Valter Birsa

Valter Birsa

Personal information
Full name	Valter Birsa
Date of birth	7 August 1986 (1986-08-07)
Place of birth	Šempeter pri Gorici, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Genoa
Number	10
Youth career
1991–2003	Bilje
2003–2004	Primorje
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2004	Primorje	1	(2)
2004–2006	Gorica	61	(46)
2006–2009	Sochaux	68	(11)
2009	→ Auxerre (loan)	15	(3)
2009–2011	Auxerre	53	(27)
2011–	Genoa	5	(0)
National team‡
2004–2006	Slovenia U21	8	(5)
2005–	Slovenia	48	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:59, 14 February 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:59, 12 August 2011 (UTC)

Valter Birsa (born 7 August 1986) is a Slovenian footballer who currently plays for Italian Serie A side Genoa and the Slovenian national team.

Club career

Born in the town of Šempeter pri Gorici, he spent his childhood in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Birsa's career began at the age of 5, when he started playing for NK Bilje, a small football club of the village of Bilje near Nova Gorica. As he was a talented player, he was soon transferred first to NK Primorje, then to ND Gorica at the age of 17. By the second season he was already the second best striker and one of the best in the Slovenian first league, scoring 29 goals for his home team, an outstanding goalscoring record for a midfielder. In 2006, he signed for French club Sochaux in Ligue de Football Professionnel, Ligue 1. He was declared the best Slovenian player of 2006-2008 by the leading Slovenian football website.

On 22 January 2009 AJ Auxerre signed him on a loan deal until June 2009 from Sochaux. He scored his first Auxerre goal against giants Lyon. On 29 May, it was announced that Auxerre had made the loan permanent. In the 2010/11 season, Birsa scored a 23 yard free kick and his first Champions league goal against Ajax in the group stage, Ajax eventually won 2-1.

On 2 February 2011, Despite interest from big Premier league teams such as Liverpool and Fulham, Birsa signed a four year contract with Serie A team Genoa and will join his new club for the 2011/12 season.

International career

He also plays for the Slovenian national football team, and was the youngest player to have that honor at the age of 18. He scored his first goal for the national team on September 9, 2009 in a World Cup qualifying match against Poland, which Slovenia won 3–0. At the 2010 World Cup finals, Birsa struck a long-range curling shot in Slovenia's 2nd match against the United States. Slovenia drew that match 2-2.

International goals

Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2009-09-09	Stadion Ljudski vrt, Maribor	Poland	3–0	3–0	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualification
2	2009-10-10	Tehelné pole, Bratislava	Slovakia	1–0	2–0	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualification
3	2010-06-18	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg	United States	1–0	2–2	2010 FIFA World Cup

Personal life

Birsa was born in Šempeter pri Gorici, present day Slovenia. He is a childhood friend of two Slovenia internationals, Etien Velikonja and Tim Matavž, who were also born in the same town.

Honours

ND Gorica

• Prva liga: 2004–05, 2005–06
• Slovenian Cup:

• Runner-up: 2004–05

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard

• Coupe de France: 2006–07

External links

• Player profile – NZS
• Player profile – LFP
• Valter Birsa at National-Football-Teams.com