Martin Koscelník (born 2 March 1995) is a Slovak professional

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 lea ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

club

Slovácko Moravian Slovakia, also called Slovácko (, older ''Moravské Slovensko'') is a cultural region in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic. It lies in the historical region of Moravia, on the border with Slovakia (the Slovak region of Záhor ...

, and the Slovakia national team.

Club career

Koscelník made his

Slovak Super Liga The Slovak First Football League (), officially known as Niké liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Slovakia and the highest level of the Football in Slovakia, Slovak football league system. It was formed ...

debut for Zemplín Michalovce against

AS Trenčín AS Trenčín () is a Slovak sports club in the town of Trenčín, most known for its football department. The first team currently plays in the Slovak First Football League after winning the 2010–11 Slovak First League. The club plays its hom ...

on 18 July 2015, only to be replaced in the second half by Martin Regáli. He played 87 matches in Slovakia's First League, scoring 15 times, before signing for Czech side Slovan Liberec under Slovak head coach

Zsolt Hornyák Zsolt Hornyák (born 1 May 1973) is a Slovak football manager and a former defender of Hungarian ethnicity. He is the manager of Hungarian team Puskás Akadémia. As a player, Hornyák won the Czechoslovakian championship in the 1991–92 sea ...

in June 2018. During his time at Slovan Liberec, Koscelník played in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

as well as making 96 appearances in the Czech First League for the club, in which he scored three goals. He became the ninth player to leave Liberec after the conclusion of the 2021–22 season, signing for Austrian side

Rapid Vienna Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English language, English, is an Football in Austria, Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian cham ...

. On 29 August 2023, Koscelník joined

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eredivisi ...

in the Netherlands on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract. Koscelník made news after the club's promotion to the Eredivisie in 2024, swimming in the Breda harbour and climbing a lamppost. He played in 36 games across all competitions for Breda, but towards the end of his time at the club, found his playing opportunities limited, with just three appearances in the 2024–25 season. On 29 January 2025, Koscelník signed a two-year contract with

International career

On 25 August 2020, Koscelník received his first call-up to the Slovak senior squad by coach

Pavel Hapal Pavel Hapal (born 27 July 1969) is a Czech former footballer and coach of Baník Ostrava. Playing career As a footballer, Hapal played for Dukla Prague, CD Tenerife, Sparta Prague, and SK Dynamo České Budějovice. At international level, he ...

for the Nations League matches against

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. The same year on 4 September, he made his debut in a

2020–21 UEFA Nations League The 2020–21 UEFA Nations League was the second season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The competition was held from Septembe ...

match against neighbours the

. On 7 September 2021, Koscelník scored his first international goal in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, ending in a 2–0 victory for the Slovaks.

Career statistics

:''As of match played on 29 March 2022. Scores and results list Slovakia's goal tally first.

References

External links

* * *
MFK Zemplín Michalovce official profile

Futbalnet profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koscelnik, Martin 1995 births Living people Footballers from Vranov nad Topľou Slovak men's footballers Slovakia men's international footballers Men's association football fullbacks Slovak First Football League players 2. Liga (Slovakia) players Czech First League players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Eerste Divisie players Eredivisie players MFK Zemplín Michalovce players FC Slovan Liberec players SK Rapid Wien players NAC Breda players 1. FC Slovácko players UEFA Euro 2020 players Slovak expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic Slovak expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Slovak expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands 21st-century Slovak sportsmen