Gregor Balažic

Gregor Balažic

Balažic with Ural in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Gregor Balažic[1]
Date of birth	(1988-02-12) 12 February 1988 (age 36)[1]
Place of birth	Murska Sobota, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
0000–2005	Mura
2005–2007	Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005	Mura	1	(0)
2007	Espanyol B	0	(0)
2007	Águilas	2	(0)
2008–2010	Gorica	72	(2)
2011–2014	Karpaty Lviv	79	(7)
2015–2016	Partizan	38	(1)
2017–2019	Ural Yekaterinburg	48	(2)
2020–2021	Enosis Neon	44	(1)
2022–2023	Mura	34	(2)
Total		318	(15)
International career
2004	Slovenia U17	3	(0)
2006	Slovenia U19	3	(0)
2007–2010	Slovenia U20	6	(0)
2007–2010	Slovenia U21	19	(0)
2013–2014	Slovenia	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gregor Balažic (born 12 February 1988) is a retired Slovenian professional footballer who played as a central defender.^[2]

In Slovenia, he played for Mura and Gorica. He had spells abroad in Spain, Ukraine, Serbia, Russia and Cyprus, notably having a four-year spell with Karpaty Lviv in the Ukrainian Premier League and winning the 2014–15 Serbian SuperLiga with Partizan.

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

Club career

Early career

Born in Murska Sobota, 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 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.^[3][4]

Spain

In June 2007, Balažic moved to Spain and signed with Espanyol, being initially registered for the reserves.^[5] However, two months later, he left for Águilas also in the country's Segunda División B.^[6]

Balažic suffered a knee injury early into the campaign,^[7] which resulted in the termination of his contract in December 2007.^[8]

Gorica

In the winter transfer window of 2008, Balažic returned to his country and signed for Gorica of the Slovenian PrvaLiga. 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.

Karpaty Lviv

In January 2011, Balažic signed with Karpaty Lviv in the Ukrainian Premier League, penning a four-year deal for €400,000 in what was the club's most expensive transfer ever.^[9] On 6 March he made his competitive debut, netting in a 2–2 draw at Arsenal Kyiv.^[10]

In the first round of 2014–15, Balažic scored in a 2–2 away draw to Hoverla Uzhhorod.^[11] 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 Partizan.^[12] 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, Balažic was fouled in the area by Vukašin Jovanović in what should have been a penalty for Partizan, but referee Milorad Mažić did not concede it.^[13] A week later, against Vojvodina, this time it was Balažic who brought down an opponent but, again, nothing was awarded; later, he admitted he did commit the infraction.^[14][15]

During his debut campaign, Balažic partnered his compatriot Branko Ilić as a central defender.^[16] 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.^[17]

Ural

On 30 December 2016, Balažic signed for two and a half years with Russian Premier League club Ural Yekaterinburg.^[18] On 7 June 2019, he left upon the expiration of his contract.^[19]

International career

Balažic made his senior debut for Slovenia on 19 November 2013, in a 1–0 friendly win against Canada in Celje.^[20] His second cap came on 7 June of the following year in another friendly, a 2–0 loss to Argentina in La Plata.^[21]

Style of play

Balažic is a quick and strong player, technically gifted and with passing ability.^[22] Oleg Kononov, his coach at Karpaty, described him as a "very intelligent player" with a "great potential".^[23]

Career statistics

Club

As of 1 January 2022^[24]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Mura	2004–05	Slovenian PrvaLiga	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
Águilas	2007–08	Segunda División B	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
Gorica	2007–08	Slovenian PrvaLiga	9	0	0	0	—		9	0
	2008–09		18	0	3	0	2	0	23	0
	2009–10		29	1	3	0	2	0	34	1
	2010–11		16	1	3	0	2	0	21	1
	Total		72	2	9	0	6	0	87	2
Karpaty Lviv	2010–11	Ukrainian Premier League	5	1	—		—		5	1
	2011–12		19	0	4	0	2	0	25	0
	2012–13		17	1	2	0	—		19	1
	2013–14		25	1	2	0	—		27	1
	2014–15		13	4	2	0	—		15	4
	Total		79	7	10	0	2	0	91	7
Partizan	2014–15	Serbian SuperLiga	13	0	3	0	—		16	0
	2015–16		10	1	1	0	9	0	20	1
	2016–17		15	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
	Total		38	1	4	0	9	0	51	1
Ural	2016–17	Russian Premier League	11	0	3	0	—		14	0
	2017–18		20	2	0	0	—		20	2
	2018–19		17	0	0	0	—		17	0
	Total		48	2	3	0	0	0	51	2
Enosis Neon	2019–20	Cypriot First Division	8	0	1	0	—		9	0
	2020–21		36	1	1	0	—		37	1
	Total		44	1	2	0	0	0	46	1
Career total			284	13	28	0	17	0	329	13

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[25]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Slovenia	2013	1	0
	2014	1	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Partizan

• Serbian SuperLiga: 2014–15^[26]
• Serbian Cup: 2015–16

References

1. "Gregor Balazic". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
2. Mencinger, Žan (27 May 2023). "Balažic odslej v novi vlogi, z igrišča se seli v pisarno". Slovenski nogometni portal (in Slovenian). Retrieved 27 May 2023.
3. "Eslovenos a caminho" [Slovenes on their way]. Record (in Portuguese). 26 June 2005. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
4. "Anderson de volta aos treinos" [Anderson back to training]. Record (in Portuguese). 15 November 2006. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
5. "Balazic, internacional eslovè, fitxa pel "B"" [Balazic, Slovenian international, signs for "B"] (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 7 June 2007. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
6. "Balazic, última incorporación" [Balazic, last addition] (in Spanish). La Actualidad. 30 August 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
7. "Balazic lesionado" [Balazic injured] (in Spanish). Águilas Noticias. 19 October 2007. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
8. "Balazic se marcha del Águilas CF" [Balazic leaves Águilas CF] (in Spanish). Águilas Noticias. 20 December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
9. Ігор Дедишин: "У Димінського диктаторський склад характеру" [Igor Dedishin: "The outline of Dyminsky's dictatorial nature"]. Tribuna (in Russian). 22 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
10. Карпаты спасаются в Киеве [Carpathians flee in Kiev] (in Ukrainian). Football UA. 6 March 2011. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
11. "Hoverla Uzhhorod 2:2 Karpaty". Soccer Vista. 27 July 2014. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
12. "Gregor Balažic stigao u Humsku" [Gregor Balažic arrived at Humsku] (in Serbian). FK Partizan. 4 February 2015. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
13. "Štoper besan na arbitra Mažić nas je pokrao!" [Central defender angry referee Mažić robbed us!] (in Serbian). Informer. 25 April 2015. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
14. "Balažic: Bio je penal, priznajem" [Balažic: It was a penalty, I admit it] (in Serbian). Vesti Online. 3 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
15. "Video: Da li je Vojvodina oštećena protiv Partizana?" [Video: Was Vojvodina hurt against Partizan?] (in Serbian). Vesti Online. 3 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
16. "Ilić i Balažic: I dalje samo od nas zavisi" [Ilić and Balažic: It's still up to us] (in Serbian). Radio Television of Vojvodina. 5 March 2015. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
17. "Partizan osvojio prve bodove u gostima!" [Partizan won the first away points] (in Serbian). Mondo. 22 August 2015. Archived from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
18. «УРАЛ» ЗАКЛЮЧИЛ КОНТРАКТ С ЗАЩИТНИКОМ ИЗ СЛОВЕНИИ [Ural signed a contract with defender from Slovenia] (in Russian). Ural Yekaterinburg. 30 December 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
19. «Урал» покинули три футболиста [Three footballers left Ural] (in Russian). Ural Yekaterinburg. 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
20. "Slovenia 1–0 Canada". UEFA. 19 November 2013. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
21. "Argentina 2–0 Slovenia". BBC Sport. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
22. "Бажаю якомога швидше вийти на поле львівського стадіону" [I wish you could enter this stadium as soon as possible] (in Ukrainian). Karpaty Lviv. 23 January 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
23. "Балажіц може суттєво зміцнити нашу оборону" [Balažic can improve our defenses dramatically] (in Ukrainian). Karpaty Lviv. 23 January 2011. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
24. "G. Balažic". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
25. "Gregor Balažic, international footballer". eu-football.info. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
26. "G. Balažic – Trophies". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.

External links

• NZS profile (in Slovene)
• Gregor Balažic at Soccerway.com
• Gregor Balažic at WorldFootball.net
• Gregor Balažic at National-Football-Teams.com
• Gregor Balažic at BDFutbol
• Gregor Balažic at kicker (in German)
• Gregor Balažic at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Gregor Balažic at BDFutbol