Petar Stojanović (footballer)

Petar Stojanović (born 7 October 1995) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Serie A club Empoli and the Slovenia national team.

Petar Stojanović
Stojanović with Slovenia in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-10-07) 7 October 1995 (age 28)
Place of birthLjubljana, Slovenia[1]
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s)Right-back
Team information
Current team
Empoli
Youth career
2001–2007Arne Tabor
2007–2010Slovan
2010–2011Interblock
2011–2013Maribor
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2012–2016Maribor45(2)
2013–2014Veržej (loan)11(3)
2016–2022Dinamo Zagreb121(2)
2016Dinamo Zagreb II1(0)
2021–2022Empoli (loan)33(1)
2022–Empoli27(0)
2023–2024Sampdoria (loan)28(1)
International career
2010Slovenia U162(0)
2011–2012Slovenia U1715(2)
2012–2013Slovenia U1814(2)
2013Slovenia U194(0)
2014–2016Slovenia U216(1)
2014–Slovenia57(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 July 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 July 2024

Club career

Stojanović (right) with Dinamo Zagreb in 2016

Stojanović started playing football at the local football club Arne Tabor, before joining Slovan and later Interblock youth selections, where he remained until 2011, when he was acquired by Maribor.[3][4] After his transfer to Maribor, Joc Pečečnik, the owner of Interblock, accused Zlatko Zahovič, the director of football at Maribor, of going behind his back and stealing one of the biggest Slovenian talents of his age.[3]

Initially, Stojanović played as a goalkeeper but he then switched to the position of an offensive midfielder.[3] When he transferred to Maribor youth selections he was regarded as one of the most promising young midfielders in the country,[3] however, Maribor's coaches and staff saw a much bigger potential for Stojanović on the position of right-back.[4] During his first year in Maribor he mostly played for the under-17 team.[5] However, he got his chance to play for the main squad in the second part of the 2011–12 season and made his first appearance in the Slovenian top division, 1. SNL, on 25 March 2012.[6] At the time of his debut, he was 16 years, five months and 18 days old and set a new club record as the youngest player to appear in the top division.[6]

On 5 January 2016, he signed a five-year contract with Dinamo Zagreb, reportedly for a transfer fee of around €2 million plus add-ons.[7][8]

On 20 July 2021, Stojanović joined Italian club Empoli on loan with a conditional obligation to buy.[9] The conditions were fulfilled and Empoli purchased the rights on 17 June 2022.[10]

International career

Stojanović represented Slovenia at all youth international levels from under-16 to under-21.[11]

As a member of the Slovenia under-17 team, Stojanović appeared at the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, where he scored one goal.[12] He debuted for the senior squad against Colombia on 18 November 2014.[13] At the time, he was 19 years, one month and 11 days old and became the youngest debutant in the national team, surpassing the previous record set by Rene Mihelič seven years earlier.[13][14]

On 1 September 2021, he scored his first goal for the national team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Slovakia, which ended in a 1–1 draw.[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of 17 May 2024[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup[a]ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Maribor2011–12Slovenian PrvaLiga2000000020
2012–132000000020
2013–1471310000102
2014–152301011[b]01[c]0360
2015–16111202[b]01[c]0161
Total4526113020663
Veržej (loan)2013–14Slovenian Second League11300113
Dinamo Zagreb2015–16Croatian First League10000100
2016–172313010[b]0361
2017–18300404[d]0380
2018–191803015[e]0360
2019–201713010[b]01[f]0311
2020–21230407[g]0340
2021–2200002[b]020
Total1212170480101872
Empoli (loan)2021–22Serie A33120351
Empoli2022–23Serie A27010280
2023–24001010
Total27020290
Sampdoria (loan)2023–24Serie B281001[h]0291
Career total26592716104035710

International

As of 1 July 2024[16]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Slovenia201410
201520
201610
201700
201820
2019100
202060
2021101
202291
202390
202470
Total572
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Stojanović goal.[16]
List of international goals scored by Petar Stojanović
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
11 September 2021Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  Slovakia1–11–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
25 June 2022Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia  Serbia1–11–42022–23 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Maribor

Dinamo Zagreb

References