Oblak Says Playing for Slovenia and Atletico would have been a Lot to Handle

Jan Oblak from Atletico Madrid said that he is going to play for Slovenia for the qualifiers of Euro after he had missed out on 6 fixtures of UEFA Nations League in September to November in the last year because of his voluntary absence.

In an interview, he revealed the reason behind 3 months absence from national level games. He said that he had to take a decision in autumn which was not playing. This was mainly due to his physical condition. Oblak states that it was getting difficult for him to be available for Atletico. He was in great pain and when he played, he took a painkiller. Again, if he would have played for the national team, too, it would have been a lot to handle.
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Oblak: Playing for both is Tricky

Jan Oblak from Atletico Madrid said that he is going to play for Slovenia for the qualifiers of Euro after he had missed out on 6 fixtures of UEFA Nations League in September to November in the last year because of his voluntary absence.

In an interview, he revealed the reason behind 3 months absence from national level games. He said that he had to take a decision in autumn which was not playing. This was mainly due to his physical condition. Oblak states that it was getting difficult for him to be available for Atletico. He was in great pain and when he played, he took a painkiller. Again, if he would have played for the national team, too, it would have been a lot to handle. Continue reading “Oblak: Playing for both is Tricky”

JAN OBLAK CARRYING SLOVENIA FLAG HIGH IN SPAIN

Jan Oblak is a special player, the Atletico Marid stopper is widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in Spain for good reasons. The Slovenia International has grown into the number one position at the Wanda Metro politano and has continued his great form this season.

Oblak began his career in Slovenia third division and has seen a rise in his playing career. He moved to Benfica at the age of 17 from Slovenia and became the first choice goalkeeper at age 19. Despite all his achievements the 25-year-old is soft-spoken and rarely gives interviews.
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MLAKAR SIGNS FOR BRIGHTON

Brighton and Hove Albion have signed striker Jan Mlakar, from Slovenian Giants Maribor and have immediately loaned him back to the Slovenian side. Jan Mlakar 20, signed a three and a half year deal for the Seagulls, but won’t be able to kick a ball in England this season.

The Seagulls will loan Mlakar back to Maribor for the remainder of the 2018-19 season. Continue reading “MLAKAR SIGNS FOR BRIGHTON”

The Man Behind Slovenia’s World Cup Victory Is Back As The National Coach

The Football Association of Slovenia aka Slovenian Football Association (NZS) recently announced that Matjaz Kek will be the new head coach of the national football team of Slovenia. The 57-year-old, Kek will return to the helm of the national team of Slovenia, after his successful stint in the year 2007-2011, when Kek led the national team to the World Cup, 2010 which was their last big and major competition. The NZS in a press conference which was held at Brdo Pri Kranju said that “Kek is going to coach the national team in the qualifiers for the Euro, 2020 and for the World Cup scheduled at 2022, and even at the world cup, if he can manage to take the national team of Slovenia to the tournament to be held in Qatar.

Kek while interacting with the press told that “It is a privilege and pleasure to be entrusted with such a great position of the head coach of the national team. It is a huge challenge and great motivation at a similar time.” He added, “I will give my best to do a good job for Slovenia.”

The president of NZS, Radenko Mijatovic said, Kek was exactly the same person for which we for looking for at this moment. And he will be backed by the Federation of football. The native of Maribor is going to replace Igor Benedejčič, who led the team in last 2 matches of UEFA Nations League as its interim coach.

There will be a difficult situation in front of Kek and he will be under immense pressure for bringing the national team back on their track after their unpleasant performance in the international matches. Slovenia was not even able to win a single match in League C and was placed in the last ranking of League D.

Slovenia Match Against England

England played a recent match against Slovenia and the latter was put to the test but so was England. Though the latter has qualified for the 2018 World Cup, England has definitely put in an underwhelming performance. With a draw score of 1-0 that they attained against Slovenia, it shows that the team would face a tough challenge when they face Russia.

Harry Kane was the one focused enough and was able to deliver the finish that was crucial for England. The team has reached that greatest stage, now for the 15th time. Though celebrations were on after the match, there was a certain restraint since it is obvious that there would be difficult moments when England gets to Russia. There are several questions that hang in the air such as how they would play and what kind of identity they would go with. The feat that they put up in the match against Slovenia can be described as a feat endured than enjoyed.
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FRANCE AND BELGIUM MAKE FIFA RANKING HISTORY

World Cup winners France and Belgium are the first teams to share a joint top spot at the latest FIFA rankings. In its 25 year run, two teams were yet to spare the top spot but with victories against Scotland and Iceland, Belgium joined France at the top of the ladder.

France defeated Belgium at the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia, before going on to win the tournament. The Roberto Martinez-led side that knocked out Brazil went on to claim the third place. The Belgian side recently defeated Scotland 4-0 in a friendly game, and won their debut game against Iceland 3-0 in the Nations League. France played a goalless draw against Germany before defeating the Netherlands 2-1 in the Nations League. Continue reading “FRANCE AND BELGIUM MAKE FIFA RANKING HISTORY”

Jan Oblak turned down Chelsea move

Slovenia international Jan Oblak is reported to have turned down advances from Chelsea despite the club triggering the £90m release clause on his Atletico Madrid contract. The 25-year-old had emerged as the prime target for the Blues after Thibaut Courtois made his mind up to join Real Madrid but they could not convince the shot-stopper to head to Stamford Bridge.

According to The Sunday Times, the West London giants agreed to activate the £90m escape clause on the goalkeeper’s contract but the Slovenian nevertheless vetoed the move as the Blues could not assure him of Champions League football. As a result, the Capital outfit made a late attempt to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao instead and they were successful after triggering the £71m buy-out clause written into his contract.
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New Slovenian Football Premier League Season Begins

The Slovenian Football Premier League- the 28th season is likely to get underway today. Maribor is all geared up to achieve the title who has already won national champions 14times. Although he lost 2 months back to his rival Olimpija of Ljubljana.

As far as Slavisa Stojanovic is concerned, he would be the new coach of Levski Sofia. The frequent traveler Stojanovic is in agreement to join Levski for a 1-year contract and has been given an option for extension for another year. He led Domzale to achieve the Slovenian title in the year 2007 and 2008 and achieved the Serbian league title in the year 2014. Stojanovic also did his coaching job in a few clubs in Latvia, China, and Belgium. He was the assistant coach for the United Arab Emirates from 2009 to 2011. Stojanovic will now replace Delio Rossi from Italy who was released due to an early exit last week.
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Antoine Griezmann Hails Jan Oblak As The Best Goalkeeper In The World

Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann has hailed Jan Oblak as the best goalkeeper in the world following his strong performance against Arsenal in the Europa League. The Spanish giants had found themselves a man down within 10 minutes of their semi-final first-leg clash at the Emirates and it required a series of saves from Oblak to ensure the teams went level at the break.

Following the interval, Alexandre Lacazette gave a 1-0 advantage for the hosts but Atleti eventually fought back for a draw with Griezmann scoring nine minutes from time. Speaking after the game, Griezmann was full of praise for Oblak, who made several blocks on the night including a late one which denied Aaron Ramsey the match-winning goal. Continue reading “Antoine Griezmann Hails Jan Oblak As The Best Goalkeeper In The World”