Jani Atanasov (; born 31 October 1999) is a Macedonian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

I liga I liga (, ), currently named Betclic I liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga via promotion/rel ...

club

Puszcza Niepołomice MKS Puszcza Niepołomice () is a professional association football, football club located in Niepołomice, Poland. The team competes in the I liga, the second level of the Polish football league system. The team's colors are yellow, white and gr ...

, on loan from Cracovia, and the North Macedonia national team.

Club career

On 5 June 2018, Atanasov joined

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...

after a successful debut season with Akademija Pandev in the

Macedonian First Football League The Macedonian First Football League (), also called Macedonian First League, 1. MFL, and Prva Liga, is the highest professional football competition in Macedonia. It is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of ...

. He made his professional debut with Bursaspor in a 2–1

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

loss to Fenerbahçe on 11 August 2018. On 8 September 2020, Atanasov was announced as a new

Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...

player, signing a three-year contract. 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. On 19 February 2025, Atanasov moved on loan to fellow top-flight club

until the end of the season.

International career

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 North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, substituting Elif Elmas at 83rd minute of the

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

match against

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, which North Macedonia won by 5–0.

Career statistics

International

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

Honours

Akademija Pandev * Macedonian Second Football League: 2016–17 Hajduk Split * Croatian Cup: 2021–22

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atanasov, Jani 1999 births Living people Footballers from Strumica Men's association football midfielders Macedonian men's footballers 21st-century Macedonian sportsmen North Macedonia men's youth international footballers North Macedonia men's under-21 international footballers North Macedonia men's international footballers FC AP Brera Strumica players Bursaspor footballers HNK Hajduk Split players KS Cracovia players Puszcza Niepołomice players Macedonian First Football League players Macedonian Second Football League players Süper Lig players Croatian Football League players Ekstraklasa players Macedonian expatriate men's footballers Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Poland