Quick Facts
Biography
Tim Matavž (born 13 January 1989) is a Slovenian football player who plays as a forward for Vitesse.
Club career
Matavž began his football career at the age of 6 playing for Bilje. In 2004, he moved to Gorica youth squads. He was promoted to their senior squad in the 2006–07 season and played a total of 30 matches in the Slovenian first division, 1. SNL, scoring 11 goals in the process.
On 30 August 2007, at the age of 18, he signed a 5-year contract for Groningen. On 26 September 2007 he scored four goals in KNVB Cup in a match against IJsselmeervogels, but later moved to Emmen on loan and remained there until January 2009.
On 13 March 2009 Matavž scored his first goal in the Eredivisie in a 2–0 victory over Roda. Soon he began scoring for Groningen on regular basis in all competitions. On 24 February 2010 Matavž extended his contract with club until 2013. On 6 February 2011 in a match against Willem II Matavž scored his first hat-trick in Eredivisie.
On 2 February 2011, Groningen sporting director Hans Nijland said Tim Matavž had already agreed terms with Napoli and that he was looking forward to joining them. However, Eredivisie giants PSV Eindhoven were also in talks with Groningen to buy him before the transfer window closed. On 31 August 2011, Matavž eventually signed a five-year contract with PSV.
On 29 June 2017, Matavž returned to the Netherlands, to join Vitesse on a three-year deal.
International career
On 9 October 2010, Matavž scored a hat-trick for Slovenia in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match against Faroe Islands. At the age of 21, he became the youngest player ever to score three goals for Slovenia.
International goals
- Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 October 2010 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana |  Faroe Islands | 1–0 | 5–1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualification |
| 2 | 2–0 | |||||
| 3 | 3–0 | |||||
| 4 | 3 June 2011 | Svangaskarð, Tórshavn | Faroe Islands | 0–1 | 0–2 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualification |
| 5 | 2 September 2011 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana |  Estonia | 1–1 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualification |
| 6 | 15 November 2011 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana |  United States | 1–1 | 2–3 | International friendly |
| 7 | 2–3 | |||||
| 8 | 12 October 2012 | Ljudski vrt, Maribor |  Cyprus | 1–0 | 2–1 | FIFA World Cup 2014 qualification |
| 9 | 2–0 | |||||
| 10 | 31 May 2013 | Schüco Arena, Bielefeld |  Turkey | 2–0 | 2–0 | International friendly |
Career statistics
- As of 14 September 2017.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Gorica | 2006–07 | PrvaLiga | 27 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 13 | |
| 2007–08 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||
| Total | 30 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 14 | — | ||
| Groningen | 2007–08 | Eredivisie | 15 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — | 17 | 4 | ||
| Total | 15 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — | 17 | 4 | — | |||
| Emmen | 2008–09 | Eerste Divisie | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 5 | ||
| Total | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 5 | — | |||
| Groningen | 2008–09 | Eredivisie | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 8 | 3 | ||
| 2009–10 | 32 | 13 | 4 | 3 | — | 36 | 16 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 29 | 16 | 6 | 4 | — | 35 | 20 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | |||
| Total | 69 | 34 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 42 | — | ||
| PSV | 2011–12 | Eredivisie | 28 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 42 | 20 | |
| 2012–13 | 27 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 38 | 20 | |||
| 2013–14 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 4 | |||
| Total | 70 | 24 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 14 | 102 | 44 | — | ||
| FC Augsburg | 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 3 | ||
| 2015–16 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |||
| Total | 27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 3 | — | ||
| Genoa (loan) | 2015–16 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 3 | — | ||
| 1. FC Nürnberg (loan) | 2016–17 | 2. Bundesliga | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 21 | 5 | ||
| Total | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 5 | — | ||
| Vitesse | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | |
| Total | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | — | ||
| Career total | 257 | 86 | 34 | 20 | 30 | 16 | 321 | 122 | — | ||
Honours
Club
- PSV Eindhoven
- KNVB Cup: 2011–12
- Johan Cruijff Shield: 2012
Personal life
Matavž was born in Šempeter pri Gorici, in present-day Slovenia. Besides Slovene he is also fluent in English, Italian and Dutch. He is a cousin of the football player Etien Velikonja. The two were also childhood friends of football players, Valter Birsa and Goran Cvijanović.
