Arjan Malić, the 17-year-old Jesenica player who was launched by Ried: “My goal is clear, I want to play for the Slovenian national team”
Many in This season, Slovenia will also be following with interest the results of Austrian second division side Ried, primarily because of Niko Marinšek, who transferred there this summer after a dream season in the Aluminij jersey. The 24-year-old can’t complain about the start of his first adventure abroad, as he scored twice in the opening three games and registered one assist. But it is interesting to note that he is not the only Slovenian who impresses in a Ried jersey. Arjan Malić, a 17-year-old defender who has played in all three games this season and can boast 100% of the minutes, is also gaining attention for his play in the latter.
Who is Arjan Malić?
But who is Arjan Malić? Most Slovenian football fans heard about him for the first time this season. He is a much bigger unknown, having never actually played football seriously in Slovenia. But he is still a Slovenian and a Slovenian national youth player.
“I was born in Jesenice,” he told
Planet Football
Arjan Malić, who in real life soon swapped the hockey town in Gorenjska for neighbouring Austria, said in his introduction to the Jesenica Jeseník interview. “My family and I moved when I was eight years old,” explained the young Arjan Malić, who quickly fell in love with the football and never, even though they were both Gorenjska like Austria, is written for winter sports, I wasn’t really tempted to do any other sport. “I started playing football when I was five years old,” reveals the teenager, who has been highly praised by critics at the start of the new season. That he is playing well, reliably and that he has a bright future ahead of him.
“Slovenia is the only one that has contacted me”
But his good performances on the members’ stage are no surprise. He has played at an enviably high level before and has already made 166 official appearances for his parent club Ried in all age categories. Interestingly, he also scored 41 goals, but most of them in his younger years, when footballers were still finding their feet and trying out for many roles. Today, Arjan Malić is a defender, and a promising one at that. Austria and elsewhere are also aware of this, but the young man stresses that he is only interested in Slovenia.
“After all, I only have a Slovenian passport,” stressed Arjan Malić, who has been a member of Ried since 2014, and continued.Slovenia is also the only country that has contacted me. In May, I was called up to the U18 national team and I wore the U18 jersey for the first time in the matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina. My goal is to one day play for the Slovenian national team. But at the same time, I am aware that there is still a long way to go. I will have to work hard if I want to succeed. But otherwise, I am going step by step, I don’t want to get ahead of anything.”
He is impressed by Sergio Ramos
Sweat to Membership National Team may seem a long way off, but if the footballer, who celebrates his 18th birthday on 28 August, continues as he started… This season, as mentioned, he has already played three times for Ried. “When I debuted, it felt really good. Top. I could say it was the best feeling of my career so far,” admitted the talented teenager, who at just 17 has no major problems playing for the first team.No, no, I really don’t have any tremors, because the coach trusts me a lot, and I am full of confidence thanks to him. Also, everyone at the club was happy with my performance after the first game, and when that’s the case, it’s easier to move on. Although I know I can play much better.”
The future goals are clear for the boy who impresses Sergio Ramos with his games. “Now that I’ve made it to the senior category, I want to play as much as possible for the Ried first team. I also want to do everything in my power to get Ried back to the elite Bundesliga as soon as possible. I think we have a very good team and we will be successful in the future,” says Arjan Malić, who is also happy to have Niko Marinšek by his side: “Niko and I get on really well. He’s a great guy and I’m very happy to have a good footballer like Nik as a teammate.“And who knows, maybe the two Slovenians will soon be knocking on Matjaz Kek’s door at the Ried together…
This text was automatically translated using AI.