2018–19 Slovak First Football League

Fortuna Liga
Season2018–19
Dates21 July 2018 – 24 May 2019
ChampionsSlovan Bratislava
RelegatedŽeleziarne Podbrezová
Champions LeagueSlovan Bratislava
Europa LeagueDAC Dunajská Streda
Spartak Trnava
MFK Ružomberok
Matches played195
Goals scored552 (2.83 per match)
Top goalscorerAndraž Šporar (29 goals)
Biggest home winSlovan 6–0 Michalovce
(3 November 2018)
Biggest away winSereď 0–5 D.Streda
(13 April 2019)
Highest scoringSlovan 6–2 Žilina
(11 May 2019)
Highest attendance22,500 (Slovan-Trnava)[1]
Lowest attendance200 (Sereď-Žilina)[2]
Average attendanceIncrease 2400 [3]
All statistics correct as of 25 May 2019.

The 2018–19 Slovak First Football League (known as the Fortuna Liga[4] for sponsorship reasons) was the 26th season of first-tier football league in Slovakia since its establishment in 1993.

Spartak Trnava were the defending champions after winning their first Slovak title in the previous season. Slovan Bratislava won their first title since 2014 and their record-extending ninth Slovak league title overall.

Teams

12 teams competed in the league – the top 11 sides from the 2017–18 season and one promoted team from the 2. liga. The promoted team was Sereď. They replaced Tatran Prešov.

Stadiums and locations

class=notpageimage|
Location of teams in Fortuna Liga 2018–19
Team Home city Stadium Capacity 2017–18 season
AS Trenčín Trenčín Stadium Myjava[5] 2,709 5th in Fortuna Liga
DAC Dunajská Streda Dunajská Streda MOL Aréna 12,700 3rd in Fortuna Liga
FK Železiarne Podbrezová Podbrezová ZELPO Aréna 4,061 9th in Fortuna Liga
FK Senica Senica OMS Arena 5,070 11th in Fortuna Liga
Michalovce Michalovce Mestský futbalový štadión 4,440 8th in Fortuna Liga
MFK Ružomberok Ružomberok Štadión pod Čebraťom 4,817 6th in Fortuna Liga
FC Nitra Nitra Štadión pod Zoborom 7,480 7th in Fortuna Liga
ŠKF Sereď Sereď Štadión pod Zoborom[5] 7,480 2. Liga Champion
MŠK Žilina Žilina Štadión pod Dubňom 11,258 4th in Fortuna Liga
Slovan Bratislava Bratislava Tehelné pole 22,500 2nd in Fortuna Liga
Spartak Trnava Trnava Anton Malatinský Stadium 19,200 Champions
ViOn Zlaté Moravce Zlaté Moravce FC ViOn Stadium 4,000 10th in Fortuna Liga
AS Trenčín Dunajská Streda Podbrezová Michalovce
Stadium Myjava MOL Aréna
UEFA 		ZELPO Aréna Mestský futbalový štadión
Capacity: 2,709 Capacity: 12,700 Capacity: 4,061 Capacity: 4,440
FK Senica MFK Ružomberok MŠK Žilina Slovan Bratislava
OMS Arena
UEFA 		Štadión pod Čebraťom Štadión pod Dubňom
UEFA 		Tehelné pole
UEFA
Capacity: 4,500 Capacity: 4,817 Capacity: 11,258 Capacity: 22,500
Spartak Trnava ŠKF Sereď ViOn Zlaté Moravce FC Nitra
Anton Malatinský Stadium
UEFA 		Štadión pod Zoborom
UEFA 		Štadión FC ViOn Štadión pod Zoborom
UEFA
Capacity: 19,200 Capacity: 7,480 Capacity: 4,000 Capacity: 7,480

Personnel and kits

Team President Manager Captain Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
AS Trenčín Slovakia Jozef Liptovský Slovakia Ivan Galád Slovakia Peter Kleščík Germany Adidas ORION Tip
DAC Dunajská Streda Slovakia Oszkár Világi Germany Peter Hyballa Slovakia Tomáš Huk Italy macron Kukkonia
FK Železiarne Podbrezová Slovakia Július Kriváň Slovakia Vladimír Veselý Slovakia Miroslav Viazanko Germany Adidas Železiarne Podbrezová
FK Senica Slovakia Vladimír Levársky Portugal Ricardo Chéu Slovakia Erik Otrísal Denmark hummel -
MFK Ružomberok Slovakia Milan Fiľo Czech Republic David Holoubek Slovakia Dominik Kružliak Germany Adidas MAESTRO
MŠK Žilina Slovakia Jozef Antošík Slovakia Jaroslav Kentoš Slovakia Michal Škvarka United States Nike Preto
Slovan Bratislava Slovakia Ivan Kmotrík Slovakia Martin Ševela Bulgaria Vasil Bozhikov Germany Adidas grafobal
FC Nitra Slovakia Jozef Petráni Slovakia Michal Kuruc Slovakia Miloš Šimončič Germany Jako -
Spartak Trnava Slovakia Dušan Keketi Czech Republic Michal Ščasný Slovakia Erik Grendel Germany Adidas PN Invest
ViOn Zlaté Moravce Slovakia Karol Škula Slovakia Karol Praženica Slovakia Martin Chren Italy Erreà ViOn
MFK Michalovce Slovakia Ján Sabol Slovakia Anton Šoltis Slovakia Igor Žofčák Germany Adidas ISDB, St. Nicolaus
ŠKF Sereď Slovakia Róbert Stareček Czech Republic Karel Stromšík Slovakia Martin Mečiar United States Nike iClinic

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointment
Spartak Trnava England Nestor El Maestro End of contract 21 May 2018[6] Pre-season Czech Republic Radoslav Látal 8 June 2018[7]
MŠK Žilina Slovakia Adrián Guľa Signed with Slovakia U21 28 May 2018[8] Slovakia Jaroslav Kentoš 28 May 2018[9]
MFK Ružomberok Slovakia Norbert Hrnčár End of contract 28 May 2018[10] Czech Republic David Holoubek 4 June 2018[11]
AS Trenčín Slovakia Vladimír Cifranič Become assistant 2 June 2018 Netherlands Ricardo Moniz 2 June 2018[12]
Dunajská Streda Italy Marco Rossi Signed with Hungary 20 June 2018[13] Germany Peter Hyballa 16 July 2018[14]
FK Senica Netherlands Ton Caanen Become general manager 3 August 2018 10 Portugal Frederico Ricardo 3 August 2018[15]
ŠKF Sereď Slovakia Michal Gašparík Sacked 4 September 2018 8 Czech Republic Karel Stromšík 4 September 2018[16]
AS Trenčín Netherlands Ricardo Moniz Resigned 28 October 2018 6 Slovakia Vladimír Cifranič (carateker) 28 October 2018[17]
FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce Slovakia Juraj Jarábek Resigned 5 November 2018 12 Slovakia Branislav Mráz (carateker) 5 November 2018[18]
FK Železiarne Podbrezová Slovakia Marek Fabuľa Sacked 27 November 2018 11 Slovakia Gergely Geri (carateker) 27 November 2018[19]
FC Spartak Trnava Czech Republic Radoslav Látal Resigned 13 December 2018[20] 8 Czech Republic Michal Ščasný 22 December 2018[21]
FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce Slovakia Branislav Mráz End of interim spell 13 December 2018 12 Slovakia Karol Praženica 13 December 2018[22]
FK Železiarne Podbrezová Slovakia Gergely Geri End of interim spell 4 January 2019 10 Slovakia Vladimír Veselý 4 January 2019[23]
FK Senica Portugal Frederico Ricardo Released 9 January 2019 11 Portugal Ricardo Chéu 9 January 2019[24]
FC Nitra Slovakia Ivan Galád Released 13 March 2019 8 Slovakia Michal Kuruc 13 March 2019[25]
AS Trenčín Slovakia Vladimír Cifranič End by own request 20 March 2019 9 Germany Matthias Kohler 20 March 2019[26]
AS Trenčín Germany Matthias Kohler Released 7 May 2019 11 Slovakia Ivan Galád 7 May 2019[27]

Regular stage

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Slovan Bratislava 22 18 4 0 53 18 +35 58 Qualification for the championship group
2 Žilina 22 13 5 4 39 23 +16 44
3 DAC Dunajská Streda 22 13 5 4 42 27 +15 44
4 Ružomberok 22 9 9 4 34 20 +14 36
5 Zemplín Michalovce 22 9 5 8 29 33 −4 32
6 Sereď 22 9 4 9 27 29 −2 31
7 Nitra 22 7 5 10 27 30 −3 26 Qualification for the relegation group
8 Spartak Trnava 22 7 4 11 28 28 0 25
9 Trenčín 22 6 4 12 30 40 −10 22
10 Železiarne Podbrezová 22 6 3 13 22 35 −13 21
11 Senica 22 3 6 13 20 43 −23 15
12 ViOn Zlaté Moravce 22 4 2 16 19 44 −25 14
Source: Fortuna Liga (in Slovak), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head away goals scored; 5) Play-off.[28]

Results

Each team plays home-and-away against every other team in the league, for a total of 22 matches played each.

Home \ Away DAC NIT POD RUŽ SEN SER SLO TRV TRČ ZTM ZPM ŽIL
DAC Dunajská Streda — 1–0 3–2 2–2 1–0 5–0 0–1 3–2 0–0 3–1 4–1 0–0
Nitra 2–3 — 1–3 0–0 1–0 0–2 1–2 0–0 2–1 4–1 2–1 0–2
Podbrezová 1–2 3–2 — 0–1 2–4 1–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 3–0 0–1 0–2
Ružomberok 0–1 3–1 3–0 — 4–0 0–0 0–2 3–1 1–0 4–0 0–0 3–1
Senica 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 — 0–0 1–2 1–0 0–2 3–0 2–4 0–1
Sereď 0–1 2–1 1–2 3–1 2–1 — 0–1 3–1 3–1 2–0 2–1 1–1
Slovan Bratislava 3–2 1–1 3–0 1–1 2–2 2–1 — 2–0 3–3 3–1 6–0 5–2
Spartak Trnava 3–1 2–3 2–0 0–0 4–1 2–1 1–2 — 3–1 1–0 3–0 1–2
Trenčín 3–3 0–1 1–1 1–4 3–0 5–1 0–3 1–0 — 1–0 1–2 0–2
ViOn Zlaté Moravce 1–2 0–3 1–0 1–1 4–0 0–1 1–4 1–1 3–1 — 2–0 1–2
Zemplín Michalovce 2–1 0–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 4–2 3–0 — 0–1
Žilina 2–2 2–1 2–0 3–0 5–0 2–1 0–1 1–1 2–3 2–1 2–2 —
Source: Fortuna Liga (in Slovak)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Championship group

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SLO DAC RUŽ ŽIL ZMI SER
1 Slovan Bratislava (C) 32 25 5 2 84 33 +51 80 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round — 3–1 3–2 6–2 4–1 3–1
2 DAC Dunajská Streda 32 19 6 7 63 37 +26 63 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round 1–0 — 1–1 1–0 5–0 3–4
3 Ružomberok 32 15 11 6 50 31 +19 56 3–2 1–0 — 1–1 1–0 1–0
4 Žilina 32 16 6 10 56 44 +12 54 0–3 1–2 4–2 — 4–0 1–2
5 Zemplín Michalovce 32 11 7 14 39 58 −19 40 3–3 0–2 0–3 2–1 — 2–0
6 Sereď 32 11 5 16 39 54 −15 38 1–4 0–5 0–1 2–3 2–2 —
Source: Fortuna Liga (in Slovak), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head away goals scored; 5) Play-off.[28]
(C) Champions

Relegation group

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation TRN SEN NIT ZLM TRE POD
7 Spartak Trnava (Q) 32 10 8 14 35 35 0 38 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[a] — 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–0 3–1
8 Senica 32 10 7 15 42 53 −11 37 2–0 — 4–1 3–1 4–0 0–0
9 Nitra 32 8 10 14 42 48 −6 34 0–1 2–3 — 2–2 2–2 2–2
10 ViOn Zlaté Moravce 32 10 4 18 33 55 −22 34 1–1 3–2 1–0 — 2–1 2–1
11 Trenčín (O) 32 8 7 17 41 56 −15 31 Qualification for the relegation play-offs 0–1 2–3 1–4 1–0 — 4–0
12 Železiarne Podbrezová (R) 32 7 8 17 28 48 −20 29 Relegation to the 2. Liga 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 —
Source: Fortuna Liga (in Slovak), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head away goals scored; 5) Play-off.[28]
(O) Play-off winners; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Spartak Trnava qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2018-19 Slovak Cup

Europa League play-offs

Should one of the top 3 teams have won the 2018–19 Slovak Cup, Europa League qualification playoffs would have been held among the 4th, 5th, 6th team in the championship group and the top team of the relegation round. The 4th team played the top team of the relegation group and the 5th played the 6th in the semifinals. Winners of the semifinals would play the final to determine the Europa League qualification spot. Europa League qualification playoff games would be one-leg and played at the home pitch of the higher-ranked team. The winners would qualify for the first qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League. On 1 May 2019, Spartak Trnava, who didn't qualify for the championship group, won the cup, thus eliminating the need of playoffs.

Relegation play-offs

Team placed 11th in the relegation match faced 2nd team from 2. Liga 2018–19 for one spot in the next season.

All times are CEST (UTC+2).

First leg

FK Poprad2–0AS Trenčín
 Report
Attendance: 2,310
Referee: Michal Očenáš

Second leg

AS Trenčín4–1FK Poprad
 Report
Attendance: 988
Referee: Jozef Pavlík

4–3 on aggregate.

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

As of 25 May 2019
Rank Player Club Goals[29]
1 Slovenia Andraž Šporar ŠK Slovan 29
2 Slovakia Róbert Boženík Žilina 13
3 Morocco Moha Slovan 12
Bosnia and Herzegovina Hamza Čataković AS Trenčín
5 Hungary Kristopher Vida DAC D.Streda 11
6 Ivory Coast Vakoun Issouf Bayo DAC D.Streda 10
Slovakia Tomáš Vestenický Nitra
8 Bosnia and Herzegovina Izzy Tandir Ružomberok 9
Slovakia Michal Škvarka Žilina
Austria Kubilay Yilmaz Trnava
Slovakia Tomáš Ďubek Z.Moravce
Albania Kristi Qose Ružomberok
Netherlands Joey Sleegers a Trenčín

a Included 1 play-off goal

Hat-tricks

Round Player For Against Result Date Ref
7 Slovakia Tomáš Vestenický FC Nitra ViOn Zlaté Moravce 4–1 1 September 2018 [30]
18 Slovakia Andrej Fábry FC Nitra ViOn Zlaté Moravce 0–3 8 December 2018 [31]
8.CH Slovenia Andraž Šporar Slovan Žilina 6–2 11 May 2019 [32]

Clean sheets

As of 25 May 2019
Rank Player Club Clean
sheets[33]
1 Slovakia Matúš Macík Ružomberok 13
2 Czech Republic Martin Jedlička D.Streda 12
3 Slovakia Dominik Holec Žilina 9
Slovakia Dominik Greif Slovan
5 Slovakia Matúš Kira Michalovce 8
6 Argentina Federico Taborda Senica 7
7 Slovakia Igor Šemrinec Trenčín 5
8 Slovakia Lukáš Hroššo Nitra 4
Slovakia Pavol Penksa Sereď
Slovakia Dobrivoj Rusov Trnava
Slovakia Martin Vantruba Podbrezová
Slovakia Adrián Chovan Z.Moravce

Discipline

As of 25 May 2019

Player

Club

Awards

Player of the Month

Month Player Club Ref
July/August Slovakia Erik Pačinda Dunajská Streda [37]
September Slovakia Tomáš Vestenický FC Nitra [37]
October Slovakia Róbert Boženík MŠK Žilina [37]
November/December Slovenia Andraž Šporar Slovan Bratislava [38]
February/March Slovakia Matúš Kira Michalovce [37]
April Czech Republic Martin Jedlička Dunajská Streda [39]
May Slovenia Andraž Šporar Slovan Bratislava [40]

Top Eleven

Source:[41]

Top Eleven U-21

Source:[5]

Individual awards

Manager of the season

Martin Ševela (ŠK Slovan)

Player of the Year

Andraž Šporar (ŠK Slovan)

Young player of the Year

Róbert Boženík (MŠK Žilina)

See also

References

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