Svatopluk Pluskal (28 October 1930 – 29 May 2005) was a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

and holder of a silver medal from the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in Chile in 1962.

Early life

Svatopluk Pluskal started playing football in his home town, where he played for several clubs. With (Baťa Zlín – Svit Gottwaldov) he achieved promotion to the top league. He achieved individual success when he was selected for the junior international team. He was able to play in most positions, but in Zlín he played mainly as a striker.

Club career

In 1951 he moved to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

where he became an important player for a newly founded army football club (ATK, later called ÚDA and

Dukla Prague Dukla Prague ( cz, Dukla Praha) was a Czechoslovakia, Czech association football, football club from the city of Prague. Established in 1948 as ATK Praha, the club won a total of 11 Czechoslovak league titles and eight Czechoslovak Cups, and in ...

), for whom he played mainly as a defensive midfielder. In almost 16 years with this club, he was 8-time champion of the league but he achieved his most important successes at the club level in the United States. Dukla Praha with Pluskal in its line-up won the "American Cup" (a tournament of teams from football-developed countries) three times in a row in the first half of the 1960s. In 1962 Pluskal scored the winning goal in the final against Brazilian team FC America.

International career

He played in the Czechoslovak international team from 1952 (starting as a defender) and played in three World Cups. In 1954 he took part in the record 0–5 defeat by Austria in Switzerland. Four years later, at the 1958 world cup finals, Pluskal played in more games. Losing 1–0 to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, drawing 2–2 with

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and scoring a remarkable 6–1 victory over Argentina, under modern rules they would have gone through. Under the rules of the time, having equal points, a

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

had to decide, and Northern Ireland beat them for the second time, this time 2–1 after extra time. In the

1962 World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the seventh edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place bet ...

in Chile, Pluskal was a member of the line-up. With his teammate from Dukla,

Josef Masopust Josef Masopust (9 February 1931 – 29 June 2015) was a Czech football player and coach. He played as midfielder and was a key player for Czechoslovakia, helping them reach the 1962 FIFA World Cup Final. He was capped 63 times, scoring ten g ...

, he formed the key midfield of the 4–2–4 formation. Thanks to Pluskal, the team that had had to qualify for the Championships in a playoff with Scotland had got to the World Cup final. There it was beaten by

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In 1965, Pluskal played in the unsuccessful qualification campaign for the World Cup in England, but with this his international career ended. He played 56 matches in Czechoslovak colours and scored one goal. Thanks to his important contribution to the success in Chile, Pluskal received recognition on the international stage. On 23 October 1963, he was a member of the "

Rest of the World Within sports and games played at the international competitive level, the Rest of the World refers to a team of players from many countries of origin that compete against a single individual or a team from a single group, such as a club or countr ...

" team that took on

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

in front of 100,000 fans, to celebrate 100 years of English football. A year later, he played for the "

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

" team in Belgrade against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, and appeared for Europe again in 1965 against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

.England Player Honours - International Representative Teams
England Football Online Pluskal's career was ended by a knee injury in 1967. In the league he played 282 matches and scored 37 goals. He was a universal footballer, a good header of the ball, and he was famous for his slide tackles, with which he cleanly took the ball from his opponents. Although players often protested against this style of play, referees usually considered it to be within the rules. During his football career, this tireless fighter became an impenetrable shield, able to concentrate on what was needed. Off the field, he helped the team with his easy humour.

Late life

As with many other former players, Pluskal became a coach. He did this job for Plzeň clubs

Škoda Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...

and Slovan, later on for FC Bohemians Praha and for a few years in

Enosis Neon Paralimni Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club ( el, Ένωση Νέων Παραλιμνίου, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou'', "Youth Union of Paralimni"), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cypriot football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the fi ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. He helped Bohemians with their promotion to the First Division. After a

brain stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functio ...

Pluskal was confined to bed. He died at the age of 74.

References

External links

Svatopluk Pluskal
at FK Dukla Praha * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pluskal, Svatopluk Czech footballers 1930 births 2005 deaths 1954 FIFA World Cup players 1958 FIFA World Cup players 1960 European Nations' Cup players 1962 FIFA World Cup players Czechoslovak footballers Czechoslovakia international footballers Dukla Prague footballers FK Jablonec players Enosis Neon Paralimni FC managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Sportspeople from Zlín Czech football managers Czechoslovak football managers FC Viktoria Plzeň managers Association football midfielders