Gregor Balažic (born 12 February 1988) is a 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 le ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

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 Football in Slovenia, Slovenian football league system. ...

club Mura. In Slovenia, he played for Mura and Gorica. He had spells abroad in Spain, Ukraine, Serbia, Russia and Cyprus, notably having a five-year spell with

Karpaty Lviv Football Club Karpaty Lviv ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Lviv. History Early years (1963–68) The team of Karpaty was founded on 18 January, 1963. In 1961 Silmash Lviv won the championship of Lviv Oblast but lost its p ...

in the

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League'') ...

and winning the

2014–15 Serbian SuperLiga The 2014–15 Serbian SuperLiga (known as the Jelen SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the Serbian SuperLiga since its establishment. Teams The league contains 16 teams. 14 teams from the 2013–14 Serbian SuperLiga and ...

with

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

. Balažic represented

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 ...

at all youth levels, and made his senior debut in 2013.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Murska Sobota Murska Sobota (, Slovenian abbreviation: ''MS'' ; german: Olsnitz;''Radkersburg und Luttenberg'' (map, 1:75,000). 1894. Vienna: K.u.k. Militärgeographisches Institut. hu, Muraszombat) is a town in northeastern Slovenia. It is the centre of the ...

, Balažic came through the youth academy of Mura, who went defunct in 2005. He made his first-team debut at the age of 17 in a 2–1 home league win against

Zagorje Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian for "backland" or "behind the hills") is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica Mountain. It compris ...

on 30 April 2005, during the club's last competitive season. In the summer of 2005, Balažic was transferred to Benfica of Portugal. Until his departure two years later, he played exclusively for their youth sides.

Spain

In June 2007, Balažic moved to Spain and signed with

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

, being initially registered for the reserves. However, two months later, he left for

Águilas Águilas () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality and seaport of southeastern Spain, in the province of Region of Murcia, Murcia. It is situated at the southern end of Murcia's Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastline, otherwise known as the ...

also in the country's

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

. Balažic suffered a knee injury early into the campaign, which resulted in the termination of his contract in December 2007.

Gorica

In the winter

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

of 2008, Balažic returned to his country and signed for Gorica of the

. He scored his first goal as a senior on 5 December 2009, helping to a 1–1 home draw against Olimpija Ljubljana. Balažic contributed with 29 games in 2009–10, helping his team to finish third and qualify for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

Karpaty Lviv

In January 2011, Balažic signed with

in the

, penning a four-year deal for €400,000 in what was the club's most expensive transfer ever. On 6 March he made his competitive debut, netting in a 2–2 draw at

Arsenal Kyiv Football Club Arsenal Kyiv () is a Ukrainian football club based in Kyiv. In 2019, the club's professional team was dissolved, but its junior teams continue to compete in city competitions. The club claims to be a successor of Kyiv Arsenal fa ...

. In the first round of 2014–15, Balažic scored in a 2–2 away draw to

Hoverla Uzhhorod Football Club Hoverla Uzhhorod ( ) was a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Uzhhorod. Following the end of the 2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League, 2015–16 season it was expelled from the Ukrainian Premier Leagu ...

. He scored a career-best four goals during that season, in only 13 matches.

Partizan

On 4 February 2015, Balažic signed a two-year contract with

. On 28 February he made his first appearance, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 home draw against Radnički Niš. On 25 April 2015, during the Eternal derby against

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

, Balažic was fouled in the area by Vukašin Jovanović in what should have been a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

for Partizan, but referee

Milorad Mažić Milorad Mažić ( sr-Cyrl, Милорад Мажић, ; born 23 March 1973) is a Serbian international association football referee. He became a FIFA referee in 2009. Beside working in the Serbian football league system, Mažić officiated numero ...

did not concede it. A week later, against

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

, this time it was Balažic who brought down an opponent but, again, nothing was awarded; later, he admitted he did commit the infraction. During his debut campaign, Balažic partnered his compatriot Branko Ilić as a central defender. After the departure of the latter in the summer, he started alongside Brazilian Fabrício. He scored his first official goal for the team on 22 August 2015, helping to a 3–1 away victory over

Borac Čačak Borac may refer to: * FK Borac Banja Luka, a football club from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina ** RK Borac Banja Luka, an affiliated team handball club ** OK Borac, an affiliated volleyball club * FK Borac Čačak, a football club from Čačak ...

Ural

On 30 December 2016, Balažic signed for two and a half years with

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

club Ural Yekaterinburg. On 7 June 2019, he left upon the expiration of his contract.

International career

Balažic made his senior debut for

on 19 November 2013, in a 1–0 friendly win against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Celje ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Cou ...

. His second

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

came on 7 June of the following year in another friendly, a 2–0 loss to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

Style of play

Balažic is a quick and strong player, technically gifted and with passing ability.

Oleg Kononov Oleg Georgiyevich Kononov (russian: Олег Георгиевич Кононов, born 23 March 1966) is a Russian football coach and a former player. He is the manager of Arsenal Tula. Playing career Oleg Kononov began his playing career i ...

, his coach at Karpaty, described him as a "very intelligent player" with a "great potential".

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Partizan *

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

: 2014–15 *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије, Kup Srbije) is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. From 2006 to 2010, the competition was known as the Lav Cup ...

: 2015–16

References

External links

NZS profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balazic, Gregor 1988 births Living people People from Murska Sobota Prekmurje Slovenes Slovenian footballers Slovenia youth international footballers Slovenia under-21 international footballers Slovenia international footballers Association football defenders NK Mura players ND Gorica players RCD Espanyol B footballers FC Karpaty Lviv players FK Partizan players FC Ural Yekaterinburg players Enosis Neon Paralimni FC players NŠ Mura players Slovenian PrvaLiga players Segunda División B players Ukrainian Premier League players Serbian SuperLiga players Russian Premier League players Cypriot First Division players Slovenian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Ukraine Expatriate footballers in Serbia Expatriate footballers in Russia Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus