The Slovenian Star: Nejc Skubic

We will never break with Konya

The Slovenian footballer Nejc Skubic who has played in Konyasport for 6 seasons said that “Konya is our second home. When we return to our country one day, we will never break with Konya. We will always visit Konya and follow the matches”.

PRAISES FOR KONYASPORT FANS

The successful wingback of Konyasport, Nejc Skubic praised Konyasport fans and stated that “they are the most characteristic fans in Turkey and their support always motivates me. I love them so much”.

KONYA IS THE SECOND HOME FOR US

Expressing that Konya is always at a special place for him and his family, Skubic expressed that “Slovenia is my country but Konya has become a second home for us. My sons Lan and Maj grew up here. My wife Jusa learnt Turkish in Konya. In the future, when we leave Konya, we plan to visit this city every year. We want to show our sons the place where they grew up and we want to meet our friends here”.  

I WAS IN THE MATCH AFTER 3 DAYS OF MY TRANSFER

**Can you mention how did you come to Konyasport 5.5 years ago? What has changed in your football life during these years?

-My transfer story to Konya was really fast. I got an offer from Turkish league. After this offer, there was a change of coach in the team. After a week, I got an offer from Konyasport. I didn’t think long about accepting this offer and I said yes immediately. We came to İstanbul with my manager and we agreed on everything there. After that, we signed in a contract. There was a Turkish Cup match after three days and I played in that match in the last minutes. After that my second match was with Akhisar.

MY CAREER IN KONYASPORT STARTED WELL

**You came from a small football league and a small country to a big football league and a big country. You play football in a different country and in a different culture.  How was it different to play football here?

-As you mentioned, Slovenia is a small country and football doesn’t attract much attention as it does in Turkey. When I came here, I had a great shock. Of course it was a good shock. I used to play football for about 500 fans. But when I started to play here there were 42 thousand supporters. This was really a different feeling. Fans in Turkey are really excited and Konyasport fans are also fantastic. They met me really well and my career in Konyasport also started well. For 17 matches we didn’t lose any games. The next season, we also made a great start. We won the Turkish Cup and Super Cup and we got the chance to attend the UEFA European League for the first time. It has been a great honour for me to play football in Konyasport.        

WE WILL CONSTANTLY VISIT KONYA

**You are one of the foreign footballers who played the longest in the history of Konyasport. Next year it will be 6,5 years. What do you feel about it?

-It has been a great honour for me to play football in Konyasport for long years. Generally footballers change teams every one or two years. However, I have been playing here for a long time and it is really a great feeling. I am very happy here. I never wanted to play in another team. My family is happy here. Konya is our second home. 6 years is a long time period for a person. We had great times in Konya. When we leave Konya, we plan to often visit Konya. I want my sons to see the place they grew up, played games and the school they went. The people in Konya are really nice and they always welcomed us.

YOU HAVE TO RESPECT YOURSELF AND YOUR JOB

**You are the player who played the longest time in the league this year and you are one of the top score defence players. What is your secret of steady success for long years?

-You have to work hard to be successful. You have to pay attention to your private life. You have to be honest with yourself and your job and be respectful. If you do this in the right way, the success will come. My wife and sons always supported me. I had to ignore them most of the time. I didn’t have a serious injury in six years’ time. But, you know Turkish League is hard. It is really hard to play without injuries and without cards in this league. 

THE VICTORIES IN THE CUPS WERE UNFORGETTABLE

**Konyasport had victories in its history during your time in the team. You gave an unforgettable happiness to supporters by scoring goals during the last penalties in Turkish cup and Super cup matches. Do you still miss those days? And what did you feel during those penalties?

 -Everything was really good in the year we won Turkish Cup. We had great times after the match. I got the ball and went to the penalty point. In that moment, I just thought about scoring a goal. You have to believe in yourself in those moments. I am really happy to have a contribution of this success in the history of Konyasport. We were very happy to make our fans happy. That moment was very fantastic. Of course we miss those days, bıt we have to be realistic. There are many factors that affect the success. Sometimes you need luck, too. And sometimes you need everything to go on well at the same time.

KONYASPORT FANS ALWAYS SUPPORTED US

**What do you want to say about fans? If you compare the fans in Slovenia and the fans in Konya, what are the differences? How is it to play football for 40 thousand supporters?

-Football has an important place in Turkish culture. For example, a grandfather and a grandson come to watch matches in Turkey. It is difficult to see such a thing in Slovenia. I really like Konyasport fans. We have a very characteristic supporter group. They not only support us in our good days, but also in our bad days. When we were struggling to stay in the league with the coach Sergen, they always came to the matches and supported us. I always appreciate them. When you are successful, it is easy to find supporters but it is difficult to find supporters in your unsuccessful days. Konyasport fans were always with us and this is really meaningful. It was very difficult for us to struggle for staying in the league while we had a great team. We sometimes had unlucky times one after another. Last year, we had a miracle because nobody thought we were able to win the Başakşehir and Trabzonsport matches. Our Fans Support Us

Because of the pandemic you play without the supporters for a year. How did this affect you and your team? Did you miss the fans?

-           We get used to play without the fans. Of course, it is a joke. I come from Slovenia. We look forward to seeing our fans as soon as possible. We have missed them so much. We hope to play in front of our fans next seasons. The support of our fans gives us power.

Yugoslavian ecole brings the success

Half of the players in Konyasport Team are from Balkan Countries. Nearly half of the team speak the same language. How does this affect the team and the communication in the team?

-           I have been playing in Konyasport for 5 and a half year. We play with at least 5 players from Balkan countries. I had the advantage to adapt to the team via playing with former Yugoslavian footballers in my first year in Konyasport. Nearly all of us speak the same language. We have the same way of thinking. This has a very important impact on our success. The fans of Konyasport also love the Yugoslavian footballers. A footballer who comes from Balkans adapt to the team very easily. The footballers from Balkans play in the team for long years. Footballers such as Hacıahmetovic, Vukovic, Rangelov, and Milosevic have played in Konyasport for long years and they still continue to play.

Can we talk about the unforgettable matches and events when you play in Konyasport?

-           There have been a lot of unforgettable matches. One of them was against Fenerbahçe in 2015-2016 seasons. In that match, we won the match with Ali Çamdalı’s goal within the last five minute. Branimir Poljac, a former footballer of Konyasport, was also invited to this match. That match had a very different atmosphere. Burcu Güneş was also invited one the former matches. My father and my best friend were also in that match. We sang songs together with the fans in that match. It is impossible to forget the matches in the big cups such as the matches against Başakşehir and Trabzonsport.

We Speak Turkish with my Son “Lan”

You live with your family in Konya for 4-5 years. Your sons “Lan and Maj” have grown up in Konya. The fans love especially Lan. How does Konya affect your wife Jusa and your sons’ lives?

-My wife and sons are very happy to live in Konya. People make jokes about my son’s name “Lan”. He has lots of friends in the kindergarten. They speak Turkish very well and this will be very good in his future life. Konya is a very special city for my wife and me. We will miss Konya in the future.

I love okra and lentil soup so much

Konya and Turkey have a very vast gastronomic culture. What are your favourite food and desserts?

-           There are very delicious meals in Turkey, but they are not very healthy. As a football player, I have to be careful about my nutrition. Some meals are fatty. I love the okra soup very much and lentil balls (a kind of appetiser made with lentil) and lentil soup.

There are not so many social activities in Konya. What do you and your family do in your spare time? Where did you travel in Turkey? Which cities did you like most?

-           There are really beautiful parks for the children in Konya. It is impossible to see these in Slovenia? There are forests and beautiful playgrounds in our country. We love İzmir and İstanbul most in Turkey and we go to Antalya for swimming. I have been to Capadocia once. Sometimes, we have guests from Slovenia and we travel together with our visitors in Konya and we have fish in Taka Restaurant.

Turks Love Children

You have been living in Konya for long years. What are your favourite items in Turkish culture? What are the differences between Slovenian and Turkish people and culture? What do you think about the pros and cons?

-           Turkish people are very kind and hospitable people and they love the children very much. My wife and I always appreciate moral behaviours. Turkish people are slow people, but Slovenian people do their jobs in a very fast way. Another important point in Turkey is traffic. Turkish people insist on not obeying the traffic rules and this affect us badly. We have very strict traffic rules in Slovenia.

The footballer who played football in Konyasport in the past never break their bounds with Konya and they sometimes share about Konya on social media. How will you and your family remember Konya in the future?

-           We have beeen living in Konya for 6 years. We will always remember Konya nicely. We want to visit this city in the future and come and watch Konyasport matches. We have very good friends in this city. It is impossible to forget this city. I tell my wife that “She is going to miss Konya in the future”.

In the last two seasons, we had good and bad days. You sometimes had bad reactions from our fans. You have great importance for the fans. Do you have any messages for the Konyasport fans?

-           I really love our fans.

What is your favourite hobby?

-           To play tennis.

What kind of music do you listen to?

-I listen to any kinds of music except Metallica.

What would you like to be if you were not a football player?

-I would like to be a tennis player or I would like to run a restaurant.

What would you like your children to be in the future?

They can choose any jobs they want, however; as a father, I want them to be sportspeople.