Jaka Domjan scored 12 goals in 12 games in the Eon NextGen: “My dream is to play in one of the top five leagues in the world one day”

Published on 26. October 2023 26. October 2023

Source of photo: NŠ Mura

Some people resent the rule because it gives a break to older players who are not good enough to play on the national stage, while others agree that it is good for young people to have a back-up plan in their first year in the national competition. That both are right in their own way is as true as nailed. In a free society, everyone can say what they want anyway. And every opinion should be respected. But, from a football point of view, it is a shame any talent is thrown away. And if we can keep someone afloat by giving them an extra year in the youth league… Why not?

Jaka Domjan is one of the players who are taking advantage of the new rule of the Football Association of Slovenia. If the umbrella organisation had not made the decision it did, the question is where would the 19-year-old offensive-minded footballer from Hrastovec near Zavrč be today? Who knows; maybe he would Mura could offer him a “number” in the first team. Probably… He might be on loan somewhere else. Let’s say in the 2nd SNL. Or in Murska Sobota, we could thank him for his cooperation… I would not be the first or the last. But Jaka Domjan has stayed in the capital of Prekmurje, where on the one hand he trains with the first team, soaks up knowledge and gains much-needed experience, and on the other hand he plays in the youth league and keeps up the competitive rhythm.

Jaka Domjan: “It would have been nice to finish first”

He is doing very well off his feet. Jaka Domjan has scored 12 goals in 12 games for Mura this season and is currently the top scorer in the Eon NextGen Youth League. He has also already picked up his first minutes in Telemach First League: he played two games in the elite last season and one in the current one.

“It is a fact that the rule allowing seniors to play in the youth league has its disadvantages, but I think that it has many advantages,” Jaka Domjan did not want to bother too much with this hot topic, which some people pay a lot of attention to. The 2004-born footballer continues his interview with Planet Football admitted that he benefits from being able to train with older players and play with younger ones. “The fact is that most young people, when they move to youth football, are mainly waiting for their chance. If it comes, it often does not. But if you don’t play regularly, you quickly fall out of the rhythm of competition. So it’s really welcome, and I can say this first-hand, to be able to play from week to week no matter what,” said Jaka Domjan, who – as I said – took full advantage of the new rule.

“I am satisfied with the opening quarter of the season. I must be satisfied. What means more to me? Goals in youth league or minutes in 1. SNL? In fact, I would still put the Eon NextGen League games first. After all, it was the latter that earned me my minutes in the members’ competition,“, Jaka Domjan pointed out another aspect why the rule adopted by the NHS is welcome. If someone is playing and scoring regularly in the youth league, the coach of the youth team will undoubtedly take notice of him more quickly…

Anyway, Jaka Domjan has started the new season really well, and the expectations he has for the 2023/24 competition year are accordingly high. “As far as the results are concerned, I would like to see us finish in the top 3 in the Eon NextGen League. It would also be nice if I could finish the season as the top scorer in the competitions. Of course, I also want to get as many minutes as possible in the national competition,” said the talented forward, who has reportedly already attracted the interest of clubs abroad with his good performances.

It is interesting to note that Jaka Domjan is not a product of the Prekmurje or Murska Sobota school of football. “I started my football career at the age of four, at my home club NK Zavrč. At the age of 10, I moved to Ptuj to join Drava and from there to Aluminija,“, Jaka Domjan, who moved to Mora in 2021, described his football career. He does not regret the move to Murska Sobota.

Slovenia and Euro 2024? It would be hard to think of a better motivation

“Absolutely not! In Murska Sobota I learned many new and useful things that will undoubtedly help me in my future career,” the young man is convinced. And where does he want it to the road of life has taken you? “My dream is to one day play in one of the top five leagues in the world, and I also want to play for the Slovenian national team,” says the promising Jana Domjan, who is not hiding his lofty goals. for the national team, it only motivates them further and encourages them to work hard: “I think Slovenia deserves to play at Euro 2024, because we are a truly sporting nation. And we young people could hardly think of a better motivation.”

And who knows, maybe there’s already a generation of boys growing up in the background who will make sure that Euro 2024 won’t be the only big competition that Slovenia will get so close to and (we believe) even compete in… Jaka Domjan could undoubtedly be one of those who will pull the Slovenian football chariot forward in the years to come…