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FAMOUS FOOTBALLER PLAYER
YB WEB DESK. Dated: 7/22/2021 12:20:21 PM
Jan Oblak
Jan Oblak (born 7 January 1993) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and captains the Slovenia national team. He is frequently ranked as one of the best goalkeepers in world football. Oblak signed for Portuguese club Benfica at the age of 17, and was part of the team that won the domestic treble in the 2013–14 season. He then moved to Atlético Madrid for a fee of €16 million, becoming La Liga's most expensive goalkeeper at that time. In 2015–16 he won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper, conceding an all-time record low of 18 goals. He won the award again in the following three seasons. Oblak was also nominated for the 2017 and 2018 Ballon d'Or awards, following his consistent performances with his club. With over 300 appearances for Atlético Madrid, Oblak has won four trophies with the club, including the 2018 UEFA Super Cup by defeating city rivals Real Madrid. Oblak made his senior international debut for Slovenia in 2012, and has been named Slovenian Footballer of the Year on five occasions. Club career "Robert Volk was a goalkeeper and a goalkeeper coach at the same time. He had young Jan Oblak and also Damir Botonjič, who wanted to return back to football after his brother's death. One day Volk noticed Oblak's immense talent had outgrown everybody. He said "this kid is better than me" and gave up his spot in the team to a 16-year-old. We were a bit stunned, not to mention Oblak's father, who could not believe we took his son to training camp with the main squad. We quickly realized Volk is not mistaken." Born in the Upper Carniolan town of Škofja Loka, Oblak started playing football at the age of five for his home town club Ločan. At the age of ten, he moved to the Olimpija youth academy, where he remained until the end of the 2004–05 season when the club was dissolved. He then moved to the newly founded Bežigrad, which, after a series of name changes, became Olimpija Ljubljana in 2008. The following year, Oblak rejected a contract from Italian club Empoli in favour of a trial at Fulham, but he eventually did not leave the club and committed his future with a contract extension until 2011.