Benjamin Verbič

Benjamin Verbič (born 27 November 1993) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Super League Greece club Panathinaikos and the Slovenia national team.

Benjamin Verbič
Verbič with Copenhagen in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1993-11-27) 27 November 1993
Place of birth Celje, Slovenia
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Left winger
Team information
Current team
 Panathinaikos
Number 77
Youth career
Vojnik[1]
0000–2012 Celje
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2015 Celje 103 (29)
2012 → Šampion (loan) 3 (0)
2015–2017 Copenhagen 69 (16)
2018–2022 Dynamo Kyiv 79 (27)
2022 → Legia Warsaw (loan) 7 (0)
2022– Panathinaikos 29 (4)
International career‡
2012 Slovenia U19 3 (0)
2013 Slovenia U20 2 (0)
2013–2014 Slovenia U21 5 (1)
2015– Slovenia 54 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023

Verbič began his senior career with his hometown club Celje, where he made a total of 126 appearances and scored 35 goals in all competitions. With Celje, he was the runner-up of the Slovenian PrvaLiga in 2014–15, and a three-time runner-up of the Slovenian Football Cup. In 2015 Verbič transferred to Copenhagen, where he won a double of Danish Superliga and Danish Cup in both of his full seasons. In January 2018, he signed for Dynamo Kyiv, with whom he won a league and two cup titles, before temporarily moving to Polish club Legia Warsaw when the war in Ukraine broke out.

Having represented Slovenia at various youth levels, Verbič made his senior debut in March 2015 against Qatar.

Club career

Celje

Born in Celje, Verbič made his Slovenian PrvaLiga debut for hometown club Celje on 29 May 2011 in a 3–2 home defeat to Primorje, replacing Iztok Močivnik for the last 24 minutes in his only appearance of the season.[2]

He made twelve league appearances the following season (eight starts), contributing a first career goal on 3 April 2012, a consolation goal in a 2–1 home defeat against Olimpija Ljubljana.[3] On 23 May 2012, in the 2011–12 Slovenian Football Cup final against already-crowned league winners Maribor, Verbič scored in extra time in a 2–2 draw but missed the first penalty as his team lost in a shoot-out.[4]

Verbič made 26 league appearances for Celje in the 2012–13 season, scoring 3 goals.[5][6] On 24 August he was loaned to Šampion of the Slovenian Second League, where he made three appearances, two as a starter.[6] Celje again reached the cup final, losing 1–0 to Maribor at Bonifika Stadium in Koper on 29 May 2013, with Verbič playing the entire match.[7] In the quarter-final first leg on 24 October 2012, he scored both of the team's goals to defeat Dravinja, netting in the second minute and in added time.[8]

On 25 October 2014, Verbič scored a first career hat-trick in a 5–0 home win against Radomlje.[9]

Copenhagen

On 27 April 2015, Verbič signed a four-year contract with Copenhagen, to join at the end of the season.[10] He scored two minutes into his debut on 16 July, a 2–0 home win over Newtown of Wales in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.[11] His Danish Superliga debut came ten days later, playing the entirety of a 3–1 win at Esbjerg on the first day of the season,[12] and his first league goal on 16 September, opening their 3–0 home win over Randers.[13]

Copenhagen won the Danish Superliga and Danish Cup double in both of Verbič's full seasons.[6] On 17 April 2017, he scored the only goal in a Copenhagen Derby win against Brøndby IF.[14]

Dynamo Kyiv

On 23 December 2017, Verbič signed a five-year contract with the Ukrainian Premier League side Dynamo Kyiv.[15] In 2018 he was recognized a player of the month in the Ukrainian Premier League on three occasions, in May,[16] July,[17] and August 2018.[18]

On 8 July 2020, Verbič scored the equalizing goal in the final of the Ukrainian Cup. He would also convert his penalty kick in the shoot-out, after the match finished 1–1 after extra time, with Dynamo prevailing 8–7 over Vorskla Poltava.[19]

Legia Warsaw

In March 2022, Verbič left Kyiv because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His contract with Dynamo was suspended under new FIFA rules, which allowed players to sign with clubs outside Ukraine until 30 June 2022.[20] Therefore, he joined Ekstraklasa side Legia Warsaw for the remainder of the 2021–22 season.[21][22] On 31 May 2022, he left the club following the expiration of his contract.[23]

Panathinaikos

On 29 July 2022, Verbič signed a three-year deal with Super League Greece club Panathinaikos.[24]

International career

On 30 March 2015, Verbič made his debut for the Slovenia national team, starting in an eventual 1–0 friendly defeat to Qatar at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.[25] He scored his first international goal on 11 November 2016 in an away win over Malta in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.[26]

Career statistics

Club
As of 28 September 2023[6]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Celje 2010–11 Slovenian PrvaLiga 1000——10
2011–12 12132——153
2012–13 263632[lower-alpha 1]0—346
2013–14 3210302[lower-alpha 1]0—3710
2014–15 321571——3916
Total 1032919640—12635
Šampion (loan) 2012–13 Slovenian Second League 30———30
Copenhagen 2015–16 Danish Superliga 263204[lower-alpha 1]2—325
2016–17 2763010[lower-alpha 2]0—406
2017–18 1670011[lower-alpha 3]4—2711
Total 691650256—9922
Dynamo Kyiv 2017–18 Ukrainian Premier League 1242100—145
2018–19 2171011[lower-alpha 4]51[lower-alpha 5]03412
2019–20 2511417[lower-alpha 6]21[lower-alpha 5]03714
2020–21 123009[lower-alpha 7]000213
2021–22 92113[lower-alpha 7]000133
2022–23 00002[lower-alpha 7]00020
Total 7927833272012137
Legia Warsaw (loan) 2021–22 Ekstraklasa 7010——80
Panathinaikos 2022–23 Super League Greece 26231——293
2023–24 32004[lower-alpha 7]0—72
Total 294314000365
Career total 29076361065132039399
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. Nine appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
  3. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearance(s) in the Ukrainian Super Cup
  6. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
  7. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

International
As of 17 October 2023[27]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Slovenia 201510
201681
201761
201861
201982
202050
202140
202290
202370
Total545
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Verbič goal.[27]
List of international goals scored by Benjamin Verbič
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 11 November 2016National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta8 Malta1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 4 September 2017Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia13 Lithuania3–04–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 16 November 2018Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia20 Norway1–01–12018–19 UEFA Nations League C
4 9 September 2019Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia25 Israel1–03–2UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
5 3–2

Honours

Copenhagen

Dynamo Kyiv

References
  1. Viškovič, Rok (24 March 2018). "Vzhajajoči nogometni zvezdnik, ki preigrava med branilci, všečki in oboževalkami" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  2. "Celje 2–3 Primorje". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  3. "Celje 1–2 Olimpija". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  4. "Mariborčani po 11-metrovkah do dvojne krone" [Maribor are double champions via penalties] (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  5. "Benjamin Verbič – Statistika sezone 2012/13" [Benjamin Verbic – 2012–13 season statistics] (in Slovenian). Slovenian PrvaLiga. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  6. "B. Verbič". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  7. "Maribor 1–0 Celje" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  8. "Celje 2–0 Dravinja Kostroj" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  9. "Celje 5–0 Radomlje". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  10. "F.C. København henter Benjamin Verbic" [FC Copenhagen sign Benjamin Verbič] (in Danish). FC Copenhagen. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  11. "FC Copenhagen 2–0 Newtown: Danish giants take first leg advantage ahead of Latham Park return". Wales Online. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  12. "FCK indleder sæsonen med sejr i Esbjerg" [FCK start season with victory in Esbjerg]. Fyens (in Danish). 27 July 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  13. "FCK sætter kurs mod toppen med klar sejr over Randers" [FCK goes top with clear win over Randers]. Fyens (in Danish). 16 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  14. "0–1: Se Benjamin Verbic blive matchvinder mod Brøndby" [0–1: See Benjamin Verbič score matchwinner against Brøndby] (in Danish). FC Copenhagen. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  15. Rok Viškovič (23 December 2017). "Zdaj je uradno, Ukrajinci odšteli milijone za slovenskega reprezentanta" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  16. "Беньямін Вербич — найкращий гравець Чемпіонату УПЛ у травні!". Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  17. "Беньямін Вербич — найкращий гравець Чемпіонату УПЛ у липні!". upl.ua. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  18. "Беньямін Вербич — найкращий гравець Чемпіонату УПЛ у серпні!". upl.ua. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  19. "КУБОК УКРАЇНИ. У ФІНАЛІ «ДИНАМО» ПЕРЕМОГЛО «ВОРСКЛУ» В СЕРІЇ ПЕНАЛЬТІ ТА СТАЛО 12-РАЗОВИМ ВОЛОДАРЕМ ТРОФЕЯ". UAF (in Ukrainian). 8 July 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  20. "FIFA adopts temporary employment and registration rules to address several issues in relation to war in Ukraine". FIFA. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  21. Ziółkowski, Maciej (14 March 2022). "Oficjalnie. Benjamin Verbić zawodnikiem Legii Warszawa". legia.net (in Polish). Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  22. "Benjamin Verbić: W lipcu wrócę do Kijowa, ale może w Legii mi się spodoba?" [Benjamin Verbić: I will return to Kiev in July, but maybe I will like it in Legia?]. legia.net (in Polish). 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  23. "Benjamin Verbic odchodzi z Legii" (in Polish). Legia Warsaw. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  24. "Στον Παναθηναϊκό ο Βέρμπιτς" (in Greek). Panathinaikos F.C. 29 July 2022. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  25. "Qatar 1–0 Slovenia". European Football. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  26. "Benjamin Verbic's goal gives Slovenia win in Malta". ESPN FC. PA Sport. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  27. "Verbič, Benjamin". National Football Teams. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
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