Valter Birsa

Valter Birsa (born 7 August 1986) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a winger.

Valter Birsa
Birsa in November 2009
Personal information
Full name Valter Birsa[1]
Date of birth (1986-08-07) 7 August 1986
Place of birth Šempeter pri Gorici, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
1991–2004 Bilje
2004–2005 Gorica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003 Primorje 1 (0)
2004 Bilje 7 (6)
2004–2006 Gorica 61 (26)
2006–2009 Sochaux 66 (8)
2009 → Auxerre (loan) 15 (1)
2009–2011 Auxerre 68 (8)
2011–2013 Genoa 9 (0)
2012–2013 → Torino (loan) 17 (2)
2013–2015 Milan 15 (2)
2014–2015 → Chievo (loan) 35 (0)
2015–2019 Chievo 122 (18)
2019–2020 Cagliari 25 (0)
National team
2001 Slovenia U15 7 (1)
2004 Slovenia U19 1 (0)
2004–2005 Slovenia U20 2 (0)
2004–2006 Slovenia U21 12 (5)
2006 Slovenia B 1 (0)
2006–2018 Slovenia 90 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:12, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Šempeter pri Gorici, he spent his childhood in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Birsa's career began at the age of five, when he started playing for ND Bilje, the village club of Bilje near Nova Gorica. As he was a talented player, he was soon transferred first to Primorje, then to Gorica at the age of 17. By the second season he was already the second best striker and one of the best in the Slovenian first league, scoring 29 goals for his home team, an outstanding goalscoring record for a midfielder.

Sochaux

In 2006, he signed for French club Sochaux in Ligue de Football Professionnel. While at Sochaux, he won the 2007 Coupe de France. The final game against Olympique de Marseille finished 2–2 and went to penalties, with Birsa scoring his penalty as his side emerged victorious.[2]

Auxerre (on loan)

On 22 January 2009, Auxerre signed him on a loan deal until June 2009 from Sochaux.[3] He scored his first Auxerre goal against Olympique Lyonnais. On 29 May 2009, it was announced that Auxerre had made the loan permanent.[4] In the 2010–11 season, Birsa scored a 23-yard free kick and his first UEFA Champions League goal against Ajax in the group stage. Ajax eventually won 2–1.

Genoa

On 2 February 2011, despite interest from big Premier league teams such as Liverpool and Fulham, Birsa signed a four-year contract with Serie A club Genoa.[5] He made just nine appearances in his maiden season in Italy.

Torino (on loan)

He joined Torino on 31 August 2012 on loan. At Torino, Birsa played 17 games, scoring 2 goals but did not do enough to convince Torino to sign him on a permanent deal so he returned to Genoa at the end of the season.

A.C. Milan

Birsa made the switch to Milan on 31 August 2013, in what was a straight swap deal which saw Luca Antonini move in the opposite direction. He was handed the number 14 shirt at Milan. He scored his first goal for Milan on 28 September 2013 against Sampdoria to give the Rossoneri the win.

Chievo

He signed for Chievo on 9 July 2014 on loan.[6] On 2 July 2015, Chievo signed Birsa outright in a three-year contract.[7]

Cagliari

On 9 January 2019, Birsa signed with Serie A side Cagliari.[8]

International career

Birsa played for the Slovenian national football team between 2006 and 2018. He scored his first goal for the national team on 9 September 2009 in a World Cup qualifying match against Poland, which Slovenia won 3–0. At the 2010 World Cup finals, Birsa struck a long-range curling shot in Slovenia's second match against the United States. Slovenia drew that match 2–2.

Personal life

Birsa was born in Šempeter pri Gorici, present day Slovenia. In 2012, he married his long-time girlfriend Mateja, the couple has a son named Nolan.[9]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 1 August 2020[10]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Primorje2003–041. SNL1000—10
Gorica2004–051. SNL2674020327
2005–06351940214120
Total 612680417327
Sochaux2006–07Ligue 131300—313
2007–082230020243
2008–0928330—313
Total 8193020869
Auxerre2009–10Ligue 135340—393
2010–113352071426
Total 6886071819
Genoa2011–12Serie A9032—122
Torino2012–13Serie A17210—182
Milan2013–14Serie A1522040212
Chievo2014–15Serie A35010—360
2015–1635610—366
2016–1735720—377
2017–1835311—364
2018–1917210—182
Total 15718610016319
Cagliari2018–19Serie A12010—130
2019–2013020—150
Total 2503000280
Career total 4346532317248370

International goals
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first.[11]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
19 September 2009Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia Poland3–03–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
210 October 2009Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia Slovakia1–02–0
318 June 2010Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa United States1–02–22010 FIFA World Cup
47 June 2013Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland Iceland2–24–22014 FIFA World Cup qualification
519 November 2013Arena Petrol, Celje, Slovenia Canada1–01–0Friendly
69 October 2015Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia Lithuania1–01–1UEFA Euro 2016 Qualification
74 September 20174–04–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

ND Gorica

Sochaux

Individual

See also

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 4 June 2010. p. 27. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  2. "African quartet win French Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  3. "Valter Birsa prêté à Auxerre" (in French). FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  4. "Birsa še dve leti v Auxerru" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  5. "Birsa štiri leta v Genovi" (in Slovenian). nogomania.com. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  6. "Official: Valter Birsa coming to ChievoVerona". A.C. ChievoVerona. 9 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  7. "Official: Birsa belongs to ChievoVerona". A.C. ChievoVerona. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  8. "UFFICIALE: Cagliari, preso Birsa a titolo definitivo dal Chievo" (in Italian). Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  9. "Valter Birsa: Poroka je bila slavje brez primere". 11 June 2012.
  10. "V. Birsa". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  11. "Birsa, Valter". National Football Teams. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
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