Luka Krajnc

Luka Krajnc

Krajnc in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth	(1994-09-19) 19 September 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Ptuj, Slovenia [1]
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) [1]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Maribor
Number	32
Youth career
2003–2011	Maribor
2011–2013	Genoa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	Maribor	1	(0)
2011–2015	Genoa	3	(0)
2013–2015	→ Cesena (loan)	44	(1)
2015–2018	Cagliari	21	(0)
2016–2017	→ Sampdoria (loan)	0	(0)
2017–2018	→ Frosinone (loan)	46	(0)
2018–2021	Frosinone	24	(0)
2020–2021	→ Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan)	24	(2)
2021–2023	Hannover 96	40	(1)
2023–2024	Catanzaro	16	(0)
2024–	Maribor	11	(1)
International career
2010	Slovenia U16	1	(0)
2010	Slovenia U17	5	(0)
2011	Slovenia U18	2	(0)
2011–2012	Slovenia U19	16	(1)
2011–2012	Slovenia U20	2	(0)
2012–2016	Slovenia U21	19	(2)
2015–2018	Slovenia	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 December 2024

Luka Krajnc (born 19 September 1994) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor.

Club career

Krajnc began his football career at the age of eight, when his father took him to the Slovenian club Maribor for a trial. ^[2] He signed his first professional contract with Maribor at the age of 16 and played for the main squad in a couple of friendly matches. On 29 May 2011, he played his first and only 1. SNL match for Maribor in the last round of the 2010–11 season, ^[3] with Maribor already being crowned champions. At the time of his debut, he was the youngest player ever with an appearance for Maribor in a 1. SNL match, a record which lasted until 25 March 2012 when it was surpassed by Petar Stojanović. ^[4]

On 3 April 2011, Krajnc signed a pre-contract with Italian Serie A club Genoa. ^[5] The transfer fee paid by Genoa was undisclosed, but was reported to be close to €1 million. He joined his new club on 1 July 2011 ^{[6] [7]} and was assigned to Genoa's youth team, which he also captained, before making his debut for the first team on 27 October 2012 at San Siro in a league match against AC Milan. ^[8] With 18 years, one month and 14 days, he became the youngest Slovenian player with an appearance in the Italian top division, Serie A. ^[7]

On 3 July 2013, he moved to Cesena in a temporary co-ownership deal. ^[9] In June 2015, Genoa acquired Cesena's share and became the sole owner of the player's rights. ^[10]

On 31 August 2016, Krajnc joined Sampdoria on a season-long loan. ^[11] In the second part of the 2016–17 season, he was loaned to Frosinone. ^[12]

On 20 June 2018, Frosinone turned Krajnc's loan into a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee. ^[13]

In September 2020, he joined Fortuna Düsseldorf on a season-long loan. ^[14]

On 24 August 2021, Krajnc joined Hannover 96 on a three-year contract. ^[15]

On 23 August 2023, Krajnc returned to Italy and signed a two-year deal with Catanzaro. ^[16]

After 13 years of playing abroad, Krajnc returned to his childhood club Maribor on 7 September 2024 and signed a contract until 2026 with the option for another year. ^[17]

International career

Krajnc has represented Slovenia at all youth levels from under-16 to under-21. ^[18] He made his senior international debut on 30 March 2015, replacing Dominic Maroh after 65 minutes in an eventual 1–0 friendly defeat against Qatar at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha. ^{[19] [20]}

Personal life

Krajnc is from Kapla na Kozjaku in the hilly region of northeastern Slovenia near the Austrian border, roughly 37 km from the city of Maribor. ^{[2] [21]} Before moving to Maribor he usually had to study and do his homework on the back seat of his father's car, traveling to and from training. ^{[2] [8]}

Career statistics

As of match played 8 December 2024 ^[22]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Maribor	2010–11	1. SNL	1	0	0	0	1	0
Genoa	2011–12	Serie A	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2012–13	Serie A	3	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		3	0	0	0	3	0
Cesena (loan)	2013–14	Serie B	22	1	0	0	22	1
	2014–15	Serie A	22	0	1	0	23	0
	Total		44	1	1	0	45	1
Cagliari	2015–16	Serie B	21	0	3	0	24	0
	2016–17	Serie A	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		21	0	3	0	24	0
Sampdoria (loan)	2016–17	Serie A	0	0	1	0	1	0
Frosinone (loan)	2016–17	Serie B	19	0	0	0	19	0
	2017–18	Serie B	27	0	2	0	29	0
	Total		46	0	2	0	48	0
Frosinone	2018–19	Serie A	9	0	0	0	9	0
	2019–20	Serie B	15	0	0	0	15	0
	2020–21	Serie B	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2021–22	Serie B	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		24	0	0	0	24	0
Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan)	2020–21	2. Bundesliga	24	2	0	0	24	2
Hannover 96	2021–22	2. Bundesliga	20	0	2	0	22	0
	2022–23	2. Bundesliga	20	1	1	0	21	1
	2023–24	2. Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		40	1	3	0	43	1
Catanzaro	2023–24	Serie B	15	0	0	0	15	0
	2024–25	Serie B	1	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		16	0	0	0	16	0
Maribor	2024–25	1. SNL	11	1	1	0	12	1
Career total			230	5	11	0	241	5

1. Includes Coppa Italia, DFB-Pokal, Slovenian Cup

References

1. Luka Krajnc at Soccerway
2. "Nočno življenje me ne bo zavedlo" [Nightlife will not deceive me] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
3. "Luka Krajnc" (in Slovenian). Slovenian PrvaLiga . Retrieved 31 August 2016.
4. "Soigralci in navijači odnesli tremo" [Teammates and fans helped me with fright] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
5. To. G. (3 April 2011). "Luka Krajnc pri 16 letih iz Maribora v Genoo" [Luka Krajnc from Maribor to Genoa at the age of 16] (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija . Retrieved 4 April 2011.
6. D. D. (7 April 2011). "Kako je Genoa Chelseaju speljala Krajnca?" [How did Genoa steal Krajnc from Chelsea?] (in Slovenian). Siol . Retrieved 7 April 2011.
7. Plestenjak, Rok (29 October 2012). "Tako mlad ni debitiral še nihče" [No one debuted that young] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
8. T. O. (30 October 2012). "Na San Siru kot v kinu, slike ni pokvaril niti sporen gol" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija . Retrieved 30 October 2012.
9. "Luka Kranjc è un giocatore del Cesena" (in Italian). AC Cesena. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
10. Dominko, Peter (25 June 2015). "Genoa odkupila Krajnca" [Genoa bought Krajnc]. Slovenski nogometni portal (in Slovenian). Retrieved 25 June 2015.
11. "Official: Krajnc to Sampdoria". Football italia. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
12. Uredništvo (10 January 2017). "Uradno: Krajnc v Frosinone" [Official: Krajnc to Frosinone] (in Slovenian). Nogomania. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
13. "Salamon alla Spal e Krajnc al Frosinone" (in Italian). Cagliari. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
14. Uredništvo (29 September 2020). "URADNO: Luka Krajnc je izpolnil svoje sanje" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
15. "Trotz "anderer Optionen": Krajnc entscheidet sich für Hannover". kicker.de (in German). kicker. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
16. "Luka Krajnc se je po dveh letih v Nemčiji vrnil tja, kjer je doslej preživel največ časa: Branilec v Italiji podpisal za Catanzaro". Planet Nogomet (in Slovenian). 23 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
17. "Maribor pripeljal novo okrepitev, vrnil se je nekdanji slovenski reprezentant: V vijoličastem dresu vnovič branilec Luka Krajnc". Planet Nogomet (in Slovenian). 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
18. "Luka Krajnc" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia . Retrieved 31 August 2016.
19. T. O. (30 March 2015). "Katančev eksperiment z novinci ni obrodil sadov" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija . Retrieved 7 September 2024.
20. "Qatar 1–0 Slovenia". eu-football.info. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
21. "Luka Krajnc: Prav nič ne bi razmišljal" [Luka Krajnc: I wouldn't think about it]. Ekipa (in Slovenian). 25 February 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
22. "Luka Krajnc » Club matches". worldfootball.net.

External links

• Luka Krajnc at NZS (in Slovene)
• Luka Krajnc at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
• Luka Krajnc at Soccerway.com
• Luka Krajnc at WorldFootball.net
• Luka Krajnc at National-Football-Teams.com
• Luka Krajnc at kicker (in German)
• Luka Krajnc at FBref.com