To Germany before the national team: young Gal Grobelnik ‘scared’ big Eintracht in summer, now wants to follow Blaž Kramer’s path
Before she goes to Germany the Slovenian national football team has already gone there Gal Grobelnik. It’s true that the best Slovenians will travel to Germany for one of the biggest events in world football, but Gal Grobelnik also set off for a country of 85 million people with a clear goal – to show what he can do and impress as many people as possible. This will undoubtedly be the main focus of the Slovenian national team, for which our interlocutor will also be keeping his fingers crossed in Germany. It is utopian to expect that he could knock on Matjaz Keke’s door in six months, but there is no doubt that the success of the selector’s boys will make him all the more motivated in the future.
Maybe Grobelnik? Top scorer twice!
But who is Gal Grobelnik? The 22-year-old from Petrovci made his mark in football at a very young age, leaving his biggest mark in Celje and Prekmurje before moving abroad. In Celje, he wore the Šampion jersey, for which he scored 27 goals in 23 games in the 2018/19 season in the second youth league and was also the top scorer of the competition.
After that phenomenal season, he also wore the Celje First League jersey for a while, but soon returned to Šampion and tasted the taste of youth football. In the 2020/21 season, his first as a member, he played 16 matches in the 3rd National League East, scoring 4 goals in his first match, and finished the year with 18 goals. Another award for the best shooter…
Next came the move to Beltince, 60 matches in 2. SNL in two seasons and 17 goals scored. Last season Gal Grobelnik was the fifth top scorer in the second league, scoring – let’s say – one goal less than Nejc Gradišar and three less than Bamba Sussa, who are playing in the second league this season of Telemach First League. Gal Grobelnik, meanwhile, decided to take a different step. He left Slovenia, moved to Germany and put on the jersey of a quarter- league club SG Barockstadt Fulda-Lehnerz.
Gal Grobelnik, born in 2001, has made an encouraging start in his new surroundings, with three goals and two assists so far, but his most notable performance came in the summer, when he scored twice in a friendly match against Eintracht Frankfurt, a prestigious first division side.
“After a good season in 2. I knew I had to take a step forward in my career because I have big ambitions in football. I had a few more offers on the table, all from abroad. In the end, the decision to join the fourth German league was not even a difficult one. I had a lot of help from my agent Goran Durdić, who also took Blaž Kramer to the fourth German league in the past. The latter even went there from the first Slovenian league, but today we know where he plays anyway,“, Gal Grobelnik, who would have been willing to stay in Slovenia but…“Unfortunately, I didn’t get an offer from the Telemach First League, which made the decision to go abroad all the easier,” admitted the promising striker.
A better quality league than 2. SNL
Many people would no doubt have reservations at the mention of a fourth German league. But Gal Grobelnik points out that no matter what, this is a very serious and also well-regulated football environment. “The 4th league is officially semi-professional, but most of the clubs are still at a professional level in terms of organisation. I quickly realised that it is not only the level of organisation that is high, but also the level of football. I dare say it’s a better quality league than our 2. SNL, I could even say that the level of play is comparable to the Telemach First League in many respects,” said Gal Grobelnik, who found a temporary home in Fulda in the German state of Hesse and quickly got used to his new surroundings.
“I had no problems adapting. I would say I’ve quickly got to grips with life in Germany, but either way I’m only focused on football and nothing else. My main goal is progress, and I have made that my goal,“, the young Slovenian, who also touched on his club. SG Barockstadt Fulda-Lehnerz is not one of the bigger clubs in Germany, nor has it had any major successes in its almost 60-year history.
Over 6000 spectators
“The club was actually playing in the fifth league not long ago, and this season is its second among the quarter-leaguers. The goal is to be at the top of the rankings, but to advance would require a lot of consistency and luck, as only the champion advances. Regardless of everything, the club is well organised, I don’t think I would be saying anything wrong if I compared it to some Slovenian top leaguers in this respect. We have excellent training conditions, and a football player can actually progress quickly with hard work,” explained Gal Grobelnik, who sees the biggest difference between football in Germany and Slovenia in finances. “And in viewership,” he shot like a cannon, then continued:”Our home games have an average of around 1500 spectators, with the biggest attendance in the league being over 6000. As for the league I play in, it’s quite interesting also because there are quite a few B-team clubs from the Bundesliga. They play very fast football with a lot of passing, and they are developing players with a lot of potential. On the other hand, there are also teams that play very physical football and 1v1, which means you have to adapt a lot.”
Grobelnik’s club is currently sixth in the Regionalliga Südwest, seven points behind leaders Kickers Stuttgart. The young Štajerska also contributed to the good results, but he believes that he will be even better in the rest of the season. “I am partly satisfied with my games. The stats are a bit worse than last season, but the team is playing very well and I have to be happy about that,“, Gal Grobelnik also revealed his goals for the coming years.In the short term, I definitely want to present myself in the best possible light to the German football public. I think I’m doing pretty well already. In the long term, I would like to follow the path of Blaž Kramer and who knows, maybe one day I will be able to play for the Slovenian national team… But I definitely want to have a good football career first and foremost.”
And who knows, there are many stories that show that it is possible to get all the way to the national stage, even by taking a low-lying detour. As for the latter and next summer, Gal Grobelnik will still be a fan. “I hope I will be able to watch one of Slovenia’s games at the Euro live. Who knows, maybe I can convince a teammate to cheer for the Slovenian national team with me,” he told the website with a smile on his face
Planetnogomet.si
Gal Grobelnik concluded.
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet
Interviews
#galgrobelnik
#legionarji
Share