Ľubomír Moravčík (born 22 June 1965) is a Slovak

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player. A creative

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

renowned for his technical ability, he was capable of unleashing powerful, accurate shots, and pinpoint crosses with both feet. He played for teams in Czechoslovakia and Slovakia, France, Germany, Japan, and Scotland. During his time at Scottish club

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, Moravčík made 129 appearances, scoring 35 goals and winning two

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

titles. At international level, Moravčík played for

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(42 appearances; seven goals) and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

(38 appearances; six goals). He was a member of the Czechoslovak team at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

Club career

Early career

Moravčík began his career at

Czechoslovak First League The Czechoslovak First League (, ) was the premier football (soccer), football league in the Czechoslovakia from 1925 to 1993, with the exception of World War II. Czechoslovakia was occupied by German forces who formed Gauliga Sudetenland and Ga ...

club Plastika Nitra, making his league debut on 16 October 1983 against FK Teplice. He spoke about his early career in an interview with the Slovak podcast, ''Podcast Výkrok'': "I grew up in a very successful generation of Nitra, with whom we became champions of Slovakia in pupils, as younger teenagers we finished third and again became masters as older teenagers. But during my time in Shala, I never dreamed of the first league. However, when Nitra was on the verge of falling out, the club's management decided to give the young players a chance. And that meant my entry into the Premier League scene." Moravčík went on to make over 170 appearances for the club before leaving 1990 to join French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

, where he played over 230 matches. He later moved to

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

and then

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jer ...

in Germany.

Celtic

On 27 October 1998, Moravčík signed for

side

for a fee of £330,000. The transfer linked him up with fellow Slovak Jozef Vengloš, who was Celtic manager at the time. Initially sceptical of the impact a then-33-year-old footballer could have, Moravčík became a hero in the eyes of the

Parkhead Parkhead () is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet (place), hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necro ...

faithful, forming an outstanding partnership with

Henrik Larsson Edward Henrik Larsson (; born 20 September 1971) is a Swedish professional association football, football coach and former player who played many times for the Sweden men's national football team, Swedish national team. A Striker (association f ...

. Moravčík made his league debut in a 6–1 victory against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

on 7 November 1998. The same year on 21 November, he scored his first two goals against

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

rivals Rangers, wwhich ended in a memorable 5–1 victory. Moravčík stayed at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

for a total of four seasons, winning two Scottish championships, one

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish League Cups. All of his former teammates, including Larsson, Chris Sutton, and Stiliyan Petrov have named him in their One to Eleven highlighting his two-foot, his ability with both feet. In 2015, Moravčík said of his time in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

: "My favourite time, my most special time, was at Celtic. They said I was a 'gift from God' but it was the opposite – Celtic was a gift from God to me... Celtic is unique." He played his last game for Celtic on 21 April 2002, a 1–1 draw with Rangers in which he assisted Alan Thompson's equaliser and came off as a substitute for Steve Guppy on the 72nd minute.

JEF United Ichihara

On 4 May 2020, the day before the 2002 Scottish Cup final against Rangers, Moravčík announced his departure from Celtic to join JEF United Ichihara in the

J-League The , commonly a.k.a. shortened to the , and officially known as the for sponsorship with Meiji Yasuda Life, is the men's association football league in Japan. It is responsible for organizing Japan's major professional football tournaments, in ...

, a move that would link him up with Jozef Vengloš, who first brought him to Parkhead in 1998. Moravčík told the '' Daily Record'': "I don't want to play in the last league game at

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

he following weekso I will be leaving Celtic and Scotland after the Cup final. Because I am going to Japan I will have to start pre-season training at the beginning of June and, before that, I need a holiday." He spent the entire final on the bench as Celtic lost the match 3–2. Moravčík only made three appearances for JEF United Ichihara due to an ankle injury. After failing to recover, Moravčík announced his retirement from football on 6 September 2002.

International career

Moravčík made a total of 80 appearances for

and

between 1987 and 2000. He debuted for the former national team on 11 November 1987 in a 2–0 friendly victory against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and scored his first goal in a 3–0 victory against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

during the

1990 FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification, qualification competition for the 1990 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations. Each confederation — the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Confederat ...

. Moravčík played at the

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where he was sent off against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the quarter-final in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. Germany won the game 1–0. His debut for the newly-established Slovak senior squad occurred on 30 March 1994 in a 2–1 friendly victory against

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Post-playing career

Moravčík began his managerial career with Slovak national U-17 team before being appointed coach of

FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce – Vráble is a Slovakia, Slovak Association football, football team, based in the town of Zlaté Moravce. The club was founded on 22 January 1995. History From the club's establishment in 1995 until 2004, they played i ...

, the team from highest Slovak league, Corgoň Liga. He is also vice-president of the

Slovak Football Association The Slovak Football Association (, SFZ) is the governing body of Association football in Slovakia. The association has the responsibility for the control and development of football in Slovakia, and is the body that runs the Slovakia national f ...

and assistant of

ŠKF Sereď ŠKF Sereď () is a Slovak football team, based in the town of Sereď, that plays in the 3rd tier 3. Liga, of the Slovakian league system. It was founded as Sereďský športový klub in 1914. The club won the Slovak 2. Liga in 2017–18, thereb ...

. Moravčík also has an engineering degree from the

Slovak University of Agriculture Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra is a public university in Nitra, Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary ...

, which he gained whilst playing for Nitra. "I think getting a college degree apart from professional sports is more complicated nowadays than when I studied", he said. "The

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

was proud that the athletes growing up in its establishment had a university degree and were very accommodating. Athletes had individual study plans, various concessions, teachers sometimes turned a blind eye, and were proud to educate a representative of Czechoslovakia. Honestly, I was not an exceptional student, but I tried to come to school honestly and learn. Professors also appreciated my efforts and did not hinder me. Today, graduating from university is extremely challenging for a top athlete with multi-phase daily training, rehabilitation, training and matches. The athlete must define his priorities. I was lucky that, in addition to sports, they also provided us with education. Today is a different time, but I consider the completion of the graduation to be a necessary minimum, this can certainly be managed in addition to sports."

Style of play

A free kick specialist, Moravčík was reminiscent of the old-fashioned

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

. He was also known for his ability to use both his left and right legs. "It's easy, always notice which foot the player is leading the ball," he told ''Podcast Vykroč'' in November 2021. "I never led the ball with my left foot. Yes, I knew how to move it and kick it with my left hand. Through targeted long-term training, I improved my left leg so that I did not distinguish at all when kicking and passing, whether by kicking with my left or right foot. But I always led the ball right."

said: "For me, oravčíkis one of the best players I ever played with. Still to this day I don't know if he was right-footed or left-footed." Moravčík's two-footedness has also been praised by

Pavel Nedvěd Pavel Nedvěd (; born 30 August 1972) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Czech players of all time and he won numerous trophies with Italian cl ...

Personal life

Moravčík acquired French nationality by

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

on 5 November 1996.

Career statistics

Club

International

*''Moravčík's team's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Moravčík goal.''

Honours

Bastia *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Celtic *

: 2000–01, 2001–02 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Individual *

Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year The Czechoslovak Player of the Year (, ) award was an annual prize given to the best Czechoslovak football player by the Czechoslovak Football Association since 1965. Award for coach of the year was also awarded since 1985. Winners References ...

: 1992 * Slovak Footballer of the Year: 2001

References

External links

* * * * * *
Stars of the past: Lubomir Moravcik
at Footandball.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Moravcik, Lubomir 1965 births Living people Footballers from Nitra Men's association football midfielders Czechoslovak men's footballers Czechoslovakia men's international footballers Slovak men's footballers Slovakia men's international footballers Dual internationalists (men's football) Naturalized citizens of France French men's footballers 1990 FIFA World Cup players SC Bastia players AS Saint-Étienne players FC Nitra players MSV Duisburg players Celtic F.C. players JEF United Chiba players J1 League players Ligue 1 players Scottish Premier League players Bundesliga players Slovak expatriate men's footballers Slovak expatriate sportspeople in France Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Germany Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland MFK Ružomberok managers Czechoslovak expatriate men's footballers Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in France Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Japan Slovak football managers FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce managers 20th-century French sportsmen