2020-21 www.liberoguide.com SLOVAKIA 2020-21 www.liberoguide.com The composition of the 2020-21 Slovak Super Liga mirrors that of 2019-20 after the majority of its 12 clubs voted to curtail INTRO the previous campaign at the halfway point of the decisive Championship and Relegation Rounds. Record champions Slovan Bratislava duly claimed their tenth title since Slovakia split from the Czech Republic in 1993. Dips between Slovan’s waves of Welcome to success have allowed Žilina, Trenčín liberoguide.com! and Ružomberok to nip in. The club The digital travel guide for from the capital now play at a new football fans, liberoguide.com arena, Tehelné pole, the same name is the most up-to-date resource, as the one alongside demolished in city-by-city, club-by-club, to the 2013. In the interim, Slovan played game across Europe and North at Inter Bratislava over the road, America. Using only original their city rivals also twice champions. photos and first-hand research, Slovan’s homecoming in 2019 taken and undertaken over seven coincided with another successful seasons, liberoguide.com has qualifying campaign by Slovakia, been put together to enhance reaching a third major finals in a every football weekend and Euro decade, a key home game hosted night experience. From airport here. to arena, downtown sports bar to hotel, liberoguide.com helps The original Tehelné pole, the Brick you get the best out of your visit Field, opened during World War II. to football’s furthest corners and Spartak Trnava Slovan played its first showcase showcase stadiums. fixture, against Hertha Berlin, when Slovakia was a Nazi puppet state. SLOVAKIA 2020-21 Formed as 1. ČsŠK Bratislava in When Slovakia rejoined Czechoslovakia CONTENTS 1919, the Čs standing for the Czechs after the war, Slovan became a 13 FC Nitra 21 Trnava who had just incorporated the city prominent force in the re-unified 1-3 INTRO 4-6 Bratislava 14 Ružomberok 22 Spartak Trnava into the new Czechoslovakia, Slovan league, as were Spartak Trnava. Each 7 Slovan Bratislava 15 MFK Ružomberok 23 Žiar nad Hronom originally played at Inter then moved broke new ground in 1968-69, Slovan 8 Dunajská Streda 16 Senica 24 Pohronie across the Danube to Petržalka. There the first club from the Eastern bloc 9 DAC 17 FK Senica 25 Žilina Hungarians had set up a club in the to win European silverware, Spartak 10 Michalovce 18 ŠKF Sered’ 26 MŠK Žilina late 1800s, whose later iteration, reaching the semi-final of the European 11 Zemplín Michalovce 19 Trenčín 27 Zlaté Moravce Artmedia Petržalka, won the Slovak Cup. Each retained a significant fan 12 Nitra 20 AS Trenčín 28 ViOn Zlaté Moravce title in 2005 and 2007. base after 1993, though Spartak’s liberoguide.com 1 SLOVAKIA 2020-21 www.liberoguide.com INTRO ŽILINA RUŽOMBEROK TRENČÍN had to wait until 2018 for a memorable MICHALOVCE title win. They have a new stadium, too, SENICA ŽIAR NAD named after the key figure of Spartak’s HRONOM golden Euro era, Anton Malatinský. This ZLATÉ new main home of the national side co- TRNAVA MORAVCE hosts the Tradičné derby, the traditional SERED’ NITRA clash with Slovan, also known as the (ZLATÉ MORAVCE) West-Slovakia derby. With the demise of BRATISLAVA football in second-city Košice, the east is currently only represented in the top flight by Michalovce. DUNAJSKÁ STREDA Hungarians may no longer crown their kings in Bratislava but Budapest funds clubs in Magyar communities outside Hungary’s borders – most notably DAC, league runners-up in 2019, based at a in the west by the Austrian border, €19. City transport in bigger towns Tables & trophies Qualifying Round of the Europa spanking new MOL Aréna. another easy option is to fly into Vienna is also efficient and barely needed in Slovakia’s top-flight Super Liga Conference League. The Slovak Cup Airport. A frequent Slovak Lines bus walkable smaller communities such consists of 12 clubs who play each winners enter the Second Qualifying Station to stadium (slovaklines.sk/en) direct to Bratislava as Dunajská Streda and Žiar nad other home and away. After these Round of this inaugural tournament. Slovakia currently has no national (€10) takes 1hr. Hronom. State-owned NDS (ndsas.sk/ 22 games, the top six play in the carrier. The country’s two main en) oversee the network of motorways, Championship Round, the bottom six, The bottom club goes straight down airports, in Bratislava and Košice, Slovak rail (zssk.sk/en) is affordable marked with a green sign. A ten-day the Relegation Round. After ten more to the second-tier 2. Liga, usually mainly serve budget carriers, most and reliable. Bratislava-Trnava takes e-vignette is €10, available online games, home and away, the champions consisting of 16 clubs but currently routes provided by Ryanair (ryanair. 30-45mins and costs €2.50 while the (eznamka.sk/en), and at OMV and other enter the First Qualifying Round of only 15. The team in penultimate place com) and Wizz Air (wizzair.com). long journey east to the second city of petrol stations. Slovakia’s currency is the Champions League, runners-up in the Super Liga plays off with the With many top-tier clubs clustered Košice takes around 6hrs and costs the euro. and the third-placed side the First 2. Liga runners-up for the right to liberoguide.com 2 SLOVAKIA 2020-21 www.liberoguide.com compete in the top tier next season. For 2020-21, three clubs go down from INTRO the second to the regionalised 3. Liga, four divisions of 16 teams, East, West, Central and Bratislava. Each winner goes up to the 16-team second tier in 2021-22. The teams finishing bottom go straight down to the eight-group 4 Liga, while those in places 12-15 play off at season’s end. Below, the 5. Liga breaks down into each of the four regions (including Bratislava) into four or five FK Senica more localised groups. This divides into local leagues in 36 towns, Bratislava excepted, in tiers 6-8. Bardejov and Myjava being recent examples, crowds in the low thousands. The Slovak Cup, Slovenský pohár, is also referred to as the Slovnaft Cup Season’s dealings after its sponsors. It is unusual in that Both the Super Liga and 2. Liga start it was instigated when Slovakia was on the same weekend in the third not an independent nation, but part week of July, the top tier running until of Czechoslovakia. Every year from early December, the second breaking 1961 until 1993, the winners of each up early around the second week of MŠK Žilina tournament would play each other, November. The Super Liga resumes often in a two-leg final, to decide who in mid-February, the table splitting went through to Europe. The current between Championship and Relegation Timings are pretty much the same as all have new or renovated stadiums, Južná (South), Východná (East) and competition involves 229 teams, around Rounds in early March. This is when the Super Liga, later in summer, earlier while those at Žilina, Ružomberok and Západná (West). Sektor Hostí is the the usual number minus B teams and the 2. Liga restarts, and both leagues in winter, with the exceptions of Sunday Michalovce are more than reasonable. away sector. Vstupenky are tickets. On withdrawals. Ties are decided over 90 continue until late May. In the top mornings. A popular feature, one or two Sered’ are currently based at Zlaté your ticket for international matches, minutes and penalties if needed. The flight, the six league rounds are played second-tier games kick off at 10.30am, Moravce while there’s rebuilding going sektor the sector, rad the row and First Round features 202 sides from over the two-day weekend, usually often at Petržalka in Bratislava, handy on at Trenčín. Admission is affordable sedadlo or miesto your seat. Cena is the regional leagues, including the weighted towards four or five games if you’re planning a football weekend – around €7-€8 for the cheapest seats, the price. Outside the ground will be 3. Liga. All sides from the Super Liga on the Saturday. Kick-off times are in the Slovak capital. Reserve sides, €10-€12 for the best, a €2 surplus for a klobása van for grilled sausages, and 2. Liga join for the Second Round, around 6pm-7pm in summer and late particularly Ružomberok’s, also prefer a marquee fixtures such as Slovan – and beer (pivo) another match-day staple. with home advantage given to the spring, 4pm-5pm autumn/early spring, Sunday-morning start. easily obtained on the day or online, Decent Slovak Zlatý Bažant is the lower-league team. The semi-finals are 1.30pm-3pm in winter. The 2. Liga usually in English. most popular brand – look out for usually two-leg affairs with away goals usually involves eight fixtures over any Entry level the pheasant logo – and you’ll almost counting double. The final is normally weekend, one or two on a Friday, five Slovan, Spartak Trnava, DAC, Nitra, At almost every ground, the four certainly find the classic Czech played at a neutral venue, Senec, on a Saturday, one or two on a Sunday. Senica, Zlaté Moravce and Pohronie stands are the Severná tribúna (North), varieties, too. liberoguide.com 3 SLOVAKIA 2020-21 Bratislava www.liberoguide.com/bratislava BRATISLAVA after ten years at the Štadión Pasienky, Few cities in Europe have as complex BUDAPEST traditional home of Inter Bratislava. and multilingual a football history as Lowly Inter, meanwhile, moved out Bratislava. As well as Pozsonyi Torna to Stupava, north of Bratislava.