Svatopluk Pluskal

Svatopluk Pluskal
	Pluskal in 1962
Personal information
Date of birth	28 October 1930
Place of birth	Zlín, Czechoslovakia
Date of death	29 May 2005 (aged 74)
Place of death	Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team
1947–1951	SK Letná Zlín
1952–1966	Dukla Prague
1966–1967	LIAZ Jablonec
International career
1952–1965	Czechoslovakia
Managerial career
1969–1970	Bohemians Prague
1971–1974	Enosis Neon Paralimni
1976–1978	Enosis Neon Paralimni
1978–1979	Škoda Plzeň
1983–1985	Enosis Neon Paralimni
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Czechoslovakia
FIFA World Cup
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Svatopluk Pluskal (28 October 1930 – 29 May 2005) was a

defensive midfielder. He won a silver medal at the World Cup in Chile in 1962, representing Czechoslovakia

.

Early life

Svatopluk Pluskal started playing football in his home town, where he played for several clubs. With (Baťa Zlín – Svit Gottwaldov) he achieved promotion to the top league. He achieved individual success when he was selected for the junior international team. He was able to play in most positions, but in Zlín he played mainly as a

striker

.

Club career

In 1951 he moved to Prague where he became an important player for a newly founded army football club (ATK, later called ÚDA and Dukla Prague), for whom he played mainly as a defensive midfielder. In almost 16 years with this club, he was eight-time champion of the league but he achieved his most important successes at the club level in the United States. Dukla Praha with Pluskal in its line-up won the "American Cup" (a tournament of teams from football-developed countries) three times in a row in the first half of the 1960s. In 1962 Pluskal scored the winning goal in the final against Brazilian team FC America.

International career

He played in the

play-off

had to decide, and Northern Ireland beat them for the second time, this time 2–1 after extra time.

In the

World Cup in England, but with this his international career ended. He played 56 matches in Czechoslovak colours and scored one goal.^[2]

Thanks to his important contribution to the success in Chile, Pluskal received recognition on the international stage. On 23 October 1963, he was a member of the "Rest of the World" team that took on England at Wembley in front of 100,000 fans, to celebrate 100 years of English football. A year later, he played for the "Europe" team in Belgrade against Yugoslavia, and appeared for Europe again in 1965 against Great Britain.^[3]

Pluskal's career was ended by a knee injury in 1967. In the league he played 282 matches and scored 37 goals. He was a universal footballer, a good header of the ball, and he was famous for his slide tackles, with which he cleanly took the ball from his opponents. Although players often protested against this style of play, referees usually considered it to be within the rules. During his football career, this tireless fighter became an impenetrable shield, able to concentrate on what was needed. Off the field, he helped the team with his easy humour.