 Lobotka playing forNapoli in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stanislav Lobotka[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1994-11-25)25 November 1994 (age 31) | ||
| Place of birth | Trenčín,Slovakia | ||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Napoli | ||
| Number | 68 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| TJ Družstevník Veľká Hradná | |||
| AAC Sparta Trenčín | |||
| AS Trenčín | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2015 | AS Trenčín | 76 | (3) |
| 2013–2014 | →Jong Ajax (loan) | 30 | (3) |
| 2015–2017 | Nordsjælland | 61 | (0) |
| 2017–2020 | Celta Vigo | 86 | (0) |
| 2020– | Napoli | 181 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011–2012 | Slovakia U18 | 3 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | Slovakia U19 | 6 | (1) |
| 2015 | Slovakia U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2017 | Slovakia U21 | 27 | (2) |
| 2016– | Slovakia | 71 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:53, 15 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:30, 17 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Stanislav Lobotka (Slovak pronunciation:[ˈstaɲislawˈlɔbɔtka]; born 25 November 1994) is a Slovak professionalfootballer who plays as adefensive midfielder forSerie A clubNapoli and theSlovakia national team.[2]
Lobotka made hisCorgoň Liga debut forAS Trenčín[3] againstFK Dukla Banská Bystrica on 4 March 2012.
Lobotka joinedAFC Ajax for the 2013–14 season on 30 June 2013 on a one-year loan with option to buy.[4][5] He played his first match for Ajax on 13 July 2013 in a pre-season friendly encounter againstRKC Waalwijk. He came on as a 60th minute substitute forChristian Eriksen in the 5–1 win in Waalwijk at theMandemakers Stadion.[6]
Stanislav Lobotka came toFC Nordsjælland in August shortly before the transfer window closed, and made his debut against Brøndby on 30 August 2015. Lobotka entered as a regular on the midfield, and in his first season has played all the matches except for one because of illness.
The 21-year-old Slovak was voted player of the year in his first season at the FCN Awards.[7]In 2017, he was again voted club's player of the year after another great season.[8]
On 15 July 2017, Lobotka joinedCelta on a five-year deal.[9]
On 3 June 2019, Lobotka admitted that after Celta's unsuccessful season, he was open to a transfer, looking to find a club set to play in European competitions next season. According toPravda, Lobotka also claimed that he was aware of an interest from other Spanish and German clubs.[10]
On 15 January 2020, Lobotka signed forSerie A clubNapoli,[11] for a reported €24m deal until 2024.[12]
On 18 January 2020, Lobotka was benched in his first possible fixture againstFiorentina in a 0–2 defeat.[13] Instead, he made a brief, 22-minute appearance in the2019–20 Coppa Italia againstLazio, being featured in the starting line-up. Lobotka had to be replaced early due to tactical changes followingElseid Hysaj's red card, but witnessed an early winning goal byLorenzo Insigne in the second minute.[14]
Lobotka made hisleague debut against table-leadersJuventus on 26 January 2020. He came on as a replacement forDiego Demme, who was booked with a yellow card in the first half. Napoli managed to earn an upset victory over the favourites, by winning 2–1, with goals scored byPiotr Zieliński andLorenzo Insigne.Cristiano Ronaldo's stoppage time goal did not change the result.[15] He had his first league start in the next round, in a 4–2 away victory atStadio Luigi Ferraris againstSampdoria. Lobotka played for over an hour and was replaced byDiego Demme, as Napoli led 2–1, after goals byArkadiusz Milik andEljif Elmas. Demme went on to score the third goal andDries Mertens sealed the win in stoppage time.[16]
Lobotka had also been added to Napoli'sUEFA Champions League squad, thus making him eligible to participate in the Round of 16 fixtures againstBarcelona.[17] The first competitive set of fixtures between the clubs was also dubbed by theMaradona derby.[18]
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Having represented various youth Slovak teams, Lobotka was called up to the seniorSlovakia squad for matches againstLithuania andAustria.[19] On 15 November 2016, he debuted in the latter friendly match alongsideMatúš Bero andAlbert Rusnák.[20]
Later, Lobotka was called up to multiple fixtures, but had to wait for his competitive debut until 1 September 2017, for a2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier againstSlovenia. He played the entire match being a valuable midfielder, fulfilling the expectations following the successful performances of Lobotka andSlovakia U21 at the2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, as well as his move toCelta Vigo. His performance contributed to Slovakia's 1-0 home victory.
On 4 September 2017, Lobotka scored his first international goal for the Slovak senior team,[21] becoming the first to score atWembley, in aqualifier againstEngland. He scored after he tackled and took the ball fromMarcus Rashford and exchanged a pass withAdam Nemec, before beatingJoe Hart in the 3rd minute of the match. However, Slovakia went on to lose the game 1-2, after goals byEric Dier and Rashford. The 8th game of the campaign was a direct battle for the 1st place in qualifying Group F. Similarly, like after the previous game, Lobotka received praise for his performance. By the end of the year, he scored again in a friendly match againstNorway in the 93rd minute, providing Slovakia a 1-0 victory in a final international game ofJán Ďurica.
Lobotka was included in the 26-man squad for theUEFA Euro 2024.[22] He went on to win the Man of the Match in the opening fixture win by 1–0 againstBelgium.[23]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Trenčín | 2010–11 | 2. Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Slovak First Football League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13 | Slovak First Football League | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | |||
| 2014–15 | Slovak First Football League | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | — | 40 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | Slovak First Football League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Total | 76 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 86 | 3 | |||
| Jong Ajax (loan) | 2013–14 | Eerste Divisie | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 3 | ||
| Nordsjælland | 2015–16 | Danish Superliga | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Danish Superliga | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | |||
| Total | 61 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 62 | 0 | ||||
| Celta Vigo | 2017–18 | La Liga | 38 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | La Liga | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | La Liga | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| Total | 86 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 90 | 0 | ||||
| Napoli | 2019–20 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10[c] | 0 | — | 49 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8[c] | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 49 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 | Serie A | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 30 | 1 | |
| Total | 181 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 228 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 434 | 9 | 20 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 496 | 9 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovakia | 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 71 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 September 2017 | Wembley Stadium,London,England | 3 |  England | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 14 November 2017 | Štadión Antona Malatinského,Trnava,Slovakia | 7 |  Norway | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 11 June 2019 | Bakcell Arena,Baku,Azerbaijan | 17 |  Azerbaijan | 1–0 | 5–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
| 4 | 13 October 2023 | Estádio do Dragão,Porto,Portugal | 50 |  Portugal | 2–3 | 2–3 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualification |
AS Trenčín[27]
Napoli
Slovakia
Individual
Slovakia squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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