Relja Obrić, the 19-year-old Atalanta defender, is on the verge of making his debut for the senior Slovenia national team. Manager Boštjan Cesar has included him in the squad for the Nations League matches against Switzerland and North Macedonia.
Slovenia will host Switzerland in Maribor on 13 November, before travelling to North Macedonia three days later. Cesar praised Obrić when announcing the squad; the player was born in Belgrade and has Slovenian roots through his mother’s family — his grandmother is from Idrija.
Obrić grew up playing football in Serbia, where he represented Milutinac and Partizan. He wore the captain’s armband for the Belgrade club’s youth teams and moved to Atalanta in 2023, a transfer that cost the Italian side 135,000 euros. He has earned a place in the senior team partly due to injury problems in the defensive line, including the injury to Sead Kolašinac. He played the full 90 minutes against Frosinone, Fiorentina and Parma.
His first contact with the Slovenian Football Association was made as a child. At a tournament in Stara Pazova, playing for Partizan against Krško, Maribor and Olimpija, he was spotted by Žikica Vuksanović, who was then involved in Maribor’s youth setup, and offered the opportunity to represent Slovenia. He first came to play for the Slovenian national team at the age of 14, but Partizan did not allow him to travel to the national team during the coronavirus pandemic. He subsequently played for the U-15 and U-16 sides, making his debut against Poland. He has played 36 matches for Slovenia’s youth teams and scored one goal.
In an interview with the Ekipa portal, he stated that he is not considering changing his national team shirt. When asked if he would accept a call-up from Serbia, he replied: 'What kind of question is that? I would never change the Slovenian national team.' He added that Slovenia has given him an opportunity he has never had before and that he is very grateful to the Slovenian Football Association and everyone involved in the process regarding him. He emphasised that he is overjoyed every time he receives a call-up.
He revealed that he has not yet received an official call-up from the senior Serbian national team, only invitations to Belgrade select sides. 'Perhaps Serbia was interested in me, but because of Slovenia, I am not interested at all,' he said. At the time of the interview, the Serbian national team was managed by Dragan Stojković.
