Branislav Niňaj

Branislav Niňaj
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-05-17) 17 May 1994 (age 30)[1]
Place of birth Bratislava, Slovakia
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Sepsi OSK
Number 82
Youth career
2002–2010 Jozef Vengloš Academy
2010–2011 Petržalka 1898
2012 Slovan Bratislava
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Petržalka 1898 10 (0)
2012–2015 Slovan Bratislava 58 (6)
2012–2015 Slovan Bratislava B 3 (0)
2015–2018 Lokeren 38 (1)
2017Osmanlıspor (loan) 1 (0)
2018Žilina B (loan) 2 (0)
2018–2021 Fortuna Sittard 53 (3)
2021– Sepsi OSK 124 (1)
International career
Slovakia U17
2012 Slovakia U18 2 (0)
2013 Slovakia U19 4 (0)
2013–2017 Slovakia U21 27 (1)
2013–2020 Slovakia 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 December 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 October 2020

Branislav Niňaj (born 17 May 1994) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga I club Sepsi OSK.

Early career

[edit]

In summer 2012, he moved from Petržalka 1898 to the fellow Bratislava team Slovan Bratislava.[2] He made his Corgoň Liga debut for Slovan 2013 against ViOn Zlaté Moravce on 1 March 2013, Slovan won this match 4–1.

International career

[edit]

Niňaj made an unexpected international debut under Ján Kozák on 19 November 2013 in a memorable first UEFA-recognised match against Gibraltar (0–0), when he tactically replaced Jakub Sylvestr in the 85th minute.[3] However, he failed to make another appearance under Kozák until his resignation in October 2018.

After Niňaj joined Fortuna Sittard, where he experienced an incomparably more successful season to the previous ones, he was again nominated to the national team, initially as an alternate.[4] Niňaj's first nomination to the national team nomination after over 5 years happened on 28 May 2019 when coach Pavel Hapal called him up for a double fixture in June - a home friendly against Jordan, to which, unusually, 29 players were called-up and a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying fixture against Azerbaijan, played away on 11 June 2019. The squad was to be reduced to 23 players for the latter fixture.[5]

Career statistics

[edit]
As of match played on 6 December 2024[6]
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Slovan Bratislava 2012–13 Slovak First Football League 5 1 1 0 6 1
2013–14 31 4 6 0 37 4
2014–15 22 1 1 0 6 0 1[a] 0 30 1
Total 58 6 8 0 6 0 1 0 73 6
Slovan Bratislava B 2014–15 2. Liga 3 0 3 0
Lokeren 2015–16 Belgian Pro League 18 0 2 0 20 0
2016–17 Belgian First Division A 20 1 0 0 20 1
Total 38 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 40 1
Osmanlıspor (loan) 2017–18 Süper Lig 1 0 3 0 4 0
Žilina B (loan) 2017–18 2. Liga 2 0 2 0
Fortuna Sittard 2018–19 Eredivisie 21 3 2 0 23 3
2019–20 24 0 3 0 27 0
2020–21 8 0 0 0 8 0
Total 53 3 5 0 0 0 0 0 58 3
Sepsi OSK 2020–21 Liga I 16 0 0 0 1[b] 0 17 0
2021–22 25 1 4 0 29 1
2022–23 34 0 3 1 2 0 39 1
2023–24 32 0 2 0 6 0 1[c] 0 41 0
2024–25 17 0 0 0 17 0
Total 124 1 9 1 8 0 2 0 143 2
Career totals 279 11 27 1 14 0 3 0 323 12

International

[edit]
As of match played on 11 November 2020.[7]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Slovakia 2013 1 0
2019 1 0
2020 1 0
Total 3 0

Honours

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Slovan Bratislava

Sepsi OSK

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Branislav Niňaj Archived 2012-05-02 at the Wayback Machine 02.03.2013, talenty-info.sk
  2. ^ Slovan získal talentovaného Branislava Niňaja z Petržalky 02.03.2013, sport.aktuality.sk
  3. ^ a.s, Petit Press. "Slováci Gibraltáru gól nedali, pred 350 divákmi remizovali 0:0". sport.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  4. ^ a.s, Petit Press. "Stoch sa vracia do reprezentácie. Hapal oznámil nomináciu". sport.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  5. ^ "SR A – V Hapalovej nominácii 29 hráčov, po Jordánsku sa zúži na 23 | Slovenský futbalový zväz". www.futbalsfz.sk. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  6. ^ Branislav Ňinaj at Soccerway
  7. ^ "Ninaj, Branislav". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 6 October 2022.