 Pekarík withHertha BSC in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Peter Pekarík[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1986-10-30)30 October 1986 (age 39)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Žilina,Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hertha BSC II | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Žilina | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2009 | Žilina | 111 | (5) |
| 2004–2005 | →Dubnica (loan) | 27 | (0) |
| 2009–2012 | VfL Wolfsburg | 55 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | →Kayserispor (loan) | 27 | (0) |
| 2012–2024 | Hertha BSC | 212 | (5) |
| 2024 | Žilina | 7 | (1) |
| 2025 | České Budějovice | 9 | (0) |
| 2025– | Hertha BSC II | 6 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2006– | Slovakia | 136 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 7 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 November 2025 | |||
Peter Pekarík (Slovak pronunciation:[ˈpeterˈpekariːk]; born 30 October 1986) is a Slovak professionalfootballer who plays as aright-back forHertha BSC II and theSlovakia national team.
Born in Žilina, Pekarík played football at the youth section of his local club.[3] His Corgoň Liga debut came for ZŤS Dubnica.[3] In his first season, he played 27 matches and came back to MŠK Žilina in summer 2005.[3] Pekarík won the Corgoň Liga in the 2006–07 season, playing 35 matches.[4][better source needed]
Following great performances in the2008–09 Slovak Superliga, Pekarík and signed a four-and-a-half-year contract for Bundesliga sideVfL Wolfsburg in January 2009.[5] On 31 January 2009, he made his Bundesliga debut during a 1–1 draw against1. FC Köln, only to be replaced byCristian Zaccardo at half-time.[6] Except for one game, Pekarík played in all matches of the second half as Wolfsburg won its first Bundesliga title.[7]
In August 2011, Pekarík joined TurkishSüper Lig clubKayserispor for the 2011–12 season on loan.[8]
After a loan in Turkey, Pekarík returned to Germany, signing for Hertha BSC.[9] On 31 March 2017, in his eighth season in Germany, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3–1 loss against1899 Hoffenheim which was his 151st Bundesliga match.[10]
On 26 September 2024, Pekarík returned to his hometown club MŠK Žilina after 15 years of playing abroad, signing a contract until 30 January 2025.[11]
On 10 February 2025, Pekarík signed a contract with Dynamo České Budějovice until the end of the season as a free agent.[12]
In August 2025, Pekarík returned to Berlin to joinHertha BSC II.[13]
On 10 December 2006, Pekarík debuted for theSlovak senior squad in afriendly match againstUnited Arab Emirates.[14] He scored his first international goal in a 7–0 home victory overSan Marino.[15]
Pekarík was included the Slovakia squad for the2010 FIFA World Cup.[16] After being an unused substitute in the opening match againstNew Zealand, he started the second and thirdGroup F matches, assistingKamil Kopúnek's decisive third goal in the 3–2 win overItaly that qualified Slovakia for theknockout stage.[17] He went on to start in the team's round of 16 match against theNetherlands, where they lost 2–1.[17]
Pekarík played in all four of Slovakia's matches atUEFA Euro 2016,[18] where the team reached theround of 16, losing toGermany[19] and all three of their matches atUEFA Euro 2020.[20]
On 1 June 2021, Pekarík played his 100th match for Slovakia in a friendly 1–1 draw againstBulgaria.[21] He was named in Slovakia's squad forUEFA Euro 2024 and played in all four of the team's matches at the tournament. This made him one of two players, along with theJuraj Kucka, to play in all eleven ofSlovakia's matches inUEFA European Championships as an independent nation.[22]
British newspaperThe Guardian praised Pekarík for his important leadership qualities as a centre-back.[23]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| MFK Dubnica (loan) | 2004–05 | Slovak Superliga | 27 | 0 | – | – | – | 27 | 0 | |||
| Žilina | 2005–06 | Slovak Superliga | 27 | 2 | – | 4 | 0 | – | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | 35 | 0 | – | – | – | 35 | 0 | |||||
| 2007–08 | 31 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | – | 35 | 0 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 18 | 3 | – | 10 | 0 | – | 28 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 111 | 5 | – | 18 | 0 | – | 129 | 5 | ||||
| VfL Wolfsburg | 2008–09 | Bundesliga | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 24 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 55 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | – | 65 | 1 | |||
| Kayserispor (loan) | 2011–12 | Süper Lig | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 0 | ||
| Hertha BSC | 2012–13 | 2. Bundesliga | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 0 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 36 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 24 | 4 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 2. Bundesliga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 212 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 231 | 5 | ||
| Žilina | 2024–25 | Slovak First Football League | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 1 | ||
| České Budějovice | 2024–25 | Czech First League | 9 | 0 | – | – | – | 9 | 0 | |||
| Hertha BSC II | 2025–26 | Regionalliga Nordost | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | |||||
| Career total | 481 | 11 | 16 | 2 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 530 | 13 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovakia | 2006 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 136 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 June 2009[15] | Tehelné pole,Bratislava, Slovakia |  San Marino | 2–0 | 7–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 27 March 2015[15] | Štadión pod Dubňom,Žilina, Slovakia |  Luxembourg | 3–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
MŠK Žilina
VfL Wolfsburg
Hertha BSC
Slovakia
Slovakia squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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