JAN OBLAK

Jan Oblak is a Slovenian professional footballer, a goalkeeper for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and is the captain of the Slovenian national team. He is now considered to be one of the best footballers in the world.

Oblak was born on January 7^th in 1993 in Škofja Loka. He started his career young at a local football club NK Ločan. Later, when he was 10 years old, he was noticed by club Olimpija Ljubljana and he continued his career there. His talent was seen at the age of 17 and he signed for a Portuguese club Benfica. He was part of the team that won the domestic treble in the 2013–14 season. Later he moved to Atlético Madrid for a fee of €16 million, becoming La Liga’s most expensive goalkeeper at that time. Oblak moved to Madrid on a six-year deal as a replacement for Thibaut Courtois, who had returned to play for his parent club Chelsea following his loan expiration. Later Jan explained that he was not there to replace anyone and that he was just another player who would do everything in his power to defend his shirt and to achieve great results.

2014–15 season:

He first appeared on September 16^th in 2014 in a 3–2 defeat away to Olympiacos in Atlético’s first Champions League group match of the season. Later, in 2015, he replaced the injured Moyà in the 23^rd minute of a Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen and secured a victory. The tie went to a penalty shootout, in which he saved Leverkusen’s first attempt by Hakan Çalhanoğlu.

2015–16 season:

In February 2016, Oblak was rewarded with a contract extension through 2021 with a reported release clause of £77.5 million. He was included in the squad of the season of the 2015–16 Champions League. When the season ended, he won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper, having conceded 18 goals in 38 games.

2016–17 season:

Jan performed on March 15^th in 2017 in a Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen, where he made three saves in succession to ensure a goalless draw and passage to the quarterfinals. He was again included in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League squad of the season and won his second consecutive Ricardo Zamora Trophy.

2017–18 season:

He played his 100^th league game for Atlético on January 28^th in 2018. In the 100 league games he conceded only 54 goals and kept 59 clean sheets. In the 2018 UEFA Europa League Final he kept a clean sheet as his side won 3–0 against Olympique de Marseille, winning their third Europa League title in eight years. This was his first European title. He was also included in the Europa League squad of the season and won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the third time, having conceded only 22 goals in 37 games. He was also awarded the La Liga Best Goalkeeper award for the third season and became the first goalkeeper to win the award three times.

2018–19 season:

In the group stages of UEFA Champions League, he kept a clean sheet in a home win over Borussia Dortmund, so he kept his 100^th clean sheet for Atlético. On April 17^th in 2019, he agreed to a four-year contract extension with the club, keeping him at the club until 2023. At the end of the season, he won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the fourth time and set the record of Víctor Valdés for most consecutive Zamora Trophies won. He was also awarded the La Liga Best Goalkeeper of the season award for the fourth time.

2019–20 season:

In the 2019–20 season he was named as vice-captain of the team. Oblak was later nominated for the inaugural edition of Yashin award, the Ballon D’Or of goalkeepers and he finished in fourth place. After the match between Atlético and Villarreal he broke the club record of Abel Resino for most clean sheets with his 96^th clean sheet in his 169^th league game. After home win with defending champions Liverpool Oblak was playing his 50^th Champions League game and was awarded the Man of the Match award by EUFA. He also became the fastest goalkeeper to achieve 100 clean sheets landmark in La Liga history and broke an almost 50-year-old record of Miguel Reina. He also became the first non-Spanish goalkeeper to keep 100 clean sheets in La Liga history. Oblak played his 250^th game for Atlético on June 27^th in 2020. He reached the milestone just one week after equalling José Francisco Molina as the second goalkeeper.