Slovenia: Premier League Nations
The next destination of our alphabetical world tour is Slovenia. After gaining independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Slovenia began competing as a FIFA nation in 1992, the year of the first Premier League season.
According to the Premier League website, six players have represented Slovenia in the Premier League.
First Player – Aleš Križan (Barnsley; 1997-98)
Defender Aleš Križan became the first Slovenian to play in the Premier League in 1997, making 12 league appearances for Barnsley in the Tykes’ only Premier League campaign to date.
Križan left Barnsley in 2000 to return to Slovenia after a difficult two seasons in the football league in which he made just one league appearance. He won 25 caps for Slovenia between 1993 and 1998.
Records
- Most appearances – Robert Koren (57)
- First appearance – Aleš Križan (Wimbledon 4-1 BARNSLEY, September 23rd 1997)
- Most goals – Robert Koren (4)
- First goal – Robert Koren (WEST BROM 3-0 Middlesbrough, January 17th 2009)
Current/Most Recent Players
The most recent Slovenian to play in the Premier League was defender Jon Gorenc Stanković, who made 11 appearances for Huddersfield in 2018/19. Haris Vučkić and Robert Koren also appeared within the last decade.
Trivia
- Slovenia are one of 48 current UEFA Nations to have been represented in the Premier League, out of 55.
- Former Spurs player Milenko Ačimovič is the fifth top scorer in the history of the Slovenia national team.
- Robert Koren (57) is the only Slovenian to have made more than 17 Premier League appearances.