Szilárd Németh (; ; born 8 August 1977), also known mononymously as Szilárd, is a Slovak former 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 played as a striker. After playing for clubs in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, he spent four and a half seasons at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

of the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

from 2001 to 2006. After a brief stint at France's

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, commonly known as RC Strasbourg (, ; RCS) or simply just Racing, is a French professional association football club founded in 1906 and based in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. It became a professional club in ...

, he played for Alemannia Aachen in Germany until his retirement in 2010. Németh was at that time the highest scorer in the history of the Slovakia national team, with 22 goals in 58 matches from 1997 to 2006.

Club career

Early career

Németh started his career with Slovan Bratislava before moving to eastern Slovakia to join 1. FC Košice. After making an impact at both clubs, in 1998 Németh moved to giants of the region, Czech team

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

for record fee of 35 million

CZK The koruna, or crown (currency sign, sign: Kč; ISO 4217, code: CZK, ), has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's eight currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to Czech Repub ...

(€1.3 million). He subsequently returned to Slovakia, signing for Inter Bratislava. He won consecutive

Slovak First Football League 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 Slovak football league system. It was formed in 1993 following th ...

titles in 1999–2000 and 2000–01, finishing as the league's top scorer on both occasions.

Middlesbrough

Amid rumoured interest from

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

, he eventually signed for English side

on 12 April 2001 for £2.1 million on a five-year contract. Earlier that season, he had a trial at their local rivals

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. Németh scored 23 goals in 117 Premier League appearances for the club. He became known as the ''Lizard King of Teesside'' and ''Slovakian Express'' for scoring regularly off the bench. Németh was part of Middlesbrough's 2004 League Cup-winning team, despite not making the squad for the final. He also featured as they contested the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

in the next two seasons. During his time in the Premier League, he scored in wins over Chelsea,

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. The 2005–06 season saw Németh turn down numerous transfer offers, including

winners

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

. He faced competition up-front that season from Yakubu,

Mark Viduka Mark Antony Viduka ( ; born 9 October 1975) is an Australian former Association football, football player who played as a centre forward. Viduka captained the Australia men's national soccer team, Australia national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup ...

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink ( ; born 27 March 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Born in Suriname, he and his family would later move to the Dutch city of Zaandam where he first played football, initially a ...

and Massimo Maccarone, leading to his exit in January.

Later career

On 25 January 2006, Németh was sold to French club

for a 'nominal fee'. Their season ended with relegation from

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 ...

, and he was released. On 28 August 2006, he agreed to join the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club Alemannia Aachen in a two-year deal. Németh spent most of his first season on the sidelines because of a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

. In May 2008, he signed a contract extension with Aachen until the end of the 2009–10 season. In the winter of 2010–11, he opted to retire from football due to health problems.

International career

Németh scored 22 times in 58 matches for

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 ...

between 1997 and 2006. His debut was a 4–0 friendly win against

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

at the Štadión pod Zoborom in

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra (river), Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of ...

on 2 February 1997, replacing Róbert Semeník for the final 26 minutes. He scored his first goal on his third cap on 5 February 1997, in a 2–2 draw away against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. Németh's last goal came in his 55th international on 1 March 2006, in an away friendly win over

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. His last game was on 6 September 2006, in qualification for Euro 2008, a 3–0 home defeat to the

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 ...

. He was the country's highest-scorer until Róbert Vittek broke the record, and is their seventh most-capped player.

Personal life

Németh belongs to the Hungarian minority in Slovakia.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Slovakia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Németh goal.''

Honours

Slovan Bratislava *

: 1994–95, 1995–96 *

Slovak Cup The Slovak Cup (), currently named Slovnaft Cup due to sponsorship agreement with Slovnaft, is the only nationwide Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in Football in Slovakia, Slovak football. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Euro ...

: 1996–97 Inter Bratislava *Slovak First Football Leaguea: 1999–2000, 2000–01 *Slovak Cup: 1999–2000, 2000–01 Middlesbrough *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

: 2003–04 Individual * Slovak Footballer of the Year: 2000 *Slovak First Football League top scorer: 1999–2000, 2000–01

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nemeth, Szilard Living people 1977 births Footballers from Komárno Hungarians in Slovakia Men's association football forwards Slovak men's footballers ŠK Slovan Bratislava players FC VSS Košice players Czech First League players AC Sparta Prague players FK Inter Bratislava players Middlesbrough F.C. players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Alemannia Aachen players Slovak First Football League players Premier League players Ligue 1 players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Slovakia men's international footballers Slovakia men's under-21 international footballers Slovak expatriate men's footballers Slovak expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Slovak expatriate sportspeople in England Slovak expatriate sportspeople in France Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Slovak people of Hungarian descent