Roman Bezjak (born 21 February 1989)[2] is a Slovenian footballer who plays as a forward for Austrian side USV Wies. He made his debut for the Slovenia national team in 2013, making a total of 33 appearances and scoring 5 goals.[3]
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 February 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Slovenj Gradec, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | USV Wies | ||
| Number | 77 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Korotan Prevalje[1] | |||
| –2005 | Dravograd | ||
| 2005–2008 | Celje | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2012 | Celje | 108 | (34) |
| 2008 | → Zagorje (loan) | 5 | (3) |
| 2009–2010 | → Mladi upi Šentjur (loan) | 8 | (4) |
| 2012–2015 | Ludogorets Razgrad | 60 | (20) |
| 2015–2016 | Rijeka | 39 | (20) |
| 2016–2018 | Darmstadt 98 | 14 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Rijeka (loan) | 16 | (4) |
| 2018–2019 | Jagiellonia Białystok | 30 | (7) |
| 2019–2020 | APOEL | 18 | (4) |
| 2020 | Olimpija Ljubljana | 16 | (2) |
| 2020–2021 | Celje | 10 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Balıkesirspor | 25 | (1) |
| 2022– | USV Wies | 23 | (13) |
| International career | |||
| 2007 | Slovenia U18 | 8 | (3) |
| 2007 | Slovenia U19 | 6 | (3) |
| 2009–2010 | Slovenia U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Slovenia U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2013–2019 | Slovenia | 33 | (5) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 August 2023 | |||
Club career
editCelje
editBezjak made his debut for Celje on 9 April 2008 against Maribor, coming on as a substitute for the last six minutes.[4] The following season he made his first start for Celje, on 2 August 2008, in a 0–0 home draw against Domžale before being substituted by Saša Bakarić.[5] Two weeks later, he scored his first goal in a 2–2 away draw against Primorje. He began to establish himself in the Celje first team from the 2009–10 season, making 24 league appearances and scoring 6 goals.[6]
Ludogorets Razgrad
editOn 22 August 2012, Bezjak signed a four-year contract with Bulgarian A Group side Ludogorets Razgrad.[7] He made his debut for Ludogorets against CSKA Sofia on 22 September where he came on as a substitute in a 1–0 home win. His first goals for Ludogorets came on 3 May 2013 when he scored twice in a 3–0 home win over Chernomorets Burgas. He made 14 appearances during the 2012–13 season, finishing with 5 goals.
In the following season Bezjak became a first team regular. He scored his first goal of the season in the second league game, a 1–0 win at home to Chernomorets Burgas on 27 July 2013. On 27 October 2013, he scored his first-ever career hat-trick, netting four goals in a 5–1 league win over Lyubimets 2007. He also scored three goals in two matches against PSV Eindhoven in the group stage of the Europa League. In February 2014, he netted in both legs of the 4–3 aggregate victory over Lazio in the round of 32 of the Europa League.[8] On 13 March 2014, he earned а penalty kick in the 3–0 home loss against Valencia, but missed from the spot.[9] On 15 May 2014, Bezjak scored the winning goal in the 1–0 victory over Botev Plovdiv in the 2014 Bulgarian Cup Final to help his team achieve a double.[10] He ended the season as the club's top scorer, scoring 20 goals in all competitions.
Rijeka
editOn 14 May 2015, HNK Rijeka announced that Bezjak had signed a three-year contract, tying him with the club until June 2018.[11] He made his official début for the club on 10 July 2015, in a goalless away draw against Inter Zaprešić in Round 1 of the Croatian First Football League.[12] On 19 July 2015, Bezjak scored a brace in a 3–3 home draw against Slaven Belupo.[13] With 13 goals to his account, he was the club's top scorer during the 2015–16 season.
Jagiellonia Białystok
editOn 1 February 2018, Bezjak signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Jagiellonia Białystok.[14] His debut for Jagiellonia was against Piast Gliwice in a 2–0 victory, when he was subbed in during the second half.[15] Bezjak's first goal for the club was on 23 February 2018 against Lechia Gdańsk in a 4–2 win at home.[16]
International career
editBezjak earned his first cap for Slovenia on 14 August 2013, after coming on as a substitute in the 2–0 loss against Finland in a friendly match.[17] On 23 March 2016, Bezjak scored his first goal for Slovenia in the 1–0 win against Macedonia.[18] On 8 October 2017, Bezjak scored twice for the 2–2 draw between Slovenia and Scotland.[19]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 2 December 2019[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Celje | 2007–08 | 1. SNL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | 1. SNL | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | ||
| 2009–10 | 1. SNL | 24 | 6 | 4 | 3 | — | 28 | 9 | ||
| 2010–11 | 1. SNL | 32 | 7 | 2 | 1 | — | 34 | 8 | ||
| 2011–12 | 1. SNL | 34 | 16 | 7 | 1 | — | 41 | 17 | ||
| 2012–13 | 1. SNL | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 8 | 4 | |
| Total | 108 | 34 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 123 | 39 | ||
| Ludogorets | 2012–13 | A Group | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 5 | |
| 2013–14 | A Group | 31 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 15[b] | 6 | 51 | 20 | |
| 2014–15 | A Group | 15 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 9[c] | 2 | 31 | 4 | |
| Total | 60 | 20 | 12 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 96 | 29 | ||
| Rijeka | 2015–16 | 1. HNL | 32 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 2[a] | 0 | 39 | 17 |
| 2016–17 | 1. HNL | 23 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2[a] | 2 | 28 | 13 | |
| Total | 55 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 67 | 30 | ||
| Darmstadt 98 | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | 2. Bundesliga | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Jagiellonia | 2017–18 | Ekstraklasa | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| 2018–19 | Ekstraklasa | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 19 | 4 | |
| Total | 30 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 7 | ||
| APOEL | 2018–19 | Cypriot First Division | 14 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 |
| 2019–20 | Cypriot First Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[d] | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 18 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 30 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 285 | 89 | 41 | 10 | 39 | 10 | 365 | 109 | ||
- ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League; nine appearances and six goals in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League and three appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | 2013 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 33 | 5 | |
- Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bezjak goal.[3]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 March 2016 | Bonifika Stadium, Koper, Slovenia |  North Macedonia
|
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 8 October 2017 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia |  Scotland
|
1–1 | 2–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 2–1 | |||||
| 4 | 2 June 2018 | City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro |  Montenegro
|
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 9 September 2019 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia |  Israel
|
2–2 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
Honours
editLudogorets
Rijeka
APOEL
References
edit- ^ Ranc, Tomaž (19 October 2013). "Nogometni Korotan se je začel prebujati". Večer (in Slovenian). Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- ^ "Roman Bezjak :: Roman Bezjak :: Balikesirspor". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ a b Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Roman Bezjak". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "Maribor 5–2 Celje". prvaliga.si (in Slovenian). 9 April 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2020.}
- ^ "Celje 0–0 Domžale". prvaliga.si (in Slovenian). 2 August 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2020.}
- ^ "Roman Bezjak – statistika 2009/10". prvaliga.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ "Ludogorets bought a striker from Slovenia". ludogorets.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ T. J (27 February 2014). "Bezjak začel popoln preobrat proti Laziu" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ "Валенсия събуди Лудогорец от "европейския" им сън, този път и късметът обърна гръб на разградчани". topsport.bg. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ^ "Лудогорец триумфира с Купата в мач, изпълнен с простотия, нерви и ексцесии, "oрлите" подчиниха "Ботев" на "Лазур". topsport.bg. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ "Roman Bezjak novi igrač Rijeke". nk-rijeka.hr. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ "Inter Zaprešić-Rijeka 0:0". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ "Rijeka-Slaven Belupo 3:3". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ "Jagiellonia Białystok. Roman Bezjak podpisał kontrakt". eurosport.interia.pl (in Polish). 1 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ "Piast Gliwice – Jagiellonia Białystok 0:2" (in Polish). dziennikzachodni.pl. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ^ "Jagiellonia imponuje i wskakuje na pozycję lidera! Posada Owena wisi na włosku" (in Polish). przegladsportowy.pl. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "R. Bezjak – Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ Š. Ro. (23 March 2016). "Z Bezjakovim prvencem zmaga Slovenije na Bonifiki". Delo (in Slovenian). Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ Mitja Lisjak (8 October 2017). "Video: Rezervist Bezjak Škotsko zavil v črno" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ "Roman Bezjak, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
External links
edit- Roman Bezjak at Soccerway
- Roman Bezjak at NZS (in Slovene)
- Roman Bezjak at ÖFB (in German)