Slovaks prefer to play abroad

The first major transfer of a Slovak footballer abroad was the move of the now late striker of Slovan Bratislava and the national team, Peter Dubovský. From Slovan, he went to Real Madrid in 1993 for the equivalent of 104,200,000 Sk. Vladimír Kinder was the first Slovak in the Premier League. He moved from Slovan to FC Middlesbrough in 1996 for 64,200,000 Sk. The first Slovak in the Spanish league was in 1999, the current national team captain Miroslav Karhan, who transferred from Spartak Trnava to Real Betis Sevilla for 68,400,000 Sk.

The most expensive transfer so far is the move of Vratislav Greško, a former player of Dukla Banská Bystrica and Inter Bratislava, who transferred from Inter Milan to AC Parma for 660,000,000 Sk. Before that, he moved from Inter Bratislava to Bayer Leverkusen and from there to Milan. He is currently on loan at Blackburn Rovers in England.

How transfers work
Football transfers are carried out by official licensed UEFA agents. A licensed agent in Slovakia must pay 5,000 Swiss francs to apply for the exam. After answering 15 questions in German, English, Spanish, or French, and demonstrating knowledge of Slovak football legislation and SFZ regulations, he receives a license. After passing, he must also have insurance coverage against damages that might arise from his activities.

In Slovakia, for a long time the only manager was Juraj Vengloš, son of the famous coach and UEFA/FIFA official Jozef Vengloš. The first big transfers went through him, though not necessarily. For example, Dubovský’s transfer was handled by Anton Ondruš. “Slovak footballers go abroad through licensed agents, but they do not always choose to be represented by Slovak managers,” says Vengloš. Czech agents Nehoda, Paska, and Bielik (originally Slovak) also work in Slovakia, as do agents from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey. One thing is certain: without a license, a manager can no longer arrange a serious transfer. Vengloš, who represents Janočko, Karhan, Labant, Špilár, and Zsolt Hornyák, has a head start. Interestingly, after the season, three of his players celebrated winning their league titles: Janočko with Austria Vienna, Špilár with Club Brugge, and Labant with Sparta Prague.

Other managers include Milan Lednický (who looks after talents like Kurty, Žofčák, Ivana) and Vladimír Varga (Šesták, brothers Peter and Pavol Vavrík, Rzeszoto). The youngest by far is Jozef Tokos (born 1975!), co-owner of the agency P.l.a.y., who represents Oravec, Hodúr, and Czinege. His players also have personal websites managed by him. Peter Židovský and Emil Kovarovič have not made their client lists public.

Interest abroad
At present, almost 80 Slovak footballers play in top European and world competitions, including 42 in the Czech Republic, and Nitra-born Slavomír Lukáč even in Sydney United, Australia. Interest from foreigners in playing in our league is small. Žilina does not have a single foreign player. There are 25 foreigners in Slovakia’s league, 19 of them Czechs – mostly players who could not find a place in Czech clubs.

Our players are eager to go abroad, but foreign clubs are not exactly fighting over them. This is illustrated by the recent case of Róbert Vittek, undoubtedly a star by Slovak standards, for whom Slovan has been unable to secure the requested fee for half a year. Slovan wants around 130,000,000 Sk for the jewel of Tehelné pole, which would be the most expensive transfer of a player from a Slovak club abroad. Birmingham City of England is unwilling to pay that much.

How much they earn
According to management sources, a Slovak footballer abroad can earn at least €50,000 a year just for playing, in addition to the transfer fee. There are also bonuses and performance incentives, depending on agreements. The annual amount can reportedly reach up to €1 million. Everything depends on agreements between clubs, managers, and players, on solvency, the player’s current form, interest abroad, and team results. Thanks to managers, players are not left completely stranded if problems arise. For example, in Greece, Pinte and Horký, whose club no longer counted on them, were secured by Vengloš with a compensation deal – they received the agreed amount and were released to transfer elsewhere. They did not end up abandoned, and both still want to try their luck abroad. Of course, comparing the salaries of international stars and Slovak footballers abroad shows a clear difference.

How they are doing
Slovak players are currently not represented in Italy (formerly Greško) or Spain (formerly Dubovský, Karhan, Slovák). Most are in the Czech Republic, followed by Hungary and Turkey. This season was successful for Janočko (Austria Vienna), Petráš, Michalík, and Labant (Sparta Prague), and Špilár (Club Brugge). These three teams won their league titles. Špilár, due to injury, played only 16 matches. An even bigger paradox is in the Scottish league, where Stanislav Varga won silver with Celtic Glasgow, even though he played only the last two matches of the competition and one cup game. Penksa and Szkukálek also won silver with Ferencváros after a 0:0 draw against a weakened Debrecen. After the game, however, Ferencváros fans attacked their own players and officials on the pitch. Bronze went to Liberec, with a whole group of Slovaks – Hološko, Ančic, I. Hodúr, Valachovič, Slovák, Brezinský.

Four of our legionnaires, including one national team player, are already certain of relegation. Goalkeeper A. Vencel with French club Le Havre, Bališ with English West Bromwich Albion, Poliaček with Czech Hradec Králové, and national team player Kisel and Holec with Bohemians Prague. Bališ will remain in the English second division, and Kisel is attracting interest from top Czech clubs. The fate of the others is unclear, as is that of players in the Russian league (Hanek, Ďurica, Čontofalský), since the competition is still ongoing.

At the last moment, several Slovak footballers managed to avoid relegation. Hlinka with Bregenz in Austria, Meszároš and Czinege with Elazigspor, and Kelemen with Bursaspor in Turkey. Several of our legionnaires already know their clubs will not count on them next season, but they prefer to look for contracts abroad rather than at home, where the prospects for salary and security are still less certain. The Slovak league does not yet provide such guarantees.

Most expensive transfers of Slovaks (in Sk):

• Greško, Inter Milan → Parma: 600,000,000

• Greško, Leverkusen → Inter Milan: 230,000,000

• Greško, Inter Bratislava → Leverkusen: 180,000,000

• Karhan, Beşiktaş → Wolfsburg: 150,000,000

• Karhan, Betis Sevilla → Beşiktaş: 130,000,000

• Dubovský, Slovan → Real Madrid: 104,200,000

• Janočko, Škoda Xanthi → Austria Vienna: 88,000,000

• Labant, Sparta Prague → West Ham United: 68,400,000

• Karhan, Spartak Trnava → Sevilla: 68,900,000