Jan Oblak

At 31 years old, Jan Oblak has this physical status:

Jan Oblak (born 7 January 1993) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the Slovenia national team. Oblak signed for Portuguese club Benfica at the age of 17, and was part of the team that won the domestic treble in the 2013–14 season.

He then moved to Atlético Madrid for a fee of €16 million, becoming La Liga's most expensive goalkeeper at that time.

In 2015–16 he won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper, conceding an all-time record low of 18 goals.

He won the award again in the following three seasons.

Oblak was also nominated for the 2017 and 2018 Ballon d'Or awards, following his consistent performances with his club.With over 200 appearances for Atlético Madrid, Oblak has won three major titles with the club, including the 2018 UEFA Super Cup by defeating city rivals Real Madrid.Oblak made his senior international debut for Slovenia in 2012.

Personal life

Oblak was born to a Slovenian father, Matjaž Oblak, and a Bosnian Serb mother Stojanka Majkić. His older sister, Teja Oblak (born 1990), is a professional basketball player and a member of the Slovenia national team.

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Club career

Oblak, a born in kofja Loka, started playing football at the age of five for his hometown team Loan. He joined the Olimpija youth academy at the age of ten, where he stayed until the 2004–05 season, when the club was dissolved. He then moved to Begrad, which became Olimpija Ljubljana in 2008, which was followed by a string of name changes. Oblak's first year was the beginning of a new one for the Italian club Empoli following a criminal investigation, but he did not leave the club and committed his future with a contract extension until 2011. Oblak, 16, made his professional debut for Olimpija Ljubljana in the 2008–09 Slovenian Second League in a 7–2 victory over Mura 05 on May 17th. Olimpija Ljubljana was promoted to PrvaLiga as a league champion in the 2009–10 season. Oblak was the team's top goalkeeper in the next season, although he was only active in three league games as the team finished fourth in the league table.

Oblak signed a deal with Portuguese club Benfica on June 14, 2010, who loaned him to Beira-Mar, a top-level club. He continued on loan with Olhanense until the 2010-11 season.

Oblak was loaned by Benfica to Unio de Leiria, Portugal's second team, for the 2011–12 season. In a 2–2 away draw against Nacional on January 15, he made his league debut on January 15, 2012. Oblak was one of only eight players to play in the league match against Feirense on April 29, 2012, after the majority of Leiria's financial difficulties ended their contracts due to financial difficulties within the team.

Oblak refused to appear for pre-season training in July 2013 saying he had no deal with Benfica. He signed a labour extension into 2018 late in the month, describing the situation as a "misunderstanding."

Artur's long-serving goalkeeper made a string of mistakes midway through the 2013–14 season, and Benfica's Jorge Jesus dropped him in favour of Oblak, who went on to keep several clean sheets in his first starts, notably in a 2–0 victory over Porto and a 0–0 draw at Juventus in the UEFA Europa League's semi-finals. On July 6, 2014, he received the league's Best Goalkeeper of the Year award.

Atlético Madrid reported on July 16th that they had reached an understanding with Benfica for the transfer of Oblak pending a medical examination. Atlético paid €16 million for the Slovenian player, making him the most expensive goalkeeper in La Liga history. Following his loan repayment, Oblak moved to Madrid on a six-year contract as a replacement for Thibaut Courtois, who had returned to play for his parent club Chelsea following his loan repayment. "I don't come to replace anyone" during Oblak's address on July 22, 2014. I'm here as another participant. I'm here, as well as the rest of the participants and goalkeepers. I'll do everything I can to protect this shirt and produce stellar results this season. "I will do everything I can to help the team," says the narrator.

Oblak was an unused substitute in his first competitive match against Real Madrid on August 19, 2014, with Miguel ngel Moya playing instead. In Atlético's first Champions League group match of the season, he made his debut on September 16, 2014, defeating Olympiacos 3–2. In his first Copa del Rey match, a 3–0 win over L'Hospitalet in the first leg of the last 32, he was his first clean sheet. In a 1–0 home win, he recalled Moyà's injured in the 23rd minute of a Champions League last 16 second leg against Bayer Leverkusen on March 17th and kept a clean sheet. The tie came down to a penalty shootout, in which he saved Leverkusen's first attempt by Hakan alhanolu in a hysterical victory. In a 2–0 home win over neighbors Getafe, four days later, due to his injury, he made his league debut, keeping a clean sheet.

Oblak received a contract extension through 2021, with a reported release clause of £77.5 million. Oblak saved Thomas Müller's penalty at the Allianz Arena in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals on May 3rd; despite Atlético's loss of the match 2–1, they advanced to the final on away goals. He was named in the 2015–16 Champions League squad. He received the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper as the domestic season came to an end, defeating Deportivo de La Coru's Francisco Liayo's 22-year-old record.

Oblak's attention was on March 15, 2017 in a Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen, where he made three saves in succession to ensure a goalless draw and passage to the quarter-finals. "These are things that happen," he said on UEFA's website. You save three attempts some days and then get the three others to score all three."

He was again selected in the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League squad of the season and also won the second consecutive Ricardo Zamora Trophy. He was also shortlisted for the 2017 Ballon d'Or, where he came in 26th with 4 votes.

Oblak started the game against Las Palmas on January 28, 2018 in his 100th league game for Atlético. He had 59 clean sheets in 100 league games and conceded only 54 goals. Oblak kept a clean sheet when his team defeated Olympique de Marseille 3–0, winning their third Europa League title in eight years. This was Oblak's first European title, after being a runner-up twice before.

He was selected in the Europa League squad of the season as a result of his performances. For the third time in a row, he lifted the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the third time in a row, despite conceding only 22 goals in 37 games. He was also named with the La Liga Best Goalkeeper award for the third straight season, making him the first goalkeeper to win the award three times. He was ranked second in the final list after being placed 25th.

Oblak defeated Borussia Dortmund 2–0 in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League on November 6, 2018. He kept his 100th clean sheet for Atlético by doing so, a feat that he attained in 178 official games. Oblak agreed to a four-year contract extension with the club on April 17, 2019, extending his stay at the club until 2023.

Oblak claimed the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the fourth straight season, equaling the record for most consecutive Zamora Trophies won by Vctor Valdés. For the fourth time in a row, he was named La Liga Best Goalkeeper of the Season award.

He was named vice-captain of the team ahead of the 2019-20-20 season, behind Koke. Oblak was nominated for the inaugural edition of the Yashin Trophy, the Ballon D'Or of goalkeepers, on October 21, 2019. He came in fourth place in fourth place. Oblak remained clean in a 0–0 away draw against Villarreal on December 6, 2019. He tied for the most clean sheets in his 96th league game by doing so, setting a new club record of Abel Resino for the most clean sheets.

Following Atlético Madrid's 3–2 home win over defending champions Liverpool in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, Oblak, playing his fiftieth Champions League match, was voted Man of the Match by UEFA on March 11, 2020, an individual who was also playing his fiftieth Champions League match, Oblak, winning his fourth Champions League match with a 4–2 aggregate victory in the quarter-finals. Oblak's 5–0 away win over Osasuna in his 182nd league game, and by doing so, became the fastest goalkeeper to reach 100 clean sheets in La Liga history, breaking a nearly 50-year-old record of Miguel Reina, who did the same in 222 league appearances. Oblak also became the first non-Spanish goalkeeper to have 100 clean sheets in La Liga history. Oblak's side defeated Deportivo Alavés 2–1 on June 27, 2020, his 250th game for Atlético. He has reached his high point just one week after beating José Francisco Molina as the second goalkeeper with the most appearances in the club's history.

Oblak captured the La Liga title with Atlético Madrid in 2020-2021. In comparison to a season where the average save rate was 87%, he managed to keep 18 clean sheets in 38 matches.

Oblak's 304th competitive match for Atlético Madrid on August 15, 2021, became the club's goalkeeper with the most appearances, surpassing the previous record of Abel Resino.

International career

Oblak was first called by the Slovenia under-21 team in August 2009, replacing the injured Jan Koprivec. In the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers, he made his debut against France on September 9th.

Oblak made his debut for the senior team on September 11, 2012, defeating Norway 2–1 away in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

After the international retirement of Samir Handanovie at the end of 2015, he took a break from his international service during the 2018-19 UEFA Nations League due to an arm injury he was fighting at the time.

For the first time, Oblak captained Slovenia on September 6th.

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