Vladimír Weiss (born 22 September 1964) is a Slovakfootball coach and former player who serves as the coach of Slovan Bratislava.[1] He is one of a small number of people to have appeared as a player and a coach at a FIFA World Cup.[2]
Weiss played in the Czechoslovak First League during the 1980s and start of the 1990s until its dissolution, making over 100 league appearances for Inter Bratislava. During this period, he played for Czechoslovakia, making 19 appearances and scoring one goal whilst participating at the 1990 FIFA World Cup as well. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Weiss played for Petra Drnovice in the Czech First League, then returned to Slovakia, playing for Košice, Dunajská Streda, and Petržalka. He made 12 further national team appearances, this time for Slovakia, scoring one goal.
Weiss moved into management at the turn of the century, and won the Slovak league title in 2005 with Artmedia Petržalka before taking them to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, a feat only achieved by the manager of one Slovak club before. He spent a year managing Russian side Saturn Moscow Oblast before returning to Petržalka, where he won another national title in the 2007–08 season, as well as the 2007–08 Slovak Cup for a double.
In 2008, Weiss was named as the manager for the Slovakia national team. He subsequently took Slovakia to 2010 FIFA World Cup, their first World Cup as an independent nation, where they progressed from the group stage to the knockout stage of the tournament. He stepped down in 2012 having failed to qualify for the next major tournament, and managed Slovak club side Slovan Bratislava before moving to Kazakhstan, where he led Kairat for three years. During his time at Kairat, Weiss won the Kazakhstan Cup twice. Weiss subsequently led the Georgia national team between 2016 and 2020, narrowly missing out on qualification for UEFA Euro 2020. He returned to managing in the Slovak First Football League, signing a long-term contract with Slovan Bratislava in 2021, where he won four league titles in a row.
Early life
The oldest of two siblings, Weiss' mother died when he was 15 years old, and he and his sister Zuzana were solely raised by their father.[3] As a young man in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Weiss completed his compulsory military service in Komárno.[4]
Playing career
Weiss began his career with Agro Hurbanovo and Rapid Bratislava.[5] He played in the Czechoslovak First League for Inter Bratislava between the 1983–84 and 1992–93 seasons. After his final season for the club, Weiss played for AC Sparta Prague, who won the league title that season. He played for Petra Drnovice at the start of the 1993–94 season, the first season of the independent Czech league after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.[6] Weiss next returned to Slovakia, playing for Košice, Dunajská Streda, and Petržalka in the newly-established Slovak First League.[7]
Weiss made 19 appearances for Czechoslovakia between 1988 and 1990, scoring one goal.[6] His goal came against Norway in a November 1988 friendly match at Bratislava's Tehelné pole stadium, scoring Czechoslovakia's second goal in a 3–2 win.[8] He played at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.[9]
Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Weiss played for Slovakia. He scored Slovakia's first goal after independence in the 1–0 friendly victory against United Arab Emirates on 2 February 1994, going on to represent Slovakia a total of 12 times.[7]
Managerial career
Artmedia Bratislava
As the coach of Artmedia Bratislava, Weiss won the Slovak First League in 2005. He then took the club through three qualifying rounds of the 2005–06 season of the UEFA Champions League and reached the group stage,[10] becoming just the second Slovak team to qualify for the Champions League group stage after Košice in 1997.[11] He moved to Russia and managed FC Saturn Moscow Oblast from February 2006 to June 2007.[10] He then led Artmedia to another Slovak league title and cup double in 2008.[12]
Slovakia
In July 2008, Weiss was appointed head coach of the Slovakia national team, taking over from Ján Kocian.[10] On 14 October 2009, he led the team to the historic success of Slovakia's first-ever qualification for a major tournament as an independent nation, winning the qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup after a 1–0 away victory against Poland in the final qualifying match.[13] This led to him being awarded in the Sport category of the 2009 Crystal Wing Awards.[14]
On 24 June 2010, Weiss led Slovakia to the round of 16 after a 3–2 victory against Italy.[15] In late January 2012, he resigned with Slovakia following the team's failure to qualify for UEFA Euro 2012.[16]
Weiss continued as coach of Slovan Bratislava, having started that job alongside that of the Slovakia national team in August 2011. In July 2012, he signed a new one-year contract to continue.[17] However, by the end of the month, Slovan had won just one of three league matches and been eliminated from the preliminary rounds of the UEFA Europa League. Weiss announced his resignation on 29 July.[18]
Weiss returned to Slovakia, signing a five-year contract with former club Slovan Bratislava in May 2021.[23] Slovan won the 2020–21 league title in his first game after a 4–0 away victory against Zlaté Moravce.[24] Under Weiss, Slovan won the league again in 2021–22 and 2022–23 for three league titles in a row.[25]
In April 2024, Slovan Bratislava won their sixth consecutive league title, and a fourth for Weiss.[26] On 28 August, during the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League play-off round, he led the club to their first final tournament in an eventual 4–3 aggregrate victory against FC Midtjylland.[27]
^ abcJeřábek, Luboš (2007). Český a československý fotbal – lexikon osobností a klubů (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic: Grada Publishing. p. 222. ISBN978-80-247-1656-5.
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