Erik Jirka
Slovak footballer (born 1997)

Erik Jirka
Jirka with Real Oviedo in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-09-19) 19 September 1997 (age 28)
Place of birth Trnava, Slovakia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Piast Gliwice
Number 77
Youth career
2005–2016 Spartak Trnava
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2018 Spartak Trnava 76 (12)
2019–2021 Red Star Belgrade 6 (0)
2019 → Radnički Niš (loan) 16 (4)
2020 → Górnik Zabrze (loan) 17 (4)
2020–2021 → Mirandés (loan) 32 (5)
2021–2022 Oviedo 19 (0)
2022–2024 Viktoria Plzeň 61 (10)
2025– Piast Gliwice 28 (5)
International career‡
2015–2016 Slovakia U18 5 (0)
2017 Slovakia U19 6 (1)
2017–2018 Slovakia U21 11 (1)
2021– Slovakia 10 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:26, 10 November 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 19 September 2024

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

Spartak Trnava

Jirka is a product of the Spartak Trnava youth academy. During the spring round of the 2013/2014 season, he was included in the Spartak B team. On 25 May 2014, in the 32nd round of the 2nd League match against FK Pohronie, he made his senior debut.[3] In the 2014/2015 season, he was registered as a first-team player, although he mainly played for the reserves. On 8 November 2014, he made his debut for Spartak's first team in an away 0–0 draw against MFK Ružomberok, coming on off the bench in stoppage time for Ján Vlasko.[4] On 18 April 2015, he scored his first goal for Spartak B in the 3rd round of the 2nd League match against FK Pohronie, which was also his first goal at senior level.[5] In the 2016/2017 season, he became a full first-team player. On 14 July 2016, in an away match in the second qualifying round of the Europa League against Armenian club Shirak Gyumri, he scored his debut goal for the Spartak first team.[6] Shortly afterwards, on 31 July 2016, in an away match against MFK Ružomberok, which ended in a 1–1 draw, he recorded his first top-flight goal.[7][8] In the 2017/18 season, Jirka won the Slovak league title with Spartak.[9]

Red Star Belgrade

In September 2018, Jirka signed a four-year contract with Red Star Belgrade, effective from January 2019.[10] However, in July 2019, he was sent out on loan to fellow Serbian club Radnički Niš, along with Dejan Meleg, to get more playing time.[11]

In January 2020, Jirka was sent on another loan, this time to Polish club Górnik Zabrze.[12] The same year in August, he was sent on a third loan since arriving at Red Star Belgrade, this time to the Spanish side Mirandés for the entire 2020–21 season with an option to buy at the end of a season.[13] On 17 July 2021, Jirka signed with Oviedo a two-year contract with a further year dependent on the completion of objectives.[14]

International career

Jirka debuted for the Slovak senior squad on 1 June 2021 in a friendly match against Bulgaria.[15] In March 2022, he was called up as an alternative footballer to Ivan Schranz for two friendly matches against Norway and Finland.[16] Jirka scored his first international goal against the latter opponent on 29 March.[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 24 May 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Spartak Trnava 2014–15 Slovak First League 2 0 — — — 2 0
2015–16 Slovak First League 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 — 1 0
2016–17 Slovak First League 30 6 2 0 6[b] 1 — 38 7
2017–18 Slovak First League 29 6 3 0 — — 32 6
2018–19 Slovak First League 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 15 0 1 0 — — 16 0
Career total 242 35 12 1 43 3 0 0 297 39
  1. ^ Includes Slovak Cup, Serbian Cup, Copa del Rey, Czech Cup, Polish Cup
  2. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 19 November 2023[18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
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.
List of international goals scored by Erik Jirka[18]
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

  1. ^ "Erik Jirka". FC Viktoria Plzeň. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  2. ^ Dosadil, Pavel (11 August 2022). "Miliony už se točí! Mistrovská Plzeň získala hned dva reprezentanty". Sport.cz (in Czech).
  3. ^ "Futbal: FC Spartak Trnava B - FK POHRONIE Dolná Ždaňa 1:2 v 32. kole II. ligy". Šport7.sk (in Slovak). 25 May 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  4. ^ "MFK Ružomberok - FC Spartak Trnava | Detail zápasu". Niké liga. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  5. ^ "Spartak Trnawa - Pohronie 1:3". pl.soccerway.com (in Polish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  6. ^ a.s, Petit Press. "Spartak v Arménsku s remízou, postaral sa o to Jirka". MY Trnava (in Slovak). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  7. ^ "MFK Ružomberok - FC Spartak Trnava | Detail zápasu". Niké liga. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Trnava si odnáša z Ružomberka bod, Jarábek: Remíza je spravodlivá". Profutbal (in Slovak). 8 November 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Diváci vtrhli na trávnik, Trnava má titul po 45 rokoch". sportnet.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Gotovo: Zvezda dovela i Jirku!". Mozzart Sport (in Serbian). 3 September 2018. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Zvezda definitivno Pojačala Radnički: Tandem na "Čairu"!". Mondo (in Serbian). 4 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Neće u Domovinu: Jirka će u Poljsku, ovo je klub..." fudbal.hotsport.rs (in Serbian). 9 January 2020.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Jirka signs for Real Oviedo". Real Oviedo. 17 July 2021.
  15. ^ "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.]
  16. ^ Jurigová, Monika (23 March 2022). "Muži A | Ďalšie dve zmeny v Tarkovičovej nominácii". Slovak Football Association (in Slovak). Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  17. ^ Spál, Pavol (29 March 2022). "Nemá dno, robí šialené veci. Slovákov potešil hráč, ktorý nehráva". Sme (in Slovak). Petit Press. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Erik Jirka". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Erik Jirka". Soccerway. 10 May 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Erik_Jirka&oldid=1330428402"