Wikipedia

Ester Sokler

Ester Sokler (born 4 June 1999) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen as a striker.

Ester Sokler
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-06-04) 4 June 1999 (age 24)
Place of birth Krško, Slovenia
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Aberdeen
Number 19
Youth career
2007–2016 Krško[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 Krško 55 (5)
2020–2021 Brežice 1919 11 (6)
2021–2022 Celje 44 (9)
2022–2023 Radomlje 30 (10)
2023– Aberdeen 23 (0)
International career
2016 Slovenia U17 3 (0)
2017 Slovenia U18 7 (1)
2017 Slovenia U19 2 (0)
2019 Slovenia U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:01, 27 April 2024 (UTC)

Club career edit

Born in Krško,[3] Sokler started his playing career at the age of six, at the football school Nogobikci, before joining the youth sector of his hometown club Krško.[2] He came through the club's youth ranks, as he won the under-13 and under-15 national championship in 2012 and 2014, respectively.[2]

Having been promoted to the senior squad in 2016, aged 17,[2] Sokler made his Slovenian PrvaLiga debut on 26 November 2016, in a 4–0 defeat against Maribor.[4]

In July 2020, Sokler joined Slovenian Second League side Brežice 1919,[5] where he spent six months,[6] before returning to PrvaLiga in December 2020, having signed a contract with Celje until 2023.[7][8]

After two seasons at Celje,[6] Sokler joined fellow Slovenian top-tier club Radomlje on a permanent deal in July 2022.[3][9] He scored 10 goals in 31 games in his first season with Radomlje,[6] as they finished seventh in the league.[10]

On 16 June 2023, Sokler joined Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year deal.[6][10][11]

International career edit

Sokler was a Slovenian youth international,[12] and earned one cap for the under-21 national team in 2019.[1]

Personal life edit

Sokler hails from the small village of Brestanica, near Krško.[2] He cited Wayne Rooney as his football idol while growing up.[2]

In 2023, he claimed that he has often been mistaken for a woman, as Ester is actually a female given name in many countries, including Slovenia itself.[13] According to him, his parents likely chose to name him after Mi2's 1998 song "Moja teta Estera".[13]

Career statistics edit

As of 27 April 2024[14][15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Krško 2016–17 Slovenian PrvaLiga 3 0 0 0 — — 3 0
2017–18 12 1 0 0 — — 12 1
2018–19 24 0 2 0 — — 26 0
2019–20 Slovenian Second League 16 4 1 0 — — 17 4
Total 55 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 58 5
Brežice 1919 2020–21 Slovenian Second League 11 6 1 3 — — 12 9
Celje 2020–21 Slovenian PrvaLiga 14 3 4 0 — — 18 3
2021–22 30 6 2 1 — — 32 7
Total 44 9 6 1 0 0 0 0 50 10
Radomlje 2022–23 Slovenian PrvaLiga 30 10 1 0 — — 31 10
Aberdeen 2023–24[16] Scottish Premiership 23 0 3 1 4 1 7[c] 1 37 3
Career total 163 30 14 5 4 1 7 1 188 37
  1. ^ Includes Slovenian Football Cup, Scottish Cup
  2. ^ Includes Scottish League Cup
  3. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Europa League, five appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League

References edit

  1. ^ a b Evans, Anthony (13 June 2023). "Ester Sokler profiled as Slovenian striker close to agreeing Aberdeen switch". aberdeenlive.com. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Ester Sokler: Potrkal je na vrata prve lige". Posavski obzornik (in Slovenian). 12 December 2020. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b T. J. (14 July 2022). "Sokler iz Celja v Radomlje, Domžale okrepil prvi strelec hrvaške 2. lige" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Ester Sokler » PrvaLiga 2016/2017". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Naš napadalec Ester Sokler". NK Brežice 1919 (in Slovenian). 5 September 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "Ester Sokler: Aberdeen sign striker from Slovenian club Radomlje". BBC Sport. 16 June 2023. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Ester Sokler ne gre v Olimpijo, podpisal je pogodbo z drugim klubom" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 25 December 2020. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Ester Sokler je novi nogometaš Celja!". NK Celje (in Slovenian). 25 December 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Radomljani imajo novo okrepitev v konici napada". NK Radomlje (in Slovenian). 14 July 2022. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  10. ^ a b Copeland, Robbie (16 June 2023). "Ester Sokler completes Aberdeen transfer as he pens three year deal". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Dons Bolster Attacking Options with Sokler Signature". Aberdeen FC. 16 June 2023. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Ester Sokler". Football Association of Slovenia (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  13. ^ a b Nejedly, Gorazd (3 May 2023). "Odlični slovenski strelec dobil ime po znani pesmi". Slovenske novice (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Slovenia – E. Sokler – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Ester Sokler – Nogometna zveza Slovenije". Football Association of Slovenia (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Games played by Ester Sokler in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
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