Erik Janža

Erik Janža
	Janža with Górnik Zabrze in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth	21 June 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Murska Sobota, Slovenia
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Left-back
Team information
Current team	Górnik Zabrze
Number	64
Youth career
	Puconci
2007–2012	Mura 05
Senior career*
Years	Team
2010–2013	Mura 05
2013–2015	Domžale
2015–2016	Maribor
2017–2018	Viktoria Plzeň
2017–2018	→ Pafos (loan)
2018–2019	Osijek
2019–	Górnik Zabrze
International career‡
2009	Slovenia U16
2010	Slovenia U18
2011–2012	Slovenia U19
2011–2013	Slovenia U20
2013–2014	Slovenia U21
2014–	Slovenia
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 December 2024; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2024

Erik Janža (born 21 June 1993) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Górnik Zabrze, which he captains, and the Slovenia national team.

Club career

Janža started his senior career with Mura 05 in 2010. With Mura 05, he reached the play-off round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, where the club were eliminated by Lazio.^[4] In January 2013, he joined Domžale,^[5] followed by Maribor in January 2015,^[6] with whom he won both the Slovenian League and Slovenian Cup titles.^[2]

In January 2017, Janža moved abroad to join Czech side Viktoria Plzeň,^[7] and was subsequently loaned out to Cypriot club Pafos.^[8] In July 2018, he transferred to Croatian side Osijek.^[9]

On 28 June 2019, he signed a two-year contract with Polish Ekstraklasa club Górnik Zabrze.^[10] On 21 November 2021, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 win over Legia Warszawa.^[11] He became the club's captain ahead of the 2022–23 season. On 15 June 2024, Janža extended his contract with Górnik Zabrze until 2026.^[12]

International career

Janža represented Slovenia at youth international levels from under-16 to under-21.

He made his debut for the senior national team on 18 November 2014, in a 1–0 friendly defeat against Colombia.^[13] On 14 October 2023, he scored his first international goal in a 3–0 victory over Finland during the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying.^[14]

On 7 June 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.^[15] In the opening match, Janža scored the equalizer in a 1–1 draw against Denmark, which was Slovenia's first goal at the European Championship since their last participation 24 years ago.^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of 6 December 2024^[2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup^[a]		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Mura 05	2010–11	Slovenian Second League	25	1	1	0	—		26	1
	2011–12	Slovenian PrvaLiga	31	0	0	0	—		31	0
	2012–13	Slovenian PrvaLiga	20	0	1	0	8^[b]	0	29	0
	Total		76	1	2	0	8	0	86	1
Domžale	2012–13	Slovenian PrvaLiga	12	0	0	0	—		12	0
	2013–14		35	4	3	0	2^[b]	0	40	4
	2014–15		19	0	1	0	—		20	0
	Total		66	4	4	0	2	0	72	4
Maribor	2014–15	Slovenian PrvaLiga	6	0	2	0	—		8	0
	2015–16		11	0	3	0	0	0	14	0
	2016–17		16	0	2	0	6^[b]	0	24	0
	Total		33	0	7	0	6	0	46	0
Viktoria Plzeň	2016–17	Czech First League	3	0	0	0	—		3	0
Pafos (loan)	2017–18	Cypriot First Division	33	2	5	1	—		38	3
Osijek	2018–19	Croatian First League	19	0	2	0	0	0	21	0
Górnik Zabrze	2019–20	Ekstraklasa	36	0	0	0	—		36	0
	2020–21		28	0	3	0	—		31	0
	2021–22		32	1	2	0	—		34	1
	2022–23		32	2	3	0	—		35	2
	2023–24		23	0	1	0	—		24	0
	2024–25		17	0	0	0	—		17	0
	Total		168	3	9	0	0	0	177	3
Career total			398	10	29	1	16	0	443	11

^ Includes Slovenian Cup, Cypriot Cup, Croatian Cup, Polish Cup
^ ^a ^b ^c Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Janža goal.^[17]

List of international goals scored by Erik Janža
No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 October 2023	Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	4	Finland	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
2	17 November 2023	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	6	Denmark	1–1	1–2	UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
3	16 June 2024	MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany	11	Denmark	1–1	1–1	UEFA Euro 2024

Honours

Maribor

References

^ "#5 Erik Janža". FC Viktoria Plzeň. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Slovenia – E. Janža – Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
^ "Mitja Lotrič - Murin nogometni dragulj, ki si ga želi pol Evrope". pomurec.com (in Slovenian). 4 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
^ Virag, Gregor (14 April 2020). "Avgust 2012: Lazio ter velik uspeh "evropske" Mure". Sportklub (in Slovenian). Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ "Domžale so bile najbolj poštene" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ Viškovič, Rok (9 January 2015). "Erik Janža: najprej reprezentanca, zdaj še Maribor" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ "Erik Janža: Jsem šťastný, že jsem ve Viktorii" (in Czech). FC Viktoria Plzeň. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ "Erik Janža bude hostovat na Kypru" (in Czech). FC Viktoria Plzeň. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ "10 stvari koje trebaš znati: Erik Janža" (in Croatian). NK Osijek. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ "Erik Janża piłkarzem Górnika!" (in Polish). Górnik Zabrze. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ "Górnik Zabrze – Legia Warszawa 3:2, 21.11.2021". Łączy nas piłka (in Polish). 21 November 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ "Erik Janża zostaje w Zabrzu!" (in Polish). Górnik Zabrze. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ Plestenjak, Rok (19 November 2014). "Ko ti tvoj sostanovalec prepreči, da bi debitiral za reprezentanco" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ Rijavec, Matej (15 October 2023). "Nepričakovani strelec z golom navdušil mamo in soigralce na Poljskem" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ "Kek izbral šestindvajseterico za Evropsko prvenstvo" [Kek selected twenty-six players for the European Championship] (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ "Erik Janža je zabil prvi slovenski gol na Euru: 'Igramo lahko proti vsakemu, ampak o evforiji ni govora'" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 16 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
^ "Erik Janža, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 29 October 2023.

External links

Erik Janža at NZS (in Slovene)
Erik Janža at Soccerway

[17] Includes Slovenian Cup, Cypriot Cup, Croatian Cup, Polish Cup

[uel-18] Appearances in UEFA Europa League

[profile-1] "#5 Erik Janža". FC Viktoria Plzeň. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.

[soccerway-2] "Slovenia – E. Janža – Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 May 2021.

[3] "Mitja Lotrič - Murin nogometni dragulj, ki si ga želi pol Evrope". pomurec.com (in Slovenian). 4 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2021.

[4] Virag, Gregor (14 April 2020). "Avgust 2012: Lazio ter velik uspeh "evropske" Mure". Sportklub (in Slovenian). Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[5] "Domžale so bile najbolj poštene" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[6] Viškovič, Rok (9 January 2015). "Erik Janža: najprej reprezentanca, zdaj še Maribor" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[7] "Erik Janža: Jsem šťastný, že jsem ve Viktorii" (in Czech). FC Viktoria Plzeň. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[8] "Erik Janža bude hostovat na Kypru" (in Czech). FC Viktoria Plzeň. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[9] "10 stvari koje trebaš znati: Erik Janža" (in Croatian). NK Osijek. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[10] "Erik Janża piłkarzem Górnika!" (in Polish). Górnik Zabrze. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[11] "Górnik Zabrze – Legia Warszawa 3:2, 21.11.2021". Łączy nas piłka (in Polish). 21 November 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[12] "Erik Janża zostaje w Zabrzu!" (in Polish). Górnik Zabrze. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[13] Plestenjak, Rok (19 November 2014). "Ko ti tvoj sostanovalec prepreči, da bi debitiral za reprezentanco" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[14] Rijavec, Matej (15 October 2023). "Nepričakovani strelec z golom navdušil mamo in soigralce na Poljskem" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[15] "Kek izbral šestindvajseterico za Evropsko prvenstvo" [Kek selected twenty-six players for the European Championship] (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[16] "Erik Janža je zabil prvi slovenski gol na Euru: 'Igramo lahko proti vsakemu, ampak o evforiji ni govora'" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 16 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

[19] "Erik Janža, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 29 October 2023.

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