, Birsa signed a four year contract with Serie A team Genoa.[5] He made just nine appearances in his maiden season in the Italian Serie A.
Torino (on loan)
He signed with Torino on the 31st of August 2012 on a loan basis. At Torino, Birsa played 17 games, scoring 2 goals but did not do enough to convince Torino to sign him on a permanent deal so he returned to Genoa at the end of the season.
AC Milan
He signed with A.C Milan on 31 August 2013, in a straight swap deal which saw Luca Antonini move in the opposite direction. He was handed the no. 14 shirt at AC Milan. He scored his first goal for Milan on 28 September 2013 against Sampdoria to give the Rossoneri a win.
Chievo (on loan)
He signed with Chievo on 9 July 2014 on a loan transfer.
International career
He also plays for the Slovenian national football team, and was the youngest player to have that honor at the age of 18. He scored his first goal for the national team on 9 September 2009 in a World Cup qualifying match against Poland, which Slovenia won 3–0. At the 2010 World Cup finals, Birsa struck a long-range curling shot in Slovenia's 2nd match against the United States. Slovenia drew that match 2–2.
Career statistics
- As of 21 March 2015
Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
2003–04 | Primorje | 1. SNL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 |
2004–05 | Gorica | 26 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 7 | |
2005–06 | 35 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 19 | ||
2006–07 | Sochaux | Ligue 1 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 3 |
2007–08 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 3 | ||
2008–09 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 3 | ||
2009–10 | Auxerre | 35 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 3 | |
2010–11 | 33 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 42 | 6 | ||
2011–12 | Genoa | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
2012–13 | Torino | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
2013–14 | Milan | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |
2014–15 | Chievo | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
Career total | 274 | 47 | 16 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 306 | 50 |
International goals
- Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first.
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 September 2009 | Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia | ![]() | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
2 | 10 October 2009 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
3 | 18 June 2010 | Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
4 | 7 June 2013 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | ![]() | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
5 | 19 November 2013 | Arena Petrol, Celje, Slovenia | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Personal life
Birsa was born in Šempeter pri Gorici, present day Slovenia. He is a childhood friend of three professional footballers, Etien Velikonja, Tim Matavž and Goran Cvijanović, who also lived in the same town.[6][7] In 2012 he married his long-time girlfriend Mateja, the couple has a son named Nolan.[8]
Honours
ND Gorica
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
See also
References
- ↑ "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 4 June 2010. p. 27. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ↑ nogomania.com
- ↑ "Valter Birsa prêté à Auxerre" (in French). FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
- ↑ Prolongation pour Stéphane Grichting et Benoît Pedretti, Valter Birsa auxerrois
- ↑ "Birsa štiri leta v Genovi" (in Slovenian). nogomania.com. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
- ↑ "Bratranca z golgeterskimi geni" (in Slovenian). dnevnik.si. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- ↑ "Do imena iz mamine knjige" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ↑ http://govori.se/domaci-traci/valter-birsa-poroka-je-bila-slavje-brez-primere
External links
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valter Birsa. |
- Player profile at NZS (Slovene)
- Player profile at LFP
- Valter Birsa at National-Football-Teams.com
|
|
|