Matija Smrekar - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Matija Smrekar is a Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

forward. He is one of the greatest talents in Croatia

Croatia

. His nickname is "Croatian Marco Van Basten". He was a member of the U-17

FIFA U-17 World Cup

The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to the FIFA U-17 World Championship and known by its current name since 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by Fédération Internationale de Football...

, U-19 and U-21. He has 31 caps, scored 5 goals and 12 assists in Croatian national team U-17, U-19 and U-21. He was the champion of Croatia U-19 league (Prva HNL Juniori

Prva HNL Juniori (Croatian First League of Juniors)

The Prva HNL Academy is the top level of youth association football in Croatia. It is contested between the academy sides of the Prva HNL clubs.The league is organised by the Professional Football Clubs Association, and the Croatian Football Federation....

) in 2007/ 2008 with the junior team of NK Varteks when he was one of the best players of the matches against the greatest Croatian clubs NK Dinamo Zagreb and NK Hajduk Split. His father Bozidar Smrekar is former football referee. As professional player of NK Varteks he impressed last season 2007/2008 on 24th matchday of Prva HNL against NK Hajduk Split= 4-0 when he scored 2 goals, had 1 assist and was "the man of match".

After Smrekar's football show the coach of NK Hajduk Split former Real Madrid

Real Madrid

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

' left back Robert Jarni

Robert Jarni

Robert Jarni is a retired Croatian footballer who played as left winger or wingback. He is now a manager, but is currently without a club after resigning from his managerial post at Istra 1961 in September 2010....

has told that Matija Smrekar is great talent who could play in greatest European clubs if he continues his progress. This season on Sunday 3 May 2009 he has scored goal for Varteks against Hajduk Split in Split (1-0) when he was "the man of the match".

Videoclip of his 2 goals and 1 assist (goal for 4-0) for NK Varteks against NK Hajduk Split 4-0 on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BE6r9huCcA

PROFESSIONAL CAREER:

2006/07: Varteks (D-1 Croatia): 1 match,

2007/08: Varteks (D-1 Croatia): 19 matches, 4 goals, 3 assists,

2008/09: Varteks (D-1 Croatia): 29 matches, 6 goals, 4 assists,

CROATIAN NATIONAL TEAM:

2005-07 U-17 years: 19 caps, 3 goals, 8 assists,

2007-08 U-19 years: 7 caps, 1 goal and 3 assists,

2008-09 U-21 years: 9 caps, 2 goal and 1 assist

HONOURS:

2007/2008 Champion of Croatia with junior's team U-19 of NK Varteks
2004/2005 The best striker of 3rd Croatian league U-16 years - 50 goals
2005/2006 Second striker of Croatian First League U-17 years
2006/2007 Second striker of Croatian First League U-18 years

External links

LINKS ON SOME MATIJA SMREKAR'S CAPS IN CROATIAN NATIONAL TEAM ON THE OFFICIAL SITE OF UEFA.COM:

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