Etien Velikonja (born 26 December 1988) is a retired Slovenian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a forward.

Club career

Gorica

Velikonja started to play football at Gorica. Coming through their youth system, he was promoted to the senior squad in 2006–07. In his first season, he took part in seven matches, scoring one goal. Next year, during the 2007–08 season, Velikonja played 31 matches, scoring five goals. During the 2008–09 campaign, Velikonja played 32 matches and scored a total of 17 goals, finishing the campaign as the top goal scorer in the

Slovenian PrvaLiga The Slovenian PrvaLiga ( sl, Prva slovenska nogometna liga, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten club ...

. In October 2009, in a league match against Koper, he sustained a serious knee injury which caused him to miss the majority of the 2009–10 season. He was not available to the team up until the end of April 2010, four rounds before the end of the season, when he returned to the pitch as a late substitute in a league match against Drava Ptuj.

Maribor

During the 2010 summer transfer window, it was speculated for the first time that Velikonja could join Slovenian PrvaLiga side Maribor, however, the deal was eventually not carried out and Velikonja stayed with Gorica for the start of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

season. By the end of 2010, he had played a total of 18 league matches for Gorica with an average of over 89 minutes per round, scoring five goals in the process. On 17 January 2011, during the winter transfer window, Velikonja was signed by Maribor in a deal that included an undisclosed transfer fee and player Vito Plut, who left Maribor for Gorica. He signed a contract with Maribor until 31 December 2013, and made his league debut on 26 February 2011 in a 4–2 win over Rudar Velenje, where he also scored his first goal for Maribor.

Cardiff City

On 12 July 2012, Velikonja signed a four-year contract for Football League Championship side Cardiff City. The whole transfer is reportedly worth

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3.6 million and

Zlatko Zahovič Zlatko Zahovič (; born 1 February 1971) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. After making a name for himself in Europe in Portugal, most notably with Porto and Benfica where he amassed Primeira ...

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

at Maribor, stated that the Velikonja transfer was a record high for the Slovenian PrvaLiga at the time. Maribor reportedly received a compensation of €2 million, with Velikonja earning around €400,000 per season for a total of €1.6 million in four years with the Welsh side. He joined his new club on 25 July after the

second qualifying round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

of the

2012–13 UEFA Champions League The 2012–13 UEFA Champions League was the 58th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 21st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pl ...

. He made his debut on 21 August in a 0–0 draw against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. Despite a prolific goalscoring record for Cardiff's Development Squad, Velikonja found first-team opportunities limited during his first season at the club, but was rewarded for his patience with a start up front at

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

on the final day of the title-winning campaign, which resulted in being substituted at half time after an ineffective performance.

Rio Ave (loan)

After months of waiting for his

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

debut, Cardiff City loaned him to

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Football in Portugal, Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which ...

in January 2014 until the end of the season. He played two cup finals with

Nuno Espirito Santo Nuno can refer to *Nuno (given name) is a Portuguese male name, derived either from Latin 'grandfather' or 'chamberlain, squire'. It is quite popular in the Portuguese-speaking countries and communities. Its Spanish equivalent is . There is al ...

's team but lost both the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

and Taça da Liga finals against Benfica.

Lierse (loan)

With Cardiff City swiftly relegated to the Championship, Velikonja was loaned out again in January 2015. Former Slovenia national team manager

Slaviša Stojanović Slaviša () is a South Slavic masculine given name, an old Slavic origin given name derived from word "slav" - glory. This name may refer to: * Slaviša Čula, Serbian football player *Slaviša Jokanović, Serbian football player * Slaviša Du ...

brought Velikonja to Lierse. After the team was relegated from the top division in 2014–15, Velikonja scored eight goals in his first eight appearances of the season during the

2015–16 Belgian Second Division The 2015–16 season of the Belgian Second Division (also known as Proximus League for sponsorship reasons) began on 8 August 2015 and ended in April 2016. Structural changes This season was the last under the name Second Division. Starting from ...

. With mid-table Lierse struggling in the fight for promotion, Velikonja broke his all-time goalscoring record for a single season by scoring his 21st goal against Heist on 19 March 2016. Velikonja finished the season with a record goal tally of 24 and as the league's top scorer for the second time in his career. Lierse finished seventh and avoided the drop to Belgian amateur league football. He was voted as the player of the season by Lierse fans.

Olimpija Ljubljana

Velikonja returned to Slovenia for the 2016–17 season, accepting an offer from Olimpija Ljubljana. He scored on his debut for Olimpija against

AS Trenčín AS Trenčín () is a Slovak sports club in the town of Trenčín, most known for its football department. The first team currently plays in the Fortuna Liga after winning the 2010–11 Slovak First League. The club plays its home games at th ...

in the second round of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

qualifying campaign.

International career

Velikonja was a member of the Slovenian youth national teams from under-18 to under-21. On 12 August 2009, Velikonja made his full international debut for

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

Personal life

Velikonja was born in

Šempeter pri Gorici Šempeter pri Gorici ( or ; it, San Pietro di Gorizia) is a town and the administrative centre of the Municipality of Šempeter-Vrtojba in the Slovene Littoral region of Slovenia. There is a border crossing into the Italian town of Gorizia. The cr ...

, present day

. He is the cousin of fellow footballer

Tim Matavž Tim Matavž (born 13 January 1989) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Croatian club Gorica. Club career Matavž began his football career at the age of 6 playing for Bilje. In 2004, he moved to Gorica youth ...

. He is in a long-term relationship with Slovenian triple jumper Maja Bratkič.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

Maribor *

, 2011–12 *

Slovenian Football Cup The Slovenian Football Cup ( sl, Pokal Nogometne zveze Slovenije, ) is the top knockout tournament of Slovenian football and the second most important football competition in Slovenia after the Slovenian PrvaLiga championship. The cup was establi ...

: 2011–12 *

Slovenian Supercup The Slovenian Supercup ( sl, Superpokal Slovenije) was a Association football, football match played between the Slovenian PrvaLiga champions and the Slovenian Football Cup, Slovenian Cup winners. Prior 2007, the match was held only twice, in 1995 ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Gorica *

Slovenian Second League The Slovenian Second Football League ( sl, Druga slovenska nogometna liga or commonly 2. SNL) is the second highest football league in Slovenia. The league was formed in 1991 and is operated by the Football Association of Slovenia. Format and rul ...

: 2021–22

Individual

*Slovenian PrvaLiga top scorer: 2008–09 *Belgian Second Division top scorer: 2015–16

References

External links

NZS profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Velikonja, Etien 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Šempeter pri Gorici Slovenian men's footballers Slovenian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football wingers ND Gorica players NK Maribor players Cardiff City F.C. players Rio Ave F.C. players Lierse S.K. players NK Olimpija Ljubljana (2005) players Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers Willem II (football club) players NEC Nijmegen players Slovenian PrvaLiga players English Football League players Primeira Liga players Belgian Pro League players Challenger Pro League players Süper Lig players Eredivisie players Slovenian Second League players Eerste Divisie players Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Wales Expatriate men's footballers in Wales Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Slovenia men's youth international footballers Slovenia men's under-21 international footballers Slovenia men's international footballers