Martin Chrien

Martin Chrien
Chrien with Dukla Banská Bystrica in 2013
Personal information
Full name Martin Chrien
Date of birth (1995-09-08) 8 September 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Ružomberok
Number 30
Youth career
Dukla Banská Bystrica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Dukla Banská Bystrica 29 (5)
2014–2017 Viktoria Plzeň 3 (0)
2015 → Dynamo České Budějovice (loan) 8 (0)
2015–2016 → Zbrojovka Brno (loan) 24 (3)
2016 → Ružomberok (loan) 17 (5)
2017 Benfica 1 (0)
2017–2020 Benfica B 29 (1)
2018–2019 → Santa Clara (loan) 18 (1)
2021 Mezőkövesd 25 (1)
2022 Pohronie 7 (0)
2022– Ružomberok 71 (10)
International career‡
2013–2014 Slovakia U19 3 (0)
2014–2018 Slovakia U21 21 (6)
2019 Slovakia 1 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 January 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 June 2019

Martin Chrien (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmartiŋ ˈxrɪen]; born 8 September 1995) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays for MFK Ružomberok as a midfielder.

Club career

Born in Banská Bystrica, Chrien made his professional debut for the local club Dukla Banská Bystrica against Košice on 1 December 2012.[1][better source needed]

On 14 May 2014, he signed a four-year contract with Czech club Viktoria Plzeň, joining the senior team at the start of the 2014–15 Czech First League.[2][dead link‍]

On 29 June 2017, Chrien moved to Portugal and signed a five-year contract with defending champions Benfica Lisbon.[3] The same year on 20 August, he made his 2017–18 Primeira Liga debut against Belenenses in a 5–0 victory, coming on in the 71st minute of the match.[4] Due to lack of enough playing time, Chrien was linked with a loan move to Croatian clubs Hajduk Split[5] and Osijek.[6]

Chrien spent the 2018–19 season with Santa Clara, who returned to the top division after 15 years of absence.[7]

In January 2020, Chrien signed with Mezőkövesd as a free agent, following low play in Benfica in 2020.[8]

International career

Chrien received his first call-up to the Slovak senior squad by Pavel Hapal for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying fixture against Hungary and Wales.[9] On 7 June 2019, Chrien debuted in a friendly match against Jordan as a starter, scoring the second goal which ended in a 5–1 victory for the Slovaks.[10]

International goals

As of 7 June 2019 (Slovakia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Chrien goal)
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 June 2019 Anton Malatinský Stadium, Trnava, Slovakia  Jordan 2–1 5–1 Friendly

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Dukla Banská Bystrica 1–2 Košice". Soccerway. 1 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Chrien odchádza z Banskej Bystrice a bude ďalším Slovákom v Plzni". Profutbal (in Slovak). 14 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Martin Chrien assina por cinco épocas" [Martin Chrien signs for five seasons]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). 29 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Chrien debutoval za Benficu pro vysokom triumfe nad Belenenses". Teraz.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Slovák v chorvátskej lige? Chriena lanári Hajduk Split". ProFutbal (in Slovak). Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Ništa od dolaska mladog slovačkog reprezentativca Chriena u NK Osijek!". Republika (in Croatian). Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Martin Chrien odišiel na ročné hosťovanie z Lisabonu do portugalského klubu C.D. Santa Clara". Webnoviny.sk (in Slovak). 17 August 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Középpályások érkeztek | Mezőkövesd Zsóry | Hivatalos Oldal". Mezőkövesd SE (in Hungarian). Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Hapal oznámil nomináciu bez Škrtela a spol. Kapitánsku pásku prevzal Hamšík". Pravda. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Slováci v príprave porazili Jordánsko 5–1". Postoj (in Slovak). 7 June 2019.