The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Slovakia

This page contains a list of the greatest Slovak Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 107 of which were born in Slovakia. This makes Slovakia the birth place of the 35th most number of Soccer Players behind Paraguay, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Slovak Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Slovak Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Slovak Soccer Players.

1. Ferdinand Daučík (1910 - 1986)

With an HPI of 58.77, Ferdinand Daučík is the most famous Slovak Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Ferdinand Daučík (also known as Fernando Daucik; 30 May 1910 – 14 November 1986) was a Slovak football player and manager. Daučík was the manager of several La Liga clubs, most notably Barcelona, Atlético Bilbao, Atlético Madrid and Real Zaragoza. During his career, he managed La Liga clubs in 488 matches, won three La Liga titles and won the Copa del Generalísimo on five occasions and won three La Liga/Copa doubles. He died in Alcalá de Henares.

2. Adolf Scherer (1938 - 2023)

With an HPI of 58.20, Adolf Scherer is the 2nd most famous Slovak Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Adolf Scherer (5 May 1938 – 22 July 2023) was a Slovak footballer who played as a striker. He was of Carpathian German descent. He played 36 games and scored 22 goals for the Czechoslovakia national team. Scherer represented Czechoslovakia at the 1960 European Nations' Cup and 1958 FIFA World Cup, where he did not play any match. In the 1962 FIFA World Cup, he again played for the Czechoslovak national team where he proved himself to be a valuable player. They made it to the final match against Brazil, and Scherer assisted Josef Masopust in Czechoslovakia's first and only goal of the game. Brazil ultimately won the match, subsequently scoring three more. Throughout the tournament, Scherer scored a total of three goals, including a winning goal in the quarterfinal against Hungary and a late goal against Yugoslavia in the semifinal.In 1973, Scherer emigrated from Czechoslovakia to France, where he played for French football club Olympique Avignonais until his retirement in 1975. He lived in southern France, near Nîmes with his wife. He had two children, a daughter and a son. His son, Rudolf (also known as 'Tcheck'), is, like his father, well involved in football. He played for various clubs including Nîmes Olympique. Rudolf now trains Barbentane football club, a city near Avignon. Scherer died on 22 July 2023, at the age of 85.

3. Ján Popluhár (1935 - 2011)

With an HPI of 56.87, Ján Popluhár is the 3rd most famous Slovak Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Ján Popluhár (12 September 1935 – 6 March 2011) was a Slovak footballer who primarily played as a sweeper for Slovak club ŠK Slovan Bratislava. At international level, he was also a member of the Czechoslovakia national team, playing in two World Cups (1958 and 1962).

4. Karol Dobiaš (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 55.39, Karol Dobiaš is the 4th most famous Slovak Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Karol Dobiaš (born 18 December 1947) is a former Slovak football player and coach. During his career, he was a versatile player, mostly playing as either a defender or midfielder.

5. Jozef Vengloš (1936 - 2021)

With an HPI of 54.75, Jozef Vengloš is the 5th most famous Slovak Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Jozef Vengloš (18 February 1936 – 26 January 2021) was a Slovak professional football player and manager. He held a doctorate in Physical Education and also specialised in Psychology. He was selected by FIFA on various occasions to lecture at the FIFA academies throughout the world.

6. Anton Ondruš (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 54.20, Anton Ondruš is the 6th most famous Slovak Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Anton Ondruš (born 27 March 1950 in Solčany, Czechoslovakia) is a former Slovak football player and considered one of the best defenders of the seventies.

7. Marek Hamšík (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 54.00, Marek Hamšík is the 7th most famous Slovak Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 59 different languages.

Marek Hamšík (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmareɡ ˈɦamʂiːk]; born 27 July 1987) is a Slovak football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He was most recently the team manager for Slovakia national team. After beginning his club career with Slovan Bratislava in 2004, Hamšík moved to Italian club Brescia later that year. In 2007, he was purchased by newly promoted Serie A club Napoli, where he became a mainstay in the squad's starting line-up. His energy, leadership, creativity, skill and eye for goal from midfield saw him play a key role in helping the team to two Coppa Italia titles and a Supercoppa Italiana. He scored 121 goals for the club and collected 521 appearances in all competitions during his twelve seasons with the team, and also served as the club's captain between 2014 and 2019; he became the club's all-time top goalscorer in 2017 (surpassed by Dries Mertens in 2020), and the club's all-time appearance holder in 2018. In February 2019, Hamšík joined Chinese club Dalian Professional. He signed for Turkish side Trabzonspor in 2021, winning a Süper Lig title, before announcing his retirement in 2023. He also formerly captained the Slovakia national team from 2007 until his retirement from the national team. At international level, Hamšík helped Slovakia qualify for the country' first ever FIFA World Cup, captaining the side at the 2010 tournament as they reached the round of 16 following a victory over defending champions Italy. He would go on to lead his nation to European Championship qualification for the first time in 2016, as they once again reached the second round of a major tournament; a second consecutive European Championship appearance would follow for Hamšík in 2020. From 2007 to 2023, Hamšík collected 138 international caps at senior level, scoring 26 goals, and in 2018 became Slovakia's most capped player ever. In 2019, he scored his 25th international goal, overtaking Róbert Vittek as the nation's all-time top scorer. For his performances, Hamšík has also won several individual awards: he is an eight-time winner of the Slovak Footballer of the Year Award, and he was named Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in 2008. In 2011, 2016 and 2017, he was named to the Serie A Team of the Year, and in 2015, he was included in the UEFA Europa League Squad of the season. In 2013, Hamšík was ranked as the eighth best footballer in Europe by Bloomberg.

8. Andrej Kvašňák (1936 - 2007)

With an HPI of 53.93, Andrej Kvašňák is the 8th most famous Slovak Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Andrej Kvašňák (19 May 1936 – 18 April 2007) was a Slovak football player. Born in Košice, he played for Czechoslovakia, for which he played 47 matches and scored 13 goals. He is usually considered one of the best Czechoslovak footballers. He was a participant in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, where Czechoslovakia finished second, and also in the 1970 FIFA World Cup. In his country he played mostly for Sparta Prague. From September 1969 he played a few seasons for Racing Mechelen, a Belgian team. Although often listed as a forward, he was in fact normally an attacking midfield schemer, forging a partnership in the centre of the park with Josef Masopust at international level. Well known for his technique and passing ability, he was also a prolific goalscorer and fine header of the ball.

9. Dušan Uhrin (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 53.34, Dušan Uhrin is the 9th most famous Slovak Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Dušan Uhrin (born 5 February 1943) is a Czech and Slovak football coach and former player. He was the coach of Slovan Bratislava. Born in the Nitra District in the Slovak part of Czechoslovakia, he has lived in Prague since the age of 16. He coached the Czech Republic national team at the 1996 UEFA European Championship, where the Czech Republic were runners up. He also coached Kuwait between 1999 and 2002. At club level Uhrin coached Czech clubs Sparta Prague, FC Hradec Králové, Rudá hvězda Cheb, Bohemians and Teplice, as well as Al-Nasr (Saudi Arabia), AIK (Sweden), AEL Limassol and APOEL FC (Cyprus), Maccabi Haifa FC (Israel).

10. Václav Ježek (1923 - 1995)

With an HPI of 52.58, Václav Ježek is the 10th most famous Slovak Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Václav Ježek (1 October 1923 – 27 August 1995) was a Czech football manager. Ježek is best known for being the serial manager at Sparta Prague, one of the Czech Republic's most successful clubs, as well as helming the Czechoslovakia national football team to the 1976 UEFA European Football Championship triumph, the country's sole international title.

People

Pantheon has 120 people classified as Slovak soccer players born between 1881 and 2002. Of these 120, 96 (80.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Slovak soccer players include Karol Dobiaš, Anton Ondruš, and Marek Hamšík. The most famous deceased Slovak soccer players include Ferdinand Daučík, Adolf Scherer, and Ján Popluhár. As of April 2024, 12 new Slovak soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Michal Vičan, Ján Čapkovič, and Jozef Štibrányi.