Erik Janža
Slovenian footballer (born 1993)
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Erik Janža (born 21 June 1993) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ekstraklasa club Górnik Zabrze, which he captains, and the Slovenia national team.
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Janža with Górnik Zabrze in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 June 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Murska Sobota, Slovenia[1] | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Górnik Zabrze | ||
| Number | 64 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Puconci[3] | |||
| 2007–2012 | Mura 05 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2013 | Mura 05 | 76 | (1) |
| 2013–2015 | Domžale | 66 | (4) |
| 2015–2016 | Maribor | 33 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Viktoria Plzeň | 3 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Pafos (loan) | 33 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | Osijek | 19 | (0) |
| 2019– | Górnik Zabrze | 207 | (8) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009 | Slovenia U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 2010 | Slovenia U18 | 4 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Slovenia U19 | 18 | (1) |
| 2011–2013 | Slovenia U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Slovenia U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 2014– | Slovenia | 30 | (3) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:53, 2 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10:53, 29 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Janža started his senior career with Mura 05 in 2010. With Mura 05, he reached the play-off round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, where the club were eliminated by Lazio.[4] In January 2013, he joined Domžale,[5] followed by Maribor in January 2015,[6] with whom he won both the Slovenian League and Slovenian Cup titles.[2]
In January 2017, Janža moved abroad to join Czech side Viktoria Plzeň,[7] and was subsequently loaned out to Cypriot club Pafos.[8] In July 2018, he transferred to Croatian side Osijek.[9]
On 28 June 2019, he signed a two-year contract with Polish Ekstraklasa club Górnik Zabrze.[10] On 21 November 2021, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 win over Legia Warszawa.[11] He became the club's captain ahead of the 2022–23 season. On 15 June 2024, Janža extended his contract with Górnik Zabrze until 2026.[12]
International career
Janža represented Slovenia at youth international levels from under-16 to under-21.
He made his debut for the senior national team on 18 November 2014, in a 1–0 friendly defeat against Colombia.[13] On 14 October 2023, he scored his first international goal in a 3–0 victory over Finland during the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying.[14]
On 7 June 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.[15] In the opening match, Janža scored the equalizer in a 1–1 draw against Denmark, which was Slovenia's first goal at the European Championship since their last participation 24 years ago.[16]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 2 May 2026[2]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Mura 05 | 2010–11 | Slovenian Second League | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |
| 2011–12 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8[b] | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| Total | 76 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 86 | 1 | ||
| Domžale | 2012–13 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 35 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 40 | 4 | |
| 2014–15 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| Total | 66 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 72 | 4 | ||
| Maribor | 2014–15 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 0 | ||
| Viktoria Plzeň | 2016–17 | Czech First League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Pafos (loan) | 2017–18 | Cypriot First Division | 33 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | 38 | 3 | |
| Osijek | 2018–19 | Croatian First League | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| Górnik Zabrze | 2019–20 | Ekstraklasa | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Ekstraklasa | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Ekstraklasa | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | Ekstraklasa | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Ekstraklasa | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Ekstraklasa | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | ||
| 2025–26 | Ekstraklasa | 28 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | 33 | 3 | ||
| Total | 207 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 221 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 437 | 15 | 34 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 487 | 16 | ||
- Includes Slovenian Cup, Cypriot Cup, Croatian Cup, Polish Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 28 March 2026[17]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | |||
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Janža goal.[18]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 October 2023 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | 4 |  Finland | 3–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 2 | 17 November 2023 | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark | 6 |  Denmark | 1–1 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 3 | 16 June 2024 | MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany | 11 | Denmark | 1–1 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 |
Honours
Maribor
Górnik Zabrze