FC Slovan Liberec

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Slovan Liberec

Full name	Football Club Slovan Liberec, a.s.
Nickname(s)	Modrobílí (Blue-whites)
Founded	1958; 66 years ago (1958)
Ground	Stadion u Nisy, Liberec
Capacity	9,900
Chairman	Zbyněk Štiller
Manager	Luboš Kozel
League	Czech First League
2022–23	7th of 16
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

FC Slovan Liberec (Czech pronunciation: [ˈslovan ˈlɪbɛrɛts]), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles and the domestic cup since 1993. Glass-making company Preciosa a.s. is the current main sponsor of the club.

History

The early years

The first predecessor of the Liberec football club was the Reichenberger Fussballklub (RFK) which was founded in 1899 (renamed to Reichenberger Sportklub [RSK] in 1904).

In 1958, the decision was taken to close the Jiskra and Slavoj clubs and merge the two into a single team that would have the potential to win a spot in the First League.[2] Although this plan stirred up very negative reactions among footballers and fans alike and despite the fact that members of Slavoj originally declared that they reject the plan, in the end they changed their minds. As a result, TJ Slovan Liberec was formed on 12 July 1958. With this name, the football club affirmed the Czech character of the club as well as the region where it played. The very first competitor the newly created team faced was Spartak Praha Sokolovo, as the famous team Sparta Prague was called at the time. Slovan lost 0–3. Despite all its efforts, for a long time Slovan Liberec was unsuccessful in its fight for a place in the First League. At certain stages of its history, it was even relegated to the regional division or third league.

In the 1970s, Slovan managed to be promoted back to the second league, which at the time included five

After overcoming the financial crisis the club found itself in following the 1989 Velvet Revolution, Slovan Liberec finally had the chance to gain promotion to the top league. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the six best teams in the second league were elevated to the newly created Czech First League. Slovan ascended to the first league with the formation of the Czech First League in 1993, and has maintained this position ever since. In the 1990s, the club achieved a series of mid-table finishes.

In 2002, under the management of

In June 2007, popular coach Vítězslav Lavička resigned amidst problems with club management and disappointment with the team's Champions League qualification loss to Spartak Moscow. Liberec entered the UEFA Cup first round, where they defeated Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade before being eliminated in the group stage. Performances next season under coach Michal Zach would not meet the expectations of the club owners, and Slovan experienced one of the worst seasons in its modern history. Zach's replacement by former coach Ladislav Škorpil failed to remedy the situation, as the club finished sixth in the league. In the same season, the team reached the final of the Czech Cup, but lost in a penalty shootout against Sparta Prague.

The

On 2 April 2024, businessman Ondřej Kania [cs] bought 75.65 percent of the club from businessman Ludvík Karl and became his new owner. New general director became former football player Jan Nezmar^[3] and new sporting director became another former football player Theodor Gebre Selassie.^[4]

Names and crest

TJ (Tělovýchovná Jednota) Slovan Liberec was created in 1958. Since then the club's name has been changed on numerous occasions, reflecting changes in sponsorship. In the 1980s the club used the name TJ Slovan Elitex (a textile company) Liberec. In 1993 the name FC (Football Club) Slovan Liberec was announced, to be replaced later the same year with FC Slovan WSK Liberec (WSK was an abbreviation for Wimpey Severokámen). Only one year later in 1994, it became FC Slovan WSK Vratislav (Vratislav – a beer brand) Liberec. In 1995 Slovan returned to its former name, FC Slovan Liberec.

The crest represents the colours of Liberec (blue & white) and the mountain Ještěd near Liberec with its famous television tower on top.

Players

Current squad

As of 7 January 2024^[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  BEL Olivier Vliegen 2 DF  CZE Dominik Plechatý (on loan from Sparta Prague) 3 DF  CZE Jan Mikula 4 DF  BEL Milan Govaers 5 MF  CZE Denis Višinský 6 MF  UKR Ivan Varfolomeyev 7 FW  CZE Michael Rabušic 9 MF  CZE Jakub Hudák 10 FW  SVK Ľubomír Tupta 11 MF  CZE Christián Frýdek 14 FW  CZE Filip Horský (on loan from Slavia Prague) 15 MF  CIV Mohamed Doumbia 16 FW  NED Olaf Kok 17 DF  CZE Ondřej Lehoczki

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  CZE Michal Lexa 19 MF  CZE Nicolas Penner 20 DF  CZE Dominik Preisler 21 FW  SVK Lukáš Letenay 24 DF  CZE Michal Fukala 25 MF  NGA Ahmad Ghali 26 FW  CRO Luka Kulenović 28 MF  CZE Jan Žambůrek (on loan from Viborg) 30 DF  CZE Filip Prebsl (on loan from Slavia Prague) 31 GK  CZE Hugo Jan Bačkovský 32 GK  CZE Lukáš Hasalík 33 DF  GRE Marios Pourzitidis 37 DF  CZE Matěj Chaluš (on loan from Malmö) — MF  CZE Daniel Tetour (on loan from Baník Ostrava)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  CZE Lukáš Pešl (at Varnsdorf) — MF  CZE Tomáš Polyák (at Varnsdorf)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  CZE Dominik Gembický (at Varnsdorf)

Notable former players

Player records in the Czech First League

As of 18 December 2023.^[6]

Highlighted players are in the current squad.

Most appearances # Name Matches 1 Tomáš Janů 310 2 Jan Nezmar 241 3 Petr Papoušek 219 4 Jan Mikula 192 5 Miroslav Holeňák 184 Michael Rabušic 7 Libor Janáček 183 8 Josef Lexa 175 9 Ladislav Maier 148 10 Jiří Štajner 143 Ivan Hodúr Theodor Gebre Selassie

Most goals # Name Goals 1 Jan Nezmar 62 2 Jiří Štajner 57 3 Michael Rabušic 41 4 Andrej Kerić 32 5 Leandro Lázzaro Liuni 30 Josef Šural 7 Josef Obajdin 26 8 Petr Papoušek 24 9 Jan Blažek 23 10 Martin Barbarič 22

Most clean sheets

#	Name	Clean sheets
1	Ladislav Maier	50
2	Zbyněk Hauzr	49
3	Antonín Kinský	43
4	Marek Čech	28
5	Filip Nguyen	27

Managers

History in domestic competitions

• Seasons spent at Level 1 of the football league system: 30
• Seasons spent at Level 2 of the football league system: 0
• Seasons spent at Level 3 of the football league system: 0
• Seasons spent at Level 4 of the football league system: 0

Czech Republic

Notes: † six points deducted

History in European competitions

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Score
2000–01	UEFA Cup	1st Round		IFK Norrköping	2–2, 2–1
		2nd Round		Liverpool	0–1, 2–3
2001–02	UEFA Cup	1st Round		Slovan Bratislava	2–0, 0–1
		2nd Round		Celta Vigo	1–3, 3–0
		3rd Round		Mallorca	3–1, 1–2
		4th Round		Lyon	1–1, 4–1
		1/4 Finals		Borussia Dortmund	0–0, 0–4
2002–03	UEFA Champions League	3rd Qual.		Milan	0–1, 2–1
	UEFA Cup	1st Round		Dinamo Tbilisi	3–2, 1–0
		2nd Round		Ipswich Town	0–1, 1–0 (4–2 pen)
		3rd Round		Panathinaikos	2–2, 0–1
2003	Intertoto Cup	2nd Round		Shamrock Rovers	2–0, 2–0
		3rd Round		Racing Santander	1–0, 2–1
		Semi-finals		Schalke 04	1–2, 0–0
2004	Intertoto Cup	2nd Round		FK ZTS Dubnica	2–1, 5–0
		3rd Round		Roda JC	1–0, 1–1
		Semi-finals		Nantes	1–0, 1–2
		Finals		Schalke 04	1–2, 0–1
2005	Intertoto Cup	2nd Round		Beitar Jerusalem	5–1, 2–1
		3rd Round		Roda JC	0–0, 1–1
2006–07	UEFA Champions League	3rd Qual.		Spartak Moscow	0–0, 1–2
	UEFA Cup	1st Round		Red Star Belgrade	2–0, 2–1
		Group C		Sevilla	0–0
				Braga	0–4
				Grasshoppers	4–1
				AZ	2–2
2007	Intertoto Cup	2nd Round		Tobol	1–1, 0–2
2008–09	UEFA Cup	2nd Qual.		Žilina	1–2, 1–2
2009–10	UEFA Europa League	3rd Qual.		Vaduz	1–0, 2–0
		Play-off		Dinamo București	3–0 (c), 0–3 (8–9 pen)
2012–13	UEFA Champions League	2nd Qual.		Shakhter Karagandy	1–0, 1–1 a.e.t.
		3rd Qual.		CFR Cluj	0–1, 1–2
	UEFA Europa League	Play-off		Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	2–2, 2–4
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	2nd Qual.		Skonto	1–2, 1–0
		3rd Qual.		Zürich	2–1, 2–1
		Play-off		Udinese	3–1, 1–1
		Group H		SC Freiburg	2–2, 1–2
				Estoril	2–1, 2–1
				Sevilla	1–1, 1–1
		Round of 32		AZ	0–1, 1–1
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	2nd Qual.		MFK Košice	1–0, 3–0
		3rd Qual.		Astra Giurgiu	0–3, 2–3
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	3rd Qual.		Ironi Kiryat Shmona	2–1, 3–0
		Play-off		Hajduk Split	1–0, 1–0
		Group F		Braga	0–1, 1–2
				Marseille	1–0, 2–4
				Groningen	1–1, 1–0
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	3rd Qual.		Admira Wacker Mödling	2–1, 2–0
		Play–off		AEK Larnaca	1–0, 3–0
		Group J		Fiorentina	1–3, 0–3
				PAOK	1–2, 0–2
				Qarabağ	2–2, 3–0
2020–21	UEFA Europa League	2nd Qual.		Riteriai	5−1
		3rd Qual.		FCSB	2−0
		Play-off		APOEL	1–0
		Group L		Gent	1–0, 2–1
				Red Star Belgrade	1–5, 0–0
				1899 Hoffenheim	0–5, 0–2

UEFA club coefficient ranking

After 2018/19 season, Source: [1]

Rank	Team	Points
147	HJK Helsinki	9.000
148	FC Sion	9.000
149	FC Slovan Liberec	9.000
150	FC Spartak Trnava	8.500
151	AEK Larnaca	8.000

Honours

• Czech First League
  • Winners (3): 2001–02, 2005–06, 2011–12
• Czech Cup
  • Winners (2): 1999–2000, 2014–15
• UEFA Cup
  • Quarter-finals: 2001–02
• UEFA Intertoto Cup
  • Finals: 2004

Club records

Czech First League records

• Best position: 1st (2001–02, 2005–06, 2011–12)
• Worst position: 12th (2014–15)
• Biggest home win: Liberec 6–0 Ostrava (2014–15)
• Biggest away win: Benešov 0–5 Liberec (1994–95)
• Biggest home defeat: Liberec 0–5 Olomouc (2009–10), Liberec 0–5 Sparta (2021–22)
• Biggest away defeat: Sparta 7–1 Liberec (1994–95), Plzeň 6–0 Liberec (2013–14)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FC Slovan Liberec.

• Official website (in Czech)
• Official channel on YouTube (in Czech)
• Official fans' website (in Czech) (archived 11 April 2010)