sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Miha Zajc (born 1 July 1994) is a Slovenian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Fenerbahçe and the Slovenia national team.[2]

Miha Zajc

Zajc playing for Slovenia in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth	(1994-07-01) 1 July 1994 (age 28)
Place of birth	Šempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Fenerbahçe
Number	26
Youth career
0000–2009	Bilje
2009–2012	Interblock
2012–2014	Bravo
2012	→ Olimpija Ljubljana (loan)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012	Interblock	5	(0)
2012	→ Olimpija Ljubljana (loan)	1	(2)
2013–2014	→ Celje (loan)	51	(2)
2014–2017	Olimpija Ljubljana	70	(16)
2017–2019	Empoli	66	(12)
2019–	Fenerbahçe	59	(13)
2020–2021	→ Genoa (loan)	31	(1)
National team‡
2010	Slovenia U17[lower-alpha 1]	2	(0)
2012	Slovenia U19[lower-alpha 1]	3	(0)
2013	Slovenia U20	1	(0)
2013–2016	Slovenia U21	10	(1)
2016–	Slovenia	34	(7)
2017	Slovenia B	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 November 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 June 2022

Club career

Interblock

Zajc was born in Šempeter pri Gorici.[3] As a youth, he played in the youth selections of Interblock from the capital of Ljubljana.[4] He made his senior debut on 3 March 2012 against Dravinja[5] and made a total of five league appearances in his first and last year at Interblock.[4]

Loan to Olimpija and Celje

In summer 2012 Zajc moved to Olimpija Ljubljana. He played only one game with the club, against Mura 05 in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, where he scored two goals in an eventual 3–1 victory.[4] Zajc moved on loan to Celje in January 2013.[4] He made his league debut with Celje on 2 March 2013, starting the match in a 0–0 draw against Gorica.[6] The loan was also confirmed for the following season and on 30 October 2013 he scored his first goal, in a 3–1 home defeat against Rudar Velenje in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Slovenian Cup.[7] On 12 April 2014 he scored his first goal in the Slovenian PrvaLiga with Celje, scoring the team's second goal in a 2–0 home win over Triglav Kranj.[8]

Olimpija Ljubljana

Zajc returned to Olimpija for the 2014–15 season.[4] He made his second debut for Olimpija on 16 August 2014 in a 2–0 league win against Rudar Velenje.[9] With Olimpija, he won the 2015–16 PrvaLiga title.[10] His last season with the club was the 2016–17 season, in which he scored 7 goals before leaving the club in the winter transfer window.[11] In his three seasons with Olimpija, he made 70 appearances and collected 16 goals in the Slovenian PrvaLiga.[12]

Empoli

Zajc moved to Empoli on 25 January 2017, and signed a four-year contract.[13] He debuted in Serie A on 29 January in a 4–1 defeat against Crotone.[14] In his first season, he made five appearances and scored one goal in Serie A.[14] However, Empoli was relegated to Serie B at the end of the season. Zajc made 41 appearances in the 2017–18 Serie B season, scoring 8 goals and as many as 14 assists, making a fundamental contribution to Empoli's return to Serie A.[15] In the following season, Zajc played 20 games in the 2018–19 Serie A with the Tuscan club, scoring 3 goals and providing 2 assists.[16][17] He however did not finish the season at Empoli as he changed the club in the winter transfer window.

Fenerbahçe

Zajc moved to Fenerbahçe in the midst of the 2018–19 season, making 10 appearances in the 2018–19 Süper Lig.[18] That year Fenerbahçe reached the round of 32 in the UEFA Europa League, and finished sixth in the national championship. In the next season, in which he suffered an ankle ligaments injury, Zajc played only 17 games with Fenerbahçe, scoring two goals.[12]

Loan to Genoa

Zajc moved to Italian side Genoa in September 2020.[4] With Genoa he reached the round of 16 in the 2020–21 Coppa Italia, and placed eleventh in the 2020–21 Serie A. Zajc made 31 league appearances during the season, provided 3 assists and also scored one goal, against Bologna on 9 January 2021.[19][20][21] During his time at Genoa he contributed to the club's positive performances in Serie A, especially with his assists.[19]

International career

Between 2009 and 2016, Zajc played for Slovenia at all youth international levels from under-16 to under-21.[22] He debuted for the senior team in March 2016 in a friendly match against Macedonia.[23]

Player profile

Style of play

Zajc is a trequartista who can be employed behind one or two strikers, and can also play as a central midfielder.[24] When needed he has also played as a deep-lying playmaker and left midfielder.[15] He is considered a very technical player, and among his qualities are his set pieces ability and ability to defend the ball.[4][25] Zajc is endowed with tactical vision and strategic planning.[26] He is a right footed, and also has good dribbling skills and a good long-range shot.[27]

Zajc has stated that he is inspired by Luka Modrić.[28]

Reception

After moving to Empoli, Zajc impressed with his performances in Italy, leading Empoli to its promotion to Serie A.[29] A talented player, his continuity has sometimes been criticized.[29][30]

Career statistics

Club

As of 14 November 2022[2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League	League		National cup[lower-alpha 2]		Continental		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Interblock	2011–12	2. SNL	5	0	—		—		5	0
Olimpija Ljubljana (loan)	2012–13	1. SNL	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	2
Celje (loan)	2012–13	1. SNL	12	0	3	0	—		15	0
	2013–14		36	2	3	1	2[lower-alpha 3]	0	41	3
	2014–15		3	0	0	0	—		3	0
	Total		51	2	6	1	2	0	59	3
Olimpija Ljubljana	2014–15	1. SNL	19	4	4	0	—		23	4
	2015–16		32	5	3	0	—		35	5
	2016–17		19	7	3	1	2[lower-alpha 4]	1	24	9
	Total		70	16	10	1	2	1	82	18
Empoli	2016–17	Serie A	5	1	0	0	—		5	1
	2017–18	Serie B	41	8	1	0	—		42	8
	2018–19	Serie A	20	3	1	0	—		21	3
	Total		66	12	2	0	0	0	68	12
Fenerbahçe	2018–19	Süper Lig	10	2	0	0	0	0	10	2
	2019–20		10	1	7	1	—		17	2
	2021–22		32	9	1	0	8[lower-alpha 5]	0	41	9
	2022–23		7	1	0	0	5[lower-alpha 3]	1	12	2
	Total		59	13	8	1	13	1	80	15
Genoa (loan)	2020–21	Serie A	31	1	2	0	—		33	1
Career total			283	46	28	3	17	2	328	51

International

As of match played 12 June 2022[23]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Slovenia	2016	3	0
	2018	8	3
	2019	8	2
	2020	3	0
	2021	7	2
	2022	5	0
Total		34	7

Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zajc goal.[31]

List of international goals scored by Miha Zajc

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2 June 2018	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro	Montenegro	2–0	2–0	Friendly
2	6 September 2018	Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Bulgaria	1–1	1–2	2018–19 UEFA Nations League C
3	19 November 2018	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	1–1	1–1	2018–19 UEFA Nations League C
4	24 March 2019	Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	North Macedonia	1–0	1–1	UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
5	10 June 2019	Daugava Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	5–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
6	11 November 2021	Anton Malatinský Stadium, Trnava, Slovakia	Slovakia	1–0	2–2	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	14 November 2021	Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Cyprus	1–0	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Olimpija Ljubljana

• Slovenian PrvaLiga: 2015–16[2]

Empoli

• Serie B: 2017–18[2]

References

External links

• NZS profile (in Slovene)

На других языках

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[de] Miha Zajc (Fußballspieler)

Miha Zajc (* 1. Juli 1994 in Šempeter pri Gorici, Region Goriška) ist ein slowenischer Fußballspieler, der seit Ende Januar 2019 beim Fenerbahçe Istanbul unter Vertrag steht.

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- [en] Miha Zajc

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[es] Miha Zajc

Miha Zajc (Šempeter pri Gorici, 1 de julio de 1994) es un futbolista esloveno que juega de centrocampista en el Fenerbahçe S. K. de la Superliga de Turquía. Es internacional con la selección de fútbol de Eslovenia.[1]

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[fr] Miha Zajc

Miha Zajc, né le 1er juillet 1994 à Šempeter pri Gorici en Slovénie, est un footballeur international slovène, qui évolue au poste de milieu offensif au Fenerbahçe.

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[it] Miha Zajc

Miha Zajc (San Pietro, 1º luglio 1994) è un calciatore sloveno, centrocampista del Fenerbahçe e della nazionale slovena.

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[ru] Зайц, Миха

Миха Зайц (словен. Miha Zajc; родился 1 июля 1994 года, Шемпетер-при-Горици, Словения) — словенский футболист, полузащитник клуба «Дженоа» и сборной Словении.

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