Matija Boben

Matija Boben (born 26 February 1994) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Celje.

Matija Boben

Personal information
Date of birth	(1994-02-26) 26 February 1994 (age 31)
Place of birth	Ljubljana, Slovenia
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Celje
Youth career
2000–2008	Kočevje
2008–2013	Interblock
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013	Triglav Kranj	4	(0)
2014–2015	Ivančna Gorica	23	(0)
2015	→ Bolton Wanderers (loan)	0	(0)
2015–2017	Gorica	34	(1)
2017–2019	Rostov	7	(0)
2019	→ Livorno (loan)	9	(0)
2019–2021	Livorno	30	(1)
2020–2021	→ Ternana (loan)	29	(2)
2021–2023	Ternana	25	(0)
2022–2023	→ Pescara (loan)	24	(0)
2023–2025	CFR Cluj	25	(1)
2025	→ Politehnica Iași (loan)	6	(0)
2025–	Celje	0	(0)
International career‡
2009–2010	Slovenia U16	3	(0)
2010	Slovenia U17	5	(0)
2017	Slovenia B	1	(0)
2017–2018	Slovenia	2	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 2 June 2018

Club career

He made his professional debut in the Slovenian PrvaLiga in the 2013–14 season for NK Triglav Kranj.

On 4 July 2017, he signed a three-year contract with a one-year-extension option with the Russian Premier League club FC Rostov.^[1]

On 28 January 2019, he joined Italian club Livorno on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.^[2] On 28 June 2019, Rostov and Livorno agreed on a permanent transfer.^[3]

On 5 October 2020, he went to Ternana on loan.^[4]

On 8 July 2021, he moved to Ternana on a permanent basis and signed a three-year contract.^[5] On 3 August 2022, Boben was loaned to Pescara.^[6]

International career

Boben made his debut for Slovenia in a January 2017 friendly match against Finland and his second international was a June 2018 friendly against Montenegro.^[7]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 1 June 2025

Club	Season	League			Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Triglav Kranj	2013–14	Slovenian PrvaLiga	4	0	1	0	—		5	0
Ivančna Gorica	2013–14	3. SNL	9	0	—		—		9	0
	2014–15		14	0	0	0	—		14	0
	Total		23	0	0	0	—		23	0
Gorica	2015–16	Slovenian PrvaLiga	9	0	0	0	—		9	0
	2016–17		25	1	3	0	1[a]	0	29	1
	2017–18		—		—		1[a]	0	1	0
	Total		34	1	3	0	2	0	39	1
Rostov	2017–18	Russian Premier League	7	0	1	0	—		8	0
	2018–19		0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	Total		7	0	2	0	—		9	0
Livorno (loan)	2018–19	Serie B	9	0	0	0	—		9	0
Livorno	2019–20		30	1	1	0	—		31	1
	2020–21	Serie C	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	Total		39	1	2	0	—		41	1
Ternana (loan)	2020–21	Serie C	29	2	1	0	2[b]	0	32	2
Ternana	2021–22	Serie B	25	0	3	0	—		28	0
	Total		54	2	4	0	2	0	60	2
Pescara (loan)	2022–23	Serie C	24	0	1	0	4[c]	0	29	0
CFR Cluj	2023–24	Liga I	20	1	1	0	0	0	21	1
	2024–25		5	0	1	0	6[d]	0	12	0
	Total		25	1	2	0	6	0	33	1
Politehnica Iași (loan)	2024–25	Liga I	6	0	0	0	2[e]	0	8	0
Career total			216	5	15	0	16	0	247	5

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in Supercoppa di Serie C
3. Appearances in Serie C–Promotion play-offs
4. Appearances in UEFA Conference League
5. Appearance in Liga I promotion/relegation play-offs

International

As of match played 2 June 2018^[8]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Slovenia
	2017	1	0
	2018	1	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Ternana

• Serie C: 2020–21
• Supercoppa di Serie C: 2021

CFR Cluj

• Cupa României: 2024–25