View source for Aleksander Knavs

{{short description|Slovenian footballer (born 1975)}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox football biography
| image = 
| name= Aleksander Knavs
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1975|12|5}}
| birth_place = [[Maribor]], [[SFR Yugoslavia]]
| height = 1.90 m
| currentclub  = 
| clubnumber = 
| position = [[Defender (association football)|Defender]]
| youthyears1 = 
| youthclubs1 = [[NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945)|Olimpija]]
| years1 = 1993–1997
| clubs1 = [[NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945)|Olimpija]]
| caps1 = 70  | goals1 = 5
| years2 = 1997–2001
| clubs2 = [[FC Tirol Innsbruck|Tirol Innsbruck]]
| caps2 = 113 | goals2 = 6
| years3 = 2001–2004
| clubs3 = [[1. FC Kaiserslautern]]
| caps3 = 64  | goals3 = 3
| years4 = 2004–2005
| clubs4 = [[VfL Bochum]]
| caps4 = 26  | goals4 = 1
| years5 = 2005–2008
| clubs5 = [[FC Red Bull Salzburg|Red Bull Salzburg]]
| caps5 = 30  | goals5 = 1
| totalcaps = 303
| totalgoals = 16
| nationalyears1 = 1993
| nationalteam1  = Slovenia U18
| nationalcaps1   = 2 | nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 1993–1997
| nationalteam2  = [[Slovenia national under-21 football team|Slovenia U21]]
| nationalcaps2   = 17 | nationalgoals2 = 0
| nationalyears3 = 1998–2006
| nationalteam3  = [[Slovenia national football team|Slovenia]]
| nationalcaps3   = 65 | nationalgoals3 = 3
}}

'''Aleksander Knavs''' (born 5 December 1975) is a Slovenian retired [[Association football|football]] [[Defender (association football)|defender]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.esp.worldfootball.net/spieler_profil/aleksander-knavs/ | title = Aleksander Knavs | publisher = worldfootball.net | accessdate = 10 March 2012}}</ref>

==Club career==
Knavs was born in [[Maribor]] and started his professional career playing at the club [[NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945)|Olimpija]] from the Slovenian capital city of [[Ljubljana]] in 1993. He played for Olimpija until June 1997 and went on to move abroad by signing with Austrian club [[FC Tirol Innsbruck|Tirol Innsbruck]] after being noticed by [[Kurt Jara]], the club's manager at the time. Playing for Olimpija, Knavs appeared in 70 [[PrvaLiga Telekom Slovenije|domestic league]] matches and scored five goals for the club in the league. He also won the Slovenian championship twice with the club, in [[1993–94 Slovenian PrvaLiga|1994]] and [[1994–95 Slovenian PrvaLiga|1995]].

Knavs won two consecutive champions titles in the [[Austrian Bundesliga]] with Tirol Innsbruck in [[1999–2000 Austrian Football Bundesliga|2000]] and [[2000–01 Austrian Football Bundesliga|2001]], before he went on to sign with German [[Bundesliga]] side [[1. FC Kaiserslautern]] in July 2001. He played for Kaiserslautern in the next three seasons, appearing in 64 Bundesliga matches and scoring three goals for the club in the league before leaving it for another Bundesliga team, [[VfL Bochum]], in June 2004. He spent only one season with Bochum and left the club after their relegation to the [[2. Bundesliga]] at the end of the [[2004–05 Bundesliga|2004–05]] season, making 26 Bundesliga appearances and scoring one goal for the club in the league. He subsequently returned to Austria by signing with [[FC Red Bull Salzburg|Red Bull Salzburg]] in July 2005. He stayed there three seasons, making 30 appearances and scoring one goal.

He retired from football in 2008, aged 32.

==International career==
Knavs went on to make his debut for the [[Slovenia national football team|Slovenian national team]] playing as a substitute in the final ten minutes of their friendly match against [[Iceland national football team|Iceland]] on 5 February 1998 during an international friendly tournament in Cyprus. He became a regular in the Slovenian national team already during the same year and subsequently appeared in ten out of possible twelve matches in the [[UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying Group 2|qualifying session]] for the [[2000 European Football Championship|Euro 2000]]. He also managed to score one goal in the team's away match against [[Georgia national football team|Georgia]] that ended in a 1–1 draw. The Slovenian team surprisingly qualified for the finals after beating [[Ukraine national football team|Ukraine]] 3–2 on [[aggregate score|aggregate]] in the [[UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying play-offs|play-offs]]. Knavs also appeared in two group matches at the final Euro 2000 tournament, playing as a substitute in the last 22 minutes of the second match against [[Spain national football team|Spain]] as well as all 90 minutes in the final group match against [[Norway national football team|Norway]]. With two points scored, Slovenia finished last out of four teams in their group and was eliminated from the tournament in the first round.

He continued to play for the Slovenian national team in the [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1|qualifying session]] for the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cup]], appearing in nine out of possible twelve qualifying matches and scoring one goal in the team's away match against [[Russia national football team|Russia]] that ended in a 1–1 draw. Slovenia went on to qualify for their second consecutive major tournament after beating [[Romania national football team|Romania]] 3–2 on aggregate in the [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|play-offs]]. Knavs was also part of the Slovenian team at the 2002 World Cup finals and appeared in two group matches before the team was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by finishing last out of four teams in their group, scoring no points. He played the entire first match against Spain and was also a starting player in the second match against [[South Africa national football team|South Africa]], but was substituted in the 60th minute.

With the Slovenian national team, he also appeared in seven out of possible ten matches in the [[UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying Group 1|qualifying session]] for the [[2004 European Football Championship|Euro 2004]] and scored one goal in the team's 3–1 victory over [[Israel national football team|Israel]] at home. The Slovenian team did not manage to qualify for the finals after being defeated 2–1 on aggregate by [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]] in the [[UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying play-offs|play-offs]]. He also appeared in seven out of possible ten matches in the [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5|qualifying session]] for the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006 World Cup]], where the Slovenian team finished only fourth in their group, behind [[Italy national football team|Italy]], Norway and [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]].

He made his international comeback in August 2006 after ten months of absence from the national team, playing all 90 minutes in Slovenia's friendly match against Israel. His last match for national team was during [[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group G|qualifying campaign]] for the [[2008 European Football Championship|Euro 2008]] in their first qualifier against [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]], which they lost 3–0.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=10761|title=Aleksander Knavs, international football player|access-date=19 November 2023|website=EU-football}}</ref> In all, Knavs won 65 international caps and scored three goals for Slovenia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/slov-recintlp.html|title=Appearances for Slovenia National Team|accessdate=19 November 2023|website=[[RSSSF]]}}</ref> He occasionally captained his national side.

==Career statistics==

===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan=3 | Club performance
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | Cup
! colspan=2 | League Cup
! colspan=2 | Continental
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
! Season !! Club !! League
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
|-
|-
! colspan=3 | Slovenia
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[Slovenian Football Cup|Slovenian Cup]]
! colspan=2 | League Cup
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[1993–94 Slovenian PrvaLiga|1993–94]]||rowspan="4"|[[NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1911)|Olimpija]]||rowspan="4"|[[Slovenian PrvaLiga|PrvaLiga]]||8||1||||||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||||
|-
|[[1994–95 Slovenian PrvaLiga|1994–95]]||18||2||||||colspan="2"|—||4||0||||
|-
|[[1995–96 Slovenian PrvaLiga|1995–96]]||22||1||||||colspan="2"|—||4||0||||
|-
|[[1996–97 Slovenian PrvaLiga|1996–97]]||21||1||||||colspan="2"|—||1||0||||
|-
! colspan=3 | Austria
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[Austrian Cup]]
! colspan=2 | League Cup
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[1997–98 Austrian Football Bundesliga|1997–98]]||rowspan="4"|[[FC Tirol Innsbruck|Innsbruck]]||rowspan="4"|[[Austrian Football Bundesliga|Bundesliga]]||32||3||1||0||colspan="2"|—||2||0||35||3
|-
|[[1998–99 Austrian Football Bundesliga|1998–99]]||21||1||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||21||1
|-
|[[1999–2000 Austrian Football Bundesliga|1999–00]]||29||1||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||29||1
|-
|[[2000–01 Austrian Football Bundesliga|2000–01]]||31||1||0||0||colspan="2"|—||5||0||36||1
|-
! colspan=3 | Germany
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[DFB-Pokal]]
! colspan=2 | Other
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[2001–02 Bundesliga|2001–02]]||rowspan="3"|[[1. FC Kaiserslautern|Kaiserslautern]]||rowspan="4"|[[Bundesliga]]||23||0||2||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||25||1
|-
|[[2002–03 Bundesliga|2002–03]]||16||2||3||0||colspan="2"|—||2||0||21||2
|-
|[[2003–04 Bundesliga|2003–04]]||25||1||1||0||colspan="2"|—||1||0||27||1
|-
|[[2004–05 Bundesliga|2004–05]]||[[VfL Bochum|Bochum]]||26||1||2||0||1||0||2||0||31||1
|-
! colspan=3 | Austria
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[Austrian Cup]]
! colspan=2 | League Cup
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[2005–06 Austrian Football Bundesliga|2005–06]]||rowspan="3"|[[FC Red Bull Salzburg|Salzburg]]||rowspan="3"|[[Austrian Football Bundesliga|Bundesliga]]||28||1||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||28||1
|-
|[[2006–07 Austrian Football Bundesliga|2006–07]]||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||0||0
|-
|[[2007–08 Austrian Football Bundesliga|2007–08]]||2||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||2||0
|-
! rowspan=3 | Total
! colspan=2 | Slovenia
!70||5||||||0||0||9||0||||
|-
! colspan=2 | Austria
!143||7||1||0||0||0||7||0||151||7
|-
! colspan=2 | Germany
!90||4||8||1||1||0||5||0||104||5
|-
! colspan=3 | Career total
!303||16||||||1||0||21||0||||
|}

===International goals===
:''Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first.''

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1 || 27 March 1999 || [[Boris Paichadze Stadium]], [[Tbilisi]] || {{fb|GEO|1990}} || 1–1 || 1–1 || [[UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying|UEFA Euro 2000 qualification]]
|-
| 2 || 24 March 2001 || [[Luzhniki Stadium]], [[Moscow]] || {{fb|RUS}} || 1–1 || 1–1 || [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|FIFA World Cup 2002 qualification]]
|-
| 3 || 6 September 2003 || [[Stadion Bežigrad]], [[Ljubljana]] || {{fb|ISR}} || 2–0 || 3–1 || [[UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying|UEFA Euro 2004 qualification]]
|}

==Honours==
'''Olimpija'''
*[[Slovenian PrvaLiga|Slovenian Championship]]: [[1993–94 Slovenian PrvaLiga|1993–94]], [[1994–95 Slovenian PrvaLiga|1994–95]]
**Runner-up: [[1995–96 Slovenian PrvaLiga|1995–96]]
*[[Slovenian Cup]]: [[1995–96 Slovenian Cup|1995–96]]

'''Tirol Innsbruck'''
*[[Austrian Football Bundesliga|Bundesliga]]: [[1999–2000 Austrian Football Bundesliga|1999–00]], [[2000–01 Austrian Football Bundesliga|2000–01]]
*[[Austrian Cup|ÖFB-Cup]]:
**Runner-up: 2001

'''Kaiserslautern'''
*[[DFB-Pokal]]:
**Runner-up: [[2002–03 DFB-Pokal|2002–03]]

==See also==
*[[List of Slovenia international footballers|Slovenian international players]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.nzs.si/tekmovanja/?action=igralecStat&id_igralca=9714 Aleksander Knavs] at [[Football Association of Slovenia|NZS]] {{in lang|sl}}
* {{sports links}}

{{Slovenia squad UEFA Euro 2000}}
{{Slovenia squad 2002 FIFA World Cup}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knavs, Aleksander}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Maribor]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Slovenian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Slovenia men's youth international footballers]]
[[Category:Slovenia men's under-21 international footballers]]
[[Category:Slovenia men's international footballers]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 2000 players]]
[[Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005) players]]
[[Category:FC Tirol Innsbruck players]]
[[Category:1. FC Kaiserslautern players]]
[[Category:VfL Bochum players]]
[[Category:FC Red Bull Salzburg players]]
[[Category:Slovenian PrvaLiga players]]
[[Category:Austrian Football Bundesliga players]]
[[Category:Bundesliga players]]
[[Category:Slovenian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Austria]]
[[Category:Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Austria]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Germany]]
[[Category:Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Germany]]