Ester Sokler

Ester Sokler (born 6 April 1999) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen as a striker.

Ester Sokler
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-04-06) 6 April 1999
Place of birth Krško, Slovenia
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Aberdeen
Number 19
Youth career
2007–2016 Krško[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 Krško 55 (5)
2020–2021 Brežice 1919 11 (6)
2021–2022 Celje 44 (9)
2022–2023 Radomlje 30 (10)
2023– Aberdeen 6 (0)
International career
2016 Slovenia U17 3 (0)
2017 Slovenia U18 7 (1)
2017 Slovenia U19 2 (0)
2019 Slovenia U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:01, 8 October 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Krško,[3] Sokler started his playing career at the age of six, at the football school Nogobikci, before joining the youth sector of his hometown club Krško.[2] He came through the club's youth ranks, as he won the under-13 and under-15 national championship in 2012 and 2014, respectively.[2]

Having been promoted to the senior squad in 2016, aged 17,[2] Sokler made his Slovenian PrvaLiga debut on 26 November 2016, in a 4–0 defeat against Maribor.[4]

In July 2020, Sokler joined Slovenian Second League side Brežice 1919,[5] where he spent six months,[6] before returning to PrvaLiga in December 2020, having signed a contract with Celje until 2023.[7][8]

After two seasons at Celje,[6] Sokler joined fellow Slovenian top-tier club Radomlje on a permanent deal in July 2022.[3][9] He scored 10 goals in 31 games in his first season with Radomlje,[6] as they finished seventh in the league.[10]

On 16 June 2023, Sokler joined Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year deal with the Dons.[6][10][11]

International career

Sokler was a Slovenian youth international,[12] and earned one cap for the under-21 national team in 2019.[1]

Personal life

Sokler hails from the small village of Brestanica, near Krško.[2] He cited Wayne Rooney as his football idol while growing up.[2]

In 2023, he claimed that he has often been mistaken for a woman, as Ester is actually a female given name in many countries, including Slovenia itself.[13] According to him, his parents likely chose to name him after Mi2's 1998 song "Moja teta Estera".[13]

Career statistics
As of 28 June 2023[14][15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Krško 2016–17 Slovenian PrvaLiga 3000——30
2017–18 12100——121
2018–19 24020——260
2019–20 Slovenian Second League 16410——174
Total 555300000585
Brežice 1919 2020–21 Slovenian Second League 11613——129
Celje 2020–21 Slovenian PrvaLiga 14340——183
2021–22 30621——327
Total 4496100005010
Radomlje 2022–23 Slovenian PrvaLiga 301010——3110
Career total 14030114000015134
  1. Includes Slovenian Football Cup

References
  1. Evans, Anthony (13 June 2023). "Ester Sokler profiled as Slovenian striker close to agreeing Aberdeen switch". aberdeenlive.com. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  2. "Ester Sokler: Potrkal je na vrata prve lige". Posavski obzornik (in Slovenian). 12 December 2020. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  3. T. J. (14 July 2022). "Sokler iz Celja v Radomlje, Domžale okrepil prvi strelec hrvaške 2. lige" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  4. "Ester Sokler » PrvaLiga 2016/2017". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  5. "Naš napadalec Ester Sokler". NK Brežice 1919 (in Slovenian). 5 September 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  6. "Ester Sokler: Aberdeen sign striker from Slovenian club Radomlje". BBC Sport. 16 June 2023. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  7. "Ester Sokler ne gre v Olimpijo, podpisal je pogodbo z drugim klubom" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 25 December 2020. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  8. "Ester Sokler je novi nogometaš Celja!". NK Celje (in Slovenian). 25 December 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  9. "Radomljani imajo novo okrepitev v konici napada". NK Radomlje (in Slovenian). 14 July 2022. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  10. Copeland, Robbie (16 June 2023). "Ester Sokler completes Aberdeen transfer as he pens three year deal". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  11. "Dons Bolster Attacking Options with Sokler Signature". Aberdeen FC. 16 June 2023. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  12. "Ester Sokler". Football Association of Slovenia (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  13. Nejedly, Gorazd (3 May 2023). "Odlični slovenski strelec dobil ime po znani pesmi". Slovenske novice (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  14. "Slovenia – E. Sokler – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  15. "Ester Sokler – Nogometna zveza Slovenije". Football Association of Slovenia (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
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