Peter Pekarík

Peter Pekarík
Pekarík with Hertha BSC in 2012
Personal information
Full name Peter Pekarík[1]
Date of birth (1986-10-30) 30 October 1986 (age 38)[1]
Place of birth Žilina, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Žilina
Number 2
Youth career
Žilina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2009 Žilina 111 (5)
2004–2005 → Dubnica (loan) 27 (0)
2009–2012 VfL Wolfsburg 55 (0)
2011–2012 → Kayserispor (loan) 27 (0)
2012–2024 Hertha BSC 243 (5)
2024– Žilina 0 (0)
International career‡
2006– Slovakia 132 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:27, 23 May 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:23, 9 September 2024 (UTC)

Peter Pekarík (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈpeter ˈpekariːk]; born 30 October 1986) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Žilina and the Slovakia national team.

Club career

MŠK Žilina

Born in Žilina, Pekarík played football at the youth section of his local club.[3] His Corgoň Liga debut came for ZŤS Dubnica.[3] In his first season, he played 27 matches and came back to MŠK Žilina in summer 2005.[3] Pekarík won the Corgoň Liga in the 2006–07 season, playing 35 matches.[4][better source needed]

Germany and loan to Kayserispor

Following great performances in the 2008–09 Slovak Superliga, Pekarík and signed a four-and-a-half-year contract for Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg in January 2009.[5] On 31 January 2009, he made his Bundesliga debut during a 1–1 draw against 1. FC Köln, only to be replaced by Cristian Zaccardo at half-time.[6] Except for one game, Pekarík played in all matches of the second half as Wolfsburg won its first Bundesliga title.[7]

In August 2011, Pekarík joined Turkish Süper Lig club Kayserispor for the 2011–12 season on loan.[8]

After a loan in Turkey, Pekarík returned to Germany, signing for Hertha BSC.[9] On 31 March 2017, in his eighth season in Germany, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3–1 loss against 1899 Hoffenheim which was his 151st Bundesliga match.[10]

Return to MŠK Žilina

On 26 September 2024, Pekarík returned to his hometown club MŠK Žilina after 15 years of playing abroad, signing a contract until 30 January 2025.[11]

International career

Early international career

On 10 December 2006, Pekarík debuted for the Slovak senior squad in a friendly match against United Arab Emirates.[12] He scored his first international goal in a 7–0 home victory over San Marino.[13]

Pekarík was included the Slovakia squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[14] After being an unused substitute in the opening match against New Zealand, he started the second and third Group F matches, assisting Kamil Kopúnek's decisive third goal in the 3–2 win over Italy that qualified Slovakia for the knockout stage.[15] He went on to start in the team's round of 16 match against the Netherlands, where they lost 2–1.[15]

Pekarík played in all four of Slovakia's matches at UEFA Euro 2016,[16] where the team reached the round of 16, losing to Germany[17] and all three of their matches at UEFA Euro 2020.[18]

2020s

On 1 June 2021, Pekarík played his 100th match for Slovakia in a friendly 1–1 draw against Bulgaria.[19] He was named in Slovakia's squad for UEFA Euro 2024 and played in all four of the team's matches at the tournament. This made him one of two players, along with the Juraj Kucka, to play in all eleven of Slovakia's matches in UEFA European Championships as an independent nation.[20]

Style of play

British newspaper The Guardian praised Pekarík for his important leadership qualities as a centre-back.[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 May 2023[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
MFK Dubnica (loan) 2004–05 Slovak Superliga 27 0 – – – 27 0
Žilina 2005–06 Slovak Superliga 27 2 – 4 0 – 31 2
2006–07 35 0 – – – 35 0
2007–08 31 0 – 4 0 – 35 0
2008–09 18 3 – 10 0 – 28 3
Total 111 5 – 18 0 – 129 5
VfL Wolfsburg 2008–09 Bundesliga 16 0 2 0 – – 18 0
2009–10 16 0 0 0 7 0 – 23 0
2010–11 23 0 1 1 – – 24 1
Total 55 0 3 1 7 0 – 65 1
Kayserispor (loan) 2011–12 Süper Lig 27 0 2 0 – – 29 0
Hertha BSC 2012–13 2. Bundesliga 19 0 0 0 – – 19 0
2013–14 Bundesliga 31 0 0 0 – – 31 0
2014–15 30 0 2 0 – – 32 0
2015–16 12 0 1 0 – – 13 0
2016–17 31 1 3 0 2 0 – 36 1
2017–18 17 0 1 0 5 0 – 23 0
2018–19 3 0 0 0 – – 3 0
2019–20 9 0 0 0 – – 9 0
2020–21 23 3 1 1 – – 24 4
2021–22 27 1 2 0 – 2 0 31 0
2022–23 5 0 0 0 – – 5 0
Total 207 5 10 1 7 0 2 0 226 5
Career total 454 10 15 2 32 0 2 0 503 12

International

As of match played 8 September 2024[23]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Slovakia 2006 1 0
2007 0 0
2008 5 0
2009 12 1
2010 10 0
2011 8 0
2012 8 0
2013 6 0
2014 8 0
2015 5 1
2016 10 0
2017 7 0
2018 5 0
2019 6 0
2020 6 0
2021 12 0
2022 6 0
2023 9 0
2024 8 0
Total 132 2
Scores and results list Slovakia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pekarík goal.
List of international goals scored by Peter Pekarík
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 6 June 2009[13] Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia  San Marino 2–0 7–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 27 March 2015[13] Štadión pod Dubňom, Žilina, Slovakia  Luxembourg 3–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Honours

MŠK Žilina

VfL Wolfsburg

Hertha BSC

Slovakia

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Peter Pekarík". Hertha BSC. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Slovakia's Pekarík raring to go". UEFA. 25 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Peter Pekarík". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Pekarík vo Wolfsburgu s číslom 19". Profutbal (in Slovak). 21 January 2009. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  6. ^ "Pekarík si odkrútil debut v bundeslige, Wolfsburgu pomohol k remíze". Pravda (in Slovak). 31 January 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  7. ^ Bösch, Patrick (25 May 2009). "Wolfsburg ist zum ersten Mal Meister". Badische Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Peter Pekarík Kayserispor'da". SportBul (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Hertha verpflichtet Pekarik". DFL (in German). 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  10. ^ Hudák, Juraj (31 March 2017). "Video: Pekarík prelomil nekonečné čakanie, strelil premiérový gól v Bundeslige". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak).
  11. ^ "Späť tam, kde sa to celé začalo". MŠK Žilina (in Slovak). 26 September 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  12. ^ Chudý, Filip (3 April 2015). "10 najlepších debutov v histórii slovenskej reprezentácie". sport24.dnes.sk (in Slovak). p. 10.
  13. ^ a b c Hribík, Rastislav (27 March 2015). "Pekarík happy to end wait for Slovakia goal". UEFA. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  14. ^ "MS 2010: Peter Pekarík: "Musíme sa pripraviť aj na vuvuzely"". sport7.dnes24.sk (in Slovak). 12 June 2010.
  15. ^ a b "Slovakia vs Italy: Live". The Telegraph. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  16. ^ Jesenka, Ján (21 June 2016). "Video | Zakrvavený Peter Pekarík krútil hlavou: Áno, je zlomený". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak).
  17. ^ "Germany vs Slovakia: Line-ups". UEFA. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Pekarík má za sebou jednu z najlepších sezón, chce pomôcť aj reprezentácii". Sme (in Slovak). Petit Press. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  19. ^ Spál, Pavol (1 June 2021). "Na kraji je slovenský unikát. Geneticky je predurčený na dvojnásobnú záťaž". Sme (in Slovak). Bratislava: Petit Press.
  20. ^ "Slovakia: All their Euro records and stats". UEFA. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  21. ^ Vráblik, Lukáš (8 June 2024). "Peter Pekarik: Slovakia's Mr Reliable looking to go out on a high". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  22. ^ a b c d "P. Pekarík". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  23. ^ "Peter Pekarík". National Football Teams. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  24. ^ "Thailand vs. Slovakia Match Line-ups". ESPN. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Slovakia beat Thailand 3-2, win King's Cup". Bangkok Post. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
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