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) |
| 2013–2015 | Milan | 15 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | → Chievo (loan) | 35 | (0) |
| 2015– | Chievo | 31 | (6) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003–2004 | Slovenia U19 | 9 | (3) |
| 2004–2006 | Slovenia U21 | 10 | (3) |
| 2006– | Slovenia | 80 | (6) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 April 2016. | |||
Valter Birsa (born 7 August 1986 in Šempeter pri Gorici) is a Slovenian footballer, who plays as a winger 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 club Genoa.[5] He made just nine appearances in his maiden season in Italy.
Torino (on loan)
He joined Torino on the 31 August 2012 on loan. 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
Birsa made the switch to Milan on 31 August 2013, in what was a straight swap deal which saw Luca Antonini move in the opposite direction. He was handed the number 14 shirt at Milan. He scored his first goal for Milan on 28 September 2013 against Sampdoria to give the Rossoneri the win.
Chievo
He signed for Chievo on 9 July 2014 on loan.[6] On 2 July 2015, Chievo signed Birsa outright in a three-year contract.[7]
International career
He plays for the Slovenian national football team since 2006. 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 3 April 2016
| 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 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 318 | 53 | 17 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 350 | 56 | ||
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 |  Poland | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 10 October 2009 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia |  Slovakia | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 18 June 2010 | Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa |  United States | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
| 4 | 7 June 2013 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland |  Iceland | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 19 November 2013 | Arena Petrol, Celje, Slovenia |  Canada | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 9 October 2015 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia |  Lithuania | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2016 Qualification |
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.[8][9] In 2012 he married his long-time girlfriend Mateja, the couple has a son named Nolan.[10]
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.
- ↑ "Official: Valter Birsa coming to ChievoVerona". A.C. ChievoVerona. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ↑ "Official: Birsa belongs to ChievoVerona". A.C. ChievoVerona. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ↑ "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
- Valter Birsa at Topforward
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