Aljoša Matko

Aljoša Matko (born 29 March 2000) is a Slovenian footballer who plays as a forward for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Celje.

Aljoša Matko
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-03-29) 29 March 2000
Place of birth Novo Mesto, Slovenia[1]
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward, winger
Team information
Current team
 Celje
Number 7
Youth career
2005–2013 Bela Krajina
2013–2015 Krka
2015–2019 Maribor
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Maribor 31 (7)
2019–2020 → Bravo (loan) 34 (15)
2021–2022 Hammarby IF 13 (2)
2022 → Olimpija Ljubljana (loan) 15 (1)
2022– Celje 31 (15)
International career
2015–2016 Slovenia U16 14 (5)
2016–2017 Slovenia U17 12 (0)
2017–2018 Slovenia U18 5 (3)
2018–2019 Slovenia U19 12 (7)
2020–2022 Slovenia U21 18 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 August 2023

Early life

Matko was born in Novo Mesto and grew up in Črnomelj.[1] He began his career at the age of four with local club Bela Krajina, where he stayed for eight years.[1] In 2013 he moved to Krka, before joining the youth academy of domestic giants Maribor in 2015.[3] He went on to score 67 goals in 93 games in the club's youth system.[4]

Club career

Maribor

In 2019–20, Matko was sent on loan from Maribor to fellow PrvaLiga club Bravo, where he made his debut in senior football. Matko scored 15 goals in 34 games for Bravo, that finished sixth in the table, which meant that he became the fourth best goalscorer in the whole league.[5][3]

Back at Maribor for the 2020–21 season, Matko established himself as a starter under manager Mauro Camoranesi. At the end of 2020, he won the Purple Warrior, a trophy awarded to the most distinguished Maribor player in the past year.[6][7] He was also named Slovenian Youth Footballer of the Year by the Slovenian magazine EkipaSN.[8] On 29 January 2021, Matko extended his contract with Maribor until the summer of 2024.[9] In April of the same year, Matko was involved in a car accident as a driver but escaped uninjured, although several passengers suffered from severe injuries.[10] He soon returned to the pitch and ended the season making 29 league appearances, scoring seven goals, as Maribor finished second in the table behind Mura.[5]

Hammarby IF

On 12 August 2021, Matko transferred to Hammarby IF in the Swedish Allsvenskan for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract.[11] He made his competitive debut for the club only four days later, on 16 August, in a 2–0 home loss to IF Elfsborg.[12] On 22 August, he scored his first Allsvenskan goal for the club, against the same opponent, IF Elfsborg, in a 2–2 away draw.[13]

On 1 February 2022, Matko returned to Slovenia by joining Olimpija Ljubljana on loan for the remainder of the PrvaLiga season, with an option to make the transfer permanent.[14][15] He returned to Hammarby in July 2022, but failed to make any competitive appearances under new head coach Martí Cifuentes. In total, Matko played 13 Allsvenskan games for the club, scoring twice.[16]

Celje

On 15 August 2022, Matko transferred to PrvaLiga club Celje and signed a two-year contract until 2024.[17]

International career

Between 2015 and 2022, Matko was capped for all Slovenian youth teams from under-16 to under-21, making over 60 appearances for all selections.[18]

With the under-21 team, Matko appeared at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, hosted by Slovenia. He featured in all three games in the group stage and scored Slovenia's only goal of the tournament in a 1–1 draw against Czech Republic.[19]

Career statistics

Club
As of 4 December 2021[5]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bravo 2019–20 PrvaLiga 341510—3515
Maribor 2020–21 PrvaLiga 297101[lower-alpha 1]0317
2021–22 20001[lower-alpha 2]030
Total 3171020347
Hammarby IF 2021 Allsvenskan 1321000142
Career total 782430208324
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Club

Maribor

Individual

References
  1. "Enajstmetrovka: Aljoša Matko" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  2. "Aljoša Matko – osebni karton" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  3. "HTV: Aljosa Matko på plats - "Mitt jobb att vara redo direkt"" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  4. "Aljoša Matko v Hammarby" [Aljoša Matko is leaving for Hammarby] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. Aljoša Matko at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  6. "Vedno 100% za ta grb" [Always 100% for this crest] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  7. "Vijol'čni bojevnik 2020: Aljoša Matko" [Purple Warrior 2020: Aljoša Matko] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  8. R. K. (4 January 2021). "Oblak slovenski nogometaš leta, Kosić najboljši trener" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  9. "Aljoša Matko: Nova zvestoba, do 2024" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  10. R. P. (12 April 2021). "NK Maribor podal stališče o prometni nesreči Aljoše Matka" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  11. "Hektiskt avslut på deadline day – tre avtal klara" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  12. "Blytung förlust när serien vände" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  13. "Sanslösa stopptidsminuter gav poäng i Borås" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  14. "Aljosa Matko på lån till Ljubljana" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  15. R. K. (1 February 2022). "Presenečenje iz Stožic: Aljoša Matko okrepil Olimpijo" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  16. "Aljosa Matko lämnar Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  17. "Res je je zgodilo! Aljoša Matko uradno v Celju, tukaj so podrobnosti". Ekipa24.si (in Slovenian). 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  18. "Aljoša Matko – Nogometna zveza Slovenije" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  19. "Poseben spomin in dodaten motiv" [A special memory and an additional motivation] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
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