Jani Atanasov

{{Short description|Macedonian footballer (born 1999)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Jani Atanasov

| image = Jani Atanasov vs Malta, 23-03-2023 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Atanasov playing for North Macedonia in 2023

| full_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1999|10|31|df=y}}

| birth_place = Strumica, Macedonia

| height = 1.87 m{{cite web |title=Jani Atanasov nowym zawodnikiem Puszczy Niepołomice! |url=https://www.puszcza-niepolomice.pl/jani-atanasov-nowym-zawodnikiem-puszczy-niepolomice/ |publisher=Puszcza Niepołomice |date=19 February 2024 |access-date=20 February 2024 |language=pl}}

| position = Midfielder

| currentclub = Cracovia

| clubnumber = 8

| youthyears1 = 2013–2017

| youthclubs1 = Akademija Pandev

| years1 = 2017–2018

| clubs1 = Akademija Pandev

| caps1 = 54

| goals1 = 13

| years2 = 2018–2020

| clubs2 = Bursaspor

| caps2 = 11

| goals2 = 0

| years3 = 2020–2023

| clubs3 = Hajduk Split

| caps3 = 55

| goals3 = 4

| years4 = 2023–

| clubs4 = Cracovia

| caps4 = 57

| goals4 = 6

| years5 = 2025

| clubs5 = → Puszcza Niepołomice (loan)

| caps5 = 9

| goals5 = 2

| nationalyears1 = 2015

| nationalteam1 = Macedonia U17

| nationalcaps1 = 3

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 = 2017–2018

| nationalteam2 = Macedonia U19

| nationalcaps2 = 8

| nationalgoals2 = 3

| nationalyears3 = 2018–2020

| nationalteam3 = Macedonia U21

| nationalcaps3 = 11

| nationalgoals3 = 6

| nationalyears4 = 2021–

| nationalteam4 = North Macedonia

| nationalcaps4 = 26

| nationalgoals4 = 3

| club-update = 16:44, 13 May 2025 (UTC)

| nationalteam-update = 19:56, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

| image_size = 200

}}

Jani Atanasov ({{langx|mk|Јани Атанасов}}; born 31 October 1999) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ekstraklasa club Cracovia and the North Macedonia national team.

Club career

On 5 June 2018, Atanasov joined Bursaspor after a successful debut season with Akademija Pandev in the Macedonian First Football League.{{cite web|url=http://macedonianfootball.com/jani-atanasov-signs-for-bursaspor/|title=Jani Atanasov signs for Bursaspor! - Macedonian Football|date=5 June 2018|publisher=}} He made his professional debut with Bursaspor in a 2–1 Süper Lig loss to Fenerbahçe on 11 August 2018.{{cite web|url=http://tff.org/Default.aspx?pageId=29&macId=194521|title=FENERBAHÇE A.Ş. BURSASPOR - Maç Detayları TFF|website=tff.org}}

On 8 September 2020, Atanasov was announced as a new Hajduk Split player, signing a three-year contract.{{Cite web|title=Jani Atanasov novi je igrač Hajduka!|url=https://hajduk.hr/vijest/jani-atanasov-novi-je-igrac-hajduka-/13048|access-date=11 September 2020|website=hajduk.hr|language=hr}} He arrived as a free transfer, having terminated his contract with Bursaspor, and was given the number 20 shirt.

On 23 January 2023, he was transferred to Polish club Cracovia for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract.{{cite web |title=Jani Atanasov dołącza do Cracovii! |url=https://cracovia.pl/aktualnosci/cracovia/jani-atanasov-dolacza-do-cracovii/ |publisher=Cracovia |language=pl |date=23 January 2023}}

On 19 February 2025, Atanasov moved on loan to fellow top-flight club Puszcza Niepołomice until the end of the season.{{cite web |last1=Galiński |first1=Tomasz |title=Niechciany piłkarz odszedł z Cracovii. Nie musi się przeprowadzać |url=https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/pilka-nozna/1173762/niechciany-pilkarz-odszedl-z-cracovii-nie-musi-sie-przeprowadzac |website=sportowefakty.wp.pl |access-date=20 February 2025 |language=pl |date=19 February 2025}}

International career

{{BLP sources|date=April 2023}}

Atanasov holds dual Macedonian and Bulgarian citizenship, being eligible to play for both national teams. On 11 November 2021, Atanasov made his international debut for North Macedonia, substituting Elif Elmas at 83rd minute of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Armenia, which North Macedonia won by 5–0.

Career statistics

=International=

{{updated|match played 9 June 2025}}{{NFT player|id=84646|name=Jani Atanasov|access-date=17 February 2025}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year

National teamYearAppsGoals
rowspan=6|North Macedonia
202110
202230
2023102
202481
202540
colspan="2"|Total263

:''Scores and results list North Macedonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Atanasov goal.

class="wikitable sortable"

|+ List of international goals scored by Jani Atanasov

scope="col"|No.

!scope="col"|Date

!scope="col"|Venue

!scope="col"|Opponent

!scope="col"|Score

!scope="col"|Result

!scope="col"|Competition

align="center"|1

|rowspan="2" |17 November 2023

|rowspan="2" |Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy

|rowspan="2" |{{fb|ITA}}

|align="center"|1–3

rowspan="2" align="center" |2–5

|rowspan="2" |UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

align="center"|2

|align="center"|2–3

align="center"|3

|10 October 2024

|Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latva

|{{fb|LAT}}

|align="center"|0–1

align="center" |0–3

|2024–25 UEFA Nations League C

Honours

Akademija Pandev

  • Macedonian Second Football League: 2016–17{{cite web |title=2.MFL 2016/17 final standings |url=https://macedonianfootball.com/final-standings-second-league-201617/ |website=macedonianfootball.com |access-date=3 June 2024 |language=en}}

Hajduk Split

  • Croatian Cup: 2021–22{{cite web|url=https://hns-cff.hr/en/matches/52339406/rijeka-hajduk/|title=Rijeka - Hajduk 1:3|website=HNS-CFF|language=Croatian|date=26 May 2022|accessdate=27 May 2022}}

References

{{reflist}}