Robert Berić

Robert Berić (born 17 June 1991) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire and the Slovenia national team. In the 2014–15 season he ranked 11th in the European Golden Shoe award.

Robert Berić
Robert Berić in 2015.
Personal information
Full name Robert Berić
Date of birth (1991-06-17) 17 June 1991
Place of birth Krško, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Chicago Fire
Number 27
Youth career
1997–2008 Krško
2007 Krka
2008 Interblock
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Krško 23 (4)
2008–2010 Interblock 34 (12)
2010–2013 Maribor 90 (27)
2013–2014 Sturm Graz 35 (10)
2014–2015 Rapid Wien 38 (30)
2015–2020 Saint-Étienne 81 (26)
2016 Saint-Étienne II 1 (1)
2017 → Anderlecht (loan) 6 (0)
2020– Chicago Fire 23 (12)
National team‡
2006–2007 Slovenia U16 7 (2)
2007–2008 Slovenia U17 11 (4)
2008–2009 Slovenia U19 7 (1)
2010–2012 Slovenia U21 13 (4)
2012– Slovenia 25 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:38, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:35, 18 January 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Berić started his career in Krško youth teams before being promoted to their main squad in the 2007–08 season. In 2008, he signed for Interblock. He made his debut at Interblock as a substitute in a 2–1 away victory over Drava Ptuj. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win over Primorje on 7 December 2008. In total, he played 34 games for Interblock in the Slovenian first division, scoring 12 goals.

In August 2010, Berić joined Maribor together with his teammate Josip Iličić, signing a four-year contract.[1]

In June 2013, he moved to Sturm Graz for a reported fee of €1 million. In the 2013–14 season, he amassed 10 goals and 11 assists.[2]

In 2014, he left Sturm Graz for league rivals Rapid Wien. The transfer fee was estimated at between €700,000 and 800,000.[2] In his first season, he became the league second goalscorer netting 27 goals in 33 appearances which earned him 11th place in the European Golden Shoe award.[3]

Saint-Étienne

On 31 August 2015, Berić joined Saint-Étienne on a four-year deal[4] while the transfer fee paid to Rapid Wien was reported as €6 or 7.5 million.[5][6] He quickly established himself in the starting lineup and began scoring goals for the club in both the Ligue 1 and the UEFA Europa League campaigns. However, on 8 November 2015 during an away Ligue 1 match against Lyon, Berić suffered a knee injury which sidelined him for the rest of the season.[5] During his time at Saint-Étienne, Berić received the nickname "Terminator". [7]

On 30 August 2017, Berić joined Anderlecht on a one-year loan.[8]

Saint-Étienne recalled Berić from his loan spell at Anderlecht on 1 January 2018.

On 22 April 2018, Berić came off the bench at the start of the second half and scored twice as Saint-Étienne came from behind to beat ESTAC Troyes 2–1 in a home Ligue 1 match.[9]

On 18 May 2019, Berić scored twice as Saint-Étienne defeated OGC Nice 3–0 in a home Ligue 1 match to secure a top-four finish and qualification for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.[10]

Chicago Fire

On 18 January 2020, MLS club Chicago Fire announced that it had acquired Berić via a transfer deal from Saint-Étienne, and that he had signed for the club as a Designated Player.[11] Berić netted in his debut against the Seattle Sounders, but failed to win the game, losing 2–1.[12]

International career

International goals
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first.[13]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.8 September 2015Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia Estonia1–01–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
2.9 September 2018GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus Cyprus1–01–22018–19 UEFA Nations League C

Career statistics
As of match played 10 November 2020[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Krško 2007–08 Slovenian Second League 15312—165
2008–09 8111—92
Krško total 23423—257
Interblock 2008–09 Slovenian PrvaLiga 20842—2410
2009–10 14420—2[lower-alpha 1]0184
Interblock total 341262—204214
Maribor 2010–11 Slovenian PrvaLiga 30841—1[lower-alpha 2]0359
2011–12 28641—12[lower-alpha 3]1448
2012–13 321361—13[lower-alpha 4]65120
Maribor total 9027143—26713037
Sturm Graz 2013–14 Austrian Bundesliga 351052—2[lower-alpha 2]04212
Rapid Wien 2014–15 332740—2[lower-alpha 2]03927
2015–16 5311—4[lower-alpha 5]2106
Rapid Wien total 383051—624933
Saint-Étienne 2015–16 Ligue 1 10300003[lower-alpha 2]2135
2016–17 22600109[lower-alpha 2]3329
2017–18 1571100—168
2018–19 2391111—2511
2019–20 11100106[lower-alpha 2]0181
Saint-Étienne total 8126223118510434
Saint-Étienne II 2015–16 Championnat de France Amateur 2 11—11
Anderlecht (loan) 2017–18 First Division A 6000—0060
Chicago Fire 2020 Major League Soccer 23 12 0 0 — 0 0 23 12
Chicago Fire Total 23 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 12
Career total 3311223413315414422150
  1. Appearances in Slovenian PrvaLiga relegation play-offs
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Four appearances and a goal in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League, and one appearance in Slovenian Supercup
  4. Six appearances and three goals in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League, and one appearance in Slovenian Supercup
  5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

References
  1. M. G.; T. Z.; J. K. (8 July 2010). "Iličić in Berić v Maribor!" [Ilicic and Beric to Maribor!] (in Slovenian). www.zurnal24.si. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  2. Huber, Alexander (4 July 2014). "Der 23-jährige Slowene kommt aus Graz und unterschreibt in Wien bis 2018". Kurier (in German). Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  3. Berends, Sander (1 June 2015). "Esm: Cristiano Ronaldo winnaar Gouden Schoen 2014/'15". ELF Voetbal (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  4. "Beric à Saint-Etienne (officiel)" (in French). Eurosport France. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  5. Rodden, Mark. "St Etienne striker Robert Beric ruled out for rest of season with knee injury". ESPN FC. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  6. "Wie viel Rapid mit Beric wirklich verdiente". Spox. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  7. http://www.madeinsaint-etienne.com/infos/article-asse-le-nouveau-look-de-robert-beric--photo--278411.html
  8. "Robert Beric débarque à Anderlecht en prêt" (in French). L'Équipe. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  9. "Berić brace takes Saint-Étienne sixth". www.ligue1.com. 22 April 2018.
  10. "Les Verts clinch return to Europe". www.ligue1.com. 18 May 2019.
  11. "Chicago Fire FC Acquires Slovenia National Team Forward Robert Berić as Designated Player". chicagofirefc.com. Chicago Fire FC. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  12. Mood, Abbie (1 March 2020). "Seattle Sounders FC 2, Chicago Fire FC 1 | 2020 MLS Match Recap". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  13. "Berič, Robert". National Football Teams. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  14. "R. Berič". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
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