Erik Jirka (born 19 September 1997) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ekstraklasa club Piast Gliwice and the Slovakia national team.[2]
Club career
A FC Spartak Trnava youth graduate, Jirka made his professional league debut for on 8 November 2014 against Ružomberok.[3]
In September 2018, Jirka signed a four–year contract with Red Star Belgrade, effective from January 2019.[4] However, in July 2019, he went to vice-champions from Radnički Niš for a half-season loan to get more playing time.[5]
In January 2020, Jirka was sent on another half-season loan, this time to Polish club Górnik Zabrze.[6] The same year in August, he was sent on a third loan since arriving at Red Star Belgrade, this time to the Spanish side CD Mirandés for the entire 2020–21 season with an option to buy at the end of a season.[7] On 17 July 2021, Jirka signed with Real Oviedo a two-year contract with a further year dependent on the completion of objectives.[8]
International career
Jirka debuted for the Slovak senior squad on 1 June 2021 in a friendly match against Bulgaria.[9] In March 2022, he was called up as an alternative footballer to Ivan Schranz for two friendly matches against Norway and Finland.[10] Jirka scored his first international goal against the latter opponent on 29 March.[11]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 8 December 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Spartak Trnava | 2014–15 | Fortuna Liga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | Fortuna Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Fortuna Liga | 30 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 6[b] | 1 | — | 38 | 7 | ||
| 2017–18 | Fortuna Liga | 29 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 6 | |||
| 2018–19 | Fortuna Liga | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14[c] | 1 | — | 6 | 3 | ||
| Total | 76 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 21 | 2 | — | 103 | 14 | |||
| Red Star Belgrade | 2018–19 | Serbian SuperLiga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Radnički Niš (loan) | 2019–20 | Serbian SuperLiga | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 19 | 4 | |
| Górnik Zabrze (loan) | 2019–20 | Ekstraklasa | 17 | 4 | — | — | — | 17 | 4 | |||
| Mirandés (loan) | 2020–21 | Segunda División | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 5 | ||
| Real Oviedo | 2021–22 | Segunda División | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| Viktoria Plzeň | 2022–23 | Czech First League | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8[d] | 0 | — | 37 | 2 | |
| 2023–24 | Czech First League | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4[e] | 1 | — | 25 | 6 | ||
| 2024–25 | Czech First League | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8[b] | 0 | — | 21 | 3 | ||
| Total | 61 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 11 | ||
| Piast Gliwice | 2024–25 | Ekstraklasa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 227 | 35 | 11 | 1 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 281 | 39 | ||
- ^ Includes Slovak Cup, Serbian Cup, Copa del Rey, Czech Cup
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 19 November 2023[12]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovakia | |||
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Slovakia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jirka goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 March 2022 | Estadio Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain |  Finland |
2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 22 September 2022 | Anton Malatinský Stadium, Trnava, Slovakia |  Azerbaijan |
1–1 | 1–2 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C |
Honours
Spartak Trnava
Red Star Belgrade
References
- ^ "Erik Jirka". FC Viktoria Plzeň. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^ Dosadil, Pavel (11 August 2022). "Miliony už se točí! Mistrovská Plzeň získala hned dva reprezentanty". Sport.cz (in Czech).
- ^ "Trnava si odnáša z Ružomberka bod, Jarábek: Remíza je spravodlivá". Profutbal (in Slovak). 8 November 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019.
- ^ "Gotovo: Zvezda dovela i Jirku!". Mozzart Sport (in Serbian). 3 September 2018. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ^ "Zvezda definitivno Pojačala Radnički: Tandem na "Čairu"!". Mondo (in Serbian). 4 July 2019.
- ^ "Neće u Domovinu: Jirka će u Poljsku, ovo je klub..." fudbal.hotsport.rs (in Serbian). 9 January 2020.
- ^ "Erik Jirka, jugará cedido en el C.D. Mirandés" [Erik Jirka will play on loan at C.D. Mirandés]. CD Mirandés (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Jirka signs for Real Oviedo". Real Oviedo. 17 July 2021.
- ^ "Slovenskí futbalisti remizovali v príprave s Bulharskom". Teraz (in Slovak). 1 June 2021.
Slováci sa snažili súpera zatlačiť, prišli aj ďalší noví hráči Jirka a Suslov.
[The Slovaks tried to push the opponent, other new players Jirka and Suslov also arrived.] - ^ Jurigová, Monika (23 March 2022). "Muži A | Ďalšie dve zmeny v Tarkovičovej nominácii". Slovak Football Association (in Slovak). Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ Spál, Pavol (29 March 2022). "Nemá dno, robí šialené veci. Slovákov potešil hráč, ktorý nehráva". Sme (in Slovak). Petit Press. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ a b "Erik Jirka". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Erik Jirka". Soccerway. 10 May 2024.
External links
- Erik Jirka at Soccerway
- Futbalnet profile
- Erik Jirka at Fortunaliga.sk (in Slovak)