Jan Mlakar

For the cross-country skier, see Jana Mlakar.

Jan Mlakar
Mlakar with Slovenia in 2022
Personal information
Date of birth (1998-10-23) 23 October 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Ljubljana, Slovenia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward, winger
Team information
Current team
 Pisa
Number 7
Youth career
0000–2008 Alfa
2008–2015 Domžale
2015–2017 Fiorentina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Fiorentina 1 (0)
2017–2018 → Venezia (loan) 3 (0)
2018–2019 Maribor 28 (12)
2019–2021 Brighton & Hove Albion 0 (0)
2019 → Maribor (loan) 10 (4)
2019–2020 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 6 (0)
2020 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 1 (0)
2020–2021 → Maribor (loan) 32 (14)
2021–2023 Hajduk Split 64 (18)
2023– Pisa 24 (3)
International career‡
2014–2015 Slovenia U17[a] 9 (8)
2015–2016 Slovenia U19[a] 5 (2)
2016–2019 Slovenia U21 19 (8)
2019 Slovenia B 1 (0)
2021– Slovenia 26 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 June 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2024

Jan Mlakar (born 23 October 1998) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie B club Pisa.[1]

Club career

Early career

Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Mlakar started playing football at his hometown club Alfa, before moving to Domžale.[2] In early 2015, at the age of 16, Mlakar was transferred to the Italian Serie A side Fiorentina for a reported fee of €1 million.[2] He captained Fiorentina's under-19 side and was also the team's top goalscorer in the 2016–17 season.[3] He made his professional senior debut on 30 April 2017 in a league match against Palermo, replacing his fellow countryman Josip Iličić in the 70th minute.[4] For the 2017–18 season, he was loaned to the Serie B side Venezia, where he made three league appearances.[1]

In January 2018, Mlakar returned to Slovenia and joined Maribor, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.[5]

Brighton & Hove Albion

In January 2019, Mlakar signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Brighton & Hove Albion. He was immediately loaned back to Maribor until the end of the season.[6] With the team, he won his first senior trophy as Maribor were crowned champions during the 2018–19 season.[7] Overall, Mlakar scored 17 goals for Maribor in 44 appearances over a span of two seasons.[7]

Queens Park Rangers (loan)

Upon return, he was loaned out again on 24 July 2019 to the Championship side Queens Park Rangers in a one-year deal.[8] Mlakar made his debut for The R's on 13 August 2019 in the first round of the EFL Cup against Bristol City, where he came on as a substitute. The game finished 3–3 with QPR winning 5–4 on penalties.[9] His first start also came in the EFL Cup where he played the full match in the 2–0 home defeat against Portsmouth.[10] He made his league debut coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 away win over Sheffield Wednesday on 31 August 2019.[11]

Wigan Athletic (loan)

After being recalled by Brighton from QPR in January 2020, he joined another Championship side, Wigan Athletic, on loan until the end of the season.[12][13] On 4 July 2020, Mlakar made his debut for the Latics, coming on as a substitute away at Brentford in a 3–0 defeat.[14]

Maribor (loan)

On 14 August 2020, Brighton have sent Mlakar on another loan to the Slovenian PrvaLiga side Maribor until the end of the 2020–21 season.[15] He scored his first goal on his return to Slovenia in his second appearance on 12 September in a 4–1 home victory over Bravo after coming on as a substitute.[16]

Hajduk Split

On 1 July 2021, Mlakar signed a four-year contract with Croatian club Hajduk Split.[17] On 17 July, he made his debut in a Croatian First League match against Lokomotiva Zagreb. During the match, he scored both Hajduk's goals in an eventual 2–2 draw.[18]

Pisa

On 27 August 2023, Mlakar returned to Italy with Serie B club Pisa.[19]

International career

Mlakar was capped for Slovenia at all youth levels from under-15 to under-21.[20] He was the top goalscorer of the qualifications for the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, with eight goals.[2] In June 2019, Mlakar was included in the senior squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match against Latvia,[21] but was an unused substitution.[22]

As the captain of the under-21 team, he led the player's rebellion against the manager Primož Gliha in October 2020 due to his alleged inappropriate behavior towards players.[23][24] As a result, Gliha was sacked by the Football Association of Slovenia, and Mlakar was not included in the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squad by the new manager Milenko Ačimovič.[25][26]

Mlakar was part of the senior squad for friendly matches away to North Macedonia and at home against Gibraltar in June 2021.[27] He debuted against the former on 1 June, starting the match and playing for 79 minutes in an eventual 1–1 draw.[28] Mlakar also started the game at home against Gibraltar on 4 June, where he scored his first senior international goal, putting his nation 4–0 ahead in an eventual 6–0 victory.[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 28 May 2023[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fiorentina 2016–17 Serie A 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 — 1 0
Venezia (loan) 2017–18 Serie B 3 0 1 0 — — — 4 0
Maribor 2017–18 Slovenian PrvaLiga 12 3 — — — — 12 3
2018–19 Slovenian PrvaLiga 26 13 3 1 — 3[b] 0 — 32 14
Total 38 16 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 44 17
Brighton & Hove Albion 2019–20 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Queens Park Rangers (loan) 2019–20 Championship 6 0 0 0 2 0 — — 8 0
Wigan Athletic (loan) 2019–20 Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Maribor (loan) 2020–21 Slovenian PrvaLiga 32 14 2 1 — 1[b] 0 — 35 15
Hajduk Split 2021–22 Croatian First League 27 7 4 0 — 2[c] 0 — 33 7
2022–23 Croatian League 33 11 5 3 — 2[c] 0 1[d] 0 41 14
Total 60 18 9 3 0 0 4 0 1 0 74 21
Career total 141 48 15 5 2 0 8 0 1 0 167 53
  1. ^ a b Official competitive UEFA matches only.[1]
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ Appearance in Croatian Super Cup

International

As of match played 17 November 2024[1]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Slovenia 2021 5 1
2022 1 0
2023 8 1
2024 12 2
Total 26 4
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mlakar goal.
List of international goals scored by Jan Mlakar
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 June 2021 Bonifika Stadium, Koper, Slovenia 2  Gibraltar 4–0 6–0 Friendly
2 10 September 2023 San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino 10  San Marino 2–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
3 4 June 2024 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia 16  Armenia 1–0 2–1 Friendly
4 13 October 2024 Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan 24  Kazakhstan 1–0 1–0 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Maribor

Hajduk Split

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jan Mlakar at Soccerway
  2. ^ a b c Nejedly, Gorazd (30 March 2015). "Veliki slovenski up Jan Mlakar je kralj evropskih strelcev". Delo (in Slovenian). Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  3. ^ Uredništvo (2 April 2017). "Kapetan Mlakar zabil dva" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Palermo vs. Fiorentina – 30 April 2017 – Soccerway". soccerway.com. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  5. ^ R. K. (25 January 2018). "Mlakar zapustil Italijo in prišel v Maribor" (in Slovenian). Maribor: RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Brighton: Jan Mlakar and Tudor-Cristian Baluta join Seagulls". BBC Sport. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Jan Mlakar je nazaj" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Slovenian striker Jan Mlakar joins QPR". QPR. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Queens Park Rangers 3–3 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Queens Park Rangers v Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Sheffield Wednesday 1–2 Queens Park Rangers: Jordan Hugill double guides Rangers to win". BBC Sport. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  12. ^ Talbot, Bruce (31 January 2020). "Mlakar heads to Wigan". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Latics add Brighton & Hove Albion forward Jan Mlakar on loan". Wigan Athletic F.C. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  14. ^ Pilnick, Brent (4 July 2020). "Brentford 3–0 Wigan Athletic: Said Benrahma hat-trick sees off Latics". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  15. ^ R. Š. (14 August 2020). "Maribor zaostril konkurenco v napadu". Slovenski nogometni portal (in Slovenian). Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Maribor–Bravo 4:1" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Hajduk verjame v Slovenca: Jan Mlakar je podpisal in bo zdaj videl, kaj je priložnost in hkrati pritisk" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Jan Mlakar » 1. HNL 2021/2022". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Jan Mlakar ha firmato per il Pisa!" [Jan Mlakar has signed for Pisa!] (in Italian). Pisa SC. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Jan Mlakar – Nogometna zveza Slovenije" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Šporar poškodovan, vpoklican Mlakar" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  22. ^ "Latvia vs. Slovenia". soccerway.com. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  23. ^ R. Š. (5 November 2020). "U21: Mlakar kaznovan zaradi rušenja Glihe?". Slovenski nogometni portal (in Slovenian). Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  24. ^ Okorn, Jože (16 October 2020). "Upor proti Glihi". Dnevnik (in Slovenian). Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  25. ^ Grošelj, Matej (15 March 2021). "Slovenija brez upornikov na evropsko prvenstvo". Dnevnik (in Slovenian). Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  26. ^ Gruden, Toni (15 March 2021). "Ačimović s 15 igralci Prve lige po četrtfinale domačega EP-ja" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  27. ^ Gruden, Toni (1 June 2021). "Šeško in Mlakar prva strelca, Iličić pa najpodajalec Kekovih izbrancev" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  28. ^ Okorn, Jože (1 June 2021). "Črnigoj šokiral Makedonce v sodnikovem dodatku". Dnevnik (in Slovenian). Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  29. ^ Kovačič, Rok (4 June 2021). "Slovenci v mrežo Gibraltarja pospravili pol ducata golov". Sportklub (in Slovenian). Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  30. ^ "Jalov boj za strelskega kralja: Še nikoli doslej 14 golov ni bilo dovolj za prvo mesto" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.