Samuel Slovák

Samuel Slovák (born 17 October 1975) is a Slovak former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and currently serves as an assistant coach of Slovakia.

Samuel Slovák
Personal information
Full name Samuel Slovák
Date of birth (1975-10-17) 17 October 1975
Place of birth Nitra, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Slovakia (assistant)
Youth career
Nitra
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994 Nitra
1994–1997 Slovan Bratislava 62 (7)
1997–2002 Tenerife 70 (5)
2000–2001 → Slovan Bratislava (loan) 18 (5)
2002–2003 Slovan Liberec 6 (3)
2004–2005 1. FC Nürnberg 31 (4)
2005–2010 Slovan Bratislava 89 (20)
Total 276 (44)
National team
1996–2007 Slovakia 20 (0)
Teams managed
2011–2012 Slovan Bratislava B
2012–2013 Slovan Bratislava
2014 Slovan Liberec
2020– Slovakia (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Best known for his technical and passing abilities, his career was mostly associated with Slovan Bratislava, which he also captained for several years.

Club career

Slovák was born in Nitra. After a brief spell at local FC Nitra, the 19-year-old signed with ŠK Slovan Bratislava, where he appeared regularly from an early age.

In the summer of 1997, Slovák moved abroad, joining Spain's CD Tenerife. During his spell, he was sparingly used whilst the club was in La Liga (with a maximum input of 27 matches in 1999–2000's Segunda División, without promotion), also being loaned for one year to former side Slovan.

Slovák moved in 2002 to neighbouring Czech Republic, signing for Gambrinus liga title holders FC Slovan Liberec. After six games and three goals, his season was finished after he suffered a serious knee injury.[1]

In the January 2004 transfer window, when fully recovered, Slovák changed countries again, signing for 1. FC Nürnberg, where he teamed up with compatriots Marek Mintál and Róbert Vittek,[2] being the least successful player of the trio. In mid-October of the following year, the 30-year-old left the Germans and returned to Slovan Bratislava.[3] In the 2006–07 campaign he helped the team to a third-place finish, scoring twice from 27 appearances.

After having appeared in less than half of the matches in 2009–10, with Slovan finishing in second position in the Slovak Super Liga, Slovák retired from football due to recurring knee problems, aged nearly 35. He returned to his main club in 2011, being appointed manager of the reserves.

In the 2012–13 season, Slovák led Slovan to the double.[4] He left the Štadión Pasienky, however, being appointed at Liberec.

International career

Slovák won his first cap for Slovakia at the age of 20, going on to appear in a further 19 games in the following decade, although he went through a large period of international inactivity, playing no matches from 2002 to 2004.

Honours

Player

Slovan Bratislava

Manager

Slovan Bratislava

References
  1. "Liberec denied Slovák". UEFA.com. 14 February 2003. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  2. ""Club" verteidigt in Unterzahl Rang drei" ["Club" defends third place undermanned]. Der Spiegel (in German). 16 February 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  3. "Samuel Slovák: "Zakázanie pyrotechniky bolo chybou"" [Samuel Slovak: "It was a mistake to ban fireworks"] (in Slovak). Pro Futbal. 26 February 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  4. "Košice and Liberec: Tale of the dugouts". UEFA.com. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
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