ŠK Slovan Bratislava (Slovak pronunciation:[ˈslɔʋamˈbracislaʋa], "BratislavaSlavs") is a professionalfootball club based inBratislava,Slovakia, that plays in theSlovak First Football League. Founded asI. ČSŠK Bratislava in 1919, the club changed its name to Slovan Bratislava in 1953. Slovan is the most successful team in Slovakia with the most titles in both league and cup in the country.
Slovan Bratislava became the first and so far only club in Slovakia as well as formerCzechoslovakia to win one of the European cup competitions, theCup Winners' Cup when they defeatedFC Barcelona in the final inBasel in 1969. The club also supplied seven players to the victorious Czechoslovakia team ofUEFA Euro 1976.
Slovan was officially founded on 3 May 1919 asI. ČSŠK Bratislava (the FirstCzechoSlovakSportsClub Bratislava). The first president was Police Captain Richard Brunner, who arranged the club's first temporary training ground at Kuchajda (Pasienky). The club soon moved toPetržalka.
Slovan squad from 1919 season
I. ČsŠK became the champions ofSlovakia in 1922. Notable players from the early era werePavol Šoral,Štefan Čambal andŠtefan Priboj. In the spring of 1938anti-Jewish sentiments penetrated into the club, and the victim was coachJózsef Braun, who was one of the many Bratislava inhabitants who had to involuntarily leave the city. Under the terms of the 1938Munich agreement Czechoslovakia was dissolved, leading to the emergence of theSlovak Republic. At this point the club name was changed toŠK Bratislava. On 26 September 1940 ŠK Bratislava played its first game at the new stadium,Tehelné pole.
The first international meeting at the new venue was on 27 October 1940, when ŠK Bratislava andHertha Berlin played out a 2–2 draw. In the separate Slovak league, ŠK Bratislava won the title four times in the period from 1939 to 1945. Slovan was the first Czechoslovak team to use theWM formation. The team's first foreign opponent after World War II wasFerencvárosi TC. ŠK Bratislava lost 1–0, but won the Central European Cup 2–1 over Hungary before 20,000 spectators at Tehelné pole. In this period former players of I. ČSŠK BratislavaFerdinand Daučík andLeopold "Jim" Šťastný served as coaches for ŠK Bratislava.
Anton Bulla, the coach in 1953, added eight new players to team. In 1961–62 the team defeatedRed Star Bratislava in the national league for the title. Under the influence of political and economic pressures and interests, TJ ÚNV Slovan and TJ Dimitrov merged to createCHZJD Slovan Bratislava on 5 August 1961 (CHZJD stood for theJuraj Dimitrov Chemical Plant).
Slovan ended the 1967–68 season second in the league, won the cup in Czechoslovakia, and participated in theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The team was managed by former Slovan playerMichal Vičan, who focused on fast and simple games. Vičan took the team on a winter tour of Argentina in 1969.
Slovan won titles in the Slovak league in the 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons. For the next two years,MFK Košice won the title. Slovan returned to the Slovak throne in the 1998–99 season. The stars of the team included coachStanislav Griga and playersRóbert Tomaschek,Miroslav König,Stanislav Varga,Tibor Jančula, andLadislav Pecko. In the next few years the club's performance was below par and they were in trouble financially. They were forced to sell some of their best players. At the end of the2003–04 season, the team was relegated to theSlovak Second League, where they spent two seasons. After two years, in the2010–11 season Slovan wonthe double with coachKarel Jarolím.
Tehelné pole, Slovan's previous stadium, was built during thefirst Slovak Republic, when Nazi Germany occupiedPetržalka in 1938 and Bratislava lost almost all of its sporting facilities.[2] The construction lasted from 1939 to 1944 and the stadium became home ground for Slovan Bratislava. The stadium was officially opened in September 1940 with 25,000 places, and the first international match was played on 27 October 1940, with Slovan Bratislava playing againstHertha Berlin, ending in 2–2 tie. The old stadium underwent reconstruction in 1961, which added second tribune, boosting its capacity to 45,000 and modernising by adding score table, artificial light and revamping the field.[3] However, the stadium could hold up even 50,000 spectators, and just before breakup of Czechoslovakia, it was the largest one in use (Strahov Stadium in Prague had a capacity of 220,000 but was disused in the 1990s) and was the home ground forCzechoslovak national team.[4]The stadium was reconstructed once more in the 1990s to the "all-seater" stadium, reducing the capacity into 30,000.[4] The last match at the old Tehelné pole stadium was played in November 2009.
During the demolition of the old Tehelné pole, the planning of the construction of the new stadium and during the construction itself, thePasienky Stadium became the temporary home ground for Slovan.
In September 2016, after many years of negotiations and discussions, the building of the new stadium begun. The new stadium was opened on 3 March 2019 with a ceremony before the derby match againstSpartak Trnava. The new stadium was built at the same place where Slovan has had its original home. It is a locality, which is typically connected with sports activities inBratislava. The capacity of the new stadium is 22,500 spectators and fulfils UEFA 4-star category criteria.
The mainultras group is calledUltras Slovan orSektor C - according to the section in which they are situated during home matches. Previously, the main ultras group was calledBelasá šlachta (Sky-blue aristocracy). The major hooligan firm is calledUltras Slovan Pressburg.
Slovan's greatest rival isSpartak Trnava. The derby is the most prestigious match in the Slovak football calendar.
Matches againstDAC Dunajská Streda are not considered derbies, but in general they are the second most prestigious fixture in the Slovak league after the traditional derby.
Slovan's major rival teams in Bratislava wereInter Bratislava andPetržalka. The rivalry between Slovan and Inter had a long and rich history as both teams played in theCzechoslovak First League. The rivalry with Petržalka peaked after 2000.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
