FC VSS Košice

FC VSS Košice

Full name	Football Club VSS Košice
Nickname(s)	žlto-modrí (yellow-blue) VSS
Founded	1952 (as Spartak VSS Košice)
Ground	Štadión Lokomotívy v Čermeli, Košice
Ground Capacity	9,000
Chairman	Blažej Podolák
Manager	Jaroslav Galko
League	DOXXbet liga
2014–15	Fortuna Liga, 6th (relegated)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

FC VSS Košice is a Slovak football club based in Košice, currently playing in second division.

The club, founded in 1952, has won the Slovak League twice, the Slovak Cup five times and the Czechoslovak Cup once. The most successful era of the club was in the 1970s and 1990s years of the 20th century, which they spent mostly in the top tier of Czechoslovak and Slovak Football. Two of the UEFA Euro 1976 champions, namely Dušan Galis and Jaroslav Pollák, played for Košice.

History

Early history

The first club in the city was founded in 1903 as Kassai AC; Slovak: Košický Atletický Klub; Hungarian: Kassai Atlétikai Club. The club's colours were blue and yellow. In 10's years past century the club competed in Championship of Hungarian country. In 1909 Kassai AC won this Championship. Later they played in eastern group in Slovak-Subcarpathian division during four years 1935–38. In 1939–40 the club played Hungarian League I. Most successful Kassai AC players were Szaniszló, Šiňovský, Drotár brothers, Klein, Lebenský, Dráb, Pásztor and others. Many years the club was settled at stadium on Sokoljevova Street with capacity 16,000 spectators. The stadium was often full. After ended World War II three city's clubs Kassai AC, Kassai Törekvés and ČsŠK were fused to one club named Jednota Košice. Jednota began played Czechoslovak League since 1945. In first season they ended league as fourth in Group B. It was nice success at the time.

VSS

VSS Košice kit.

Kassai AC and Jednota became VSS in 1952. The team was called Strojári; in English: Engineers, due to their main sponsors VSS (East-Slovakian Engineering). VSS was a stable member of the Czechoslovak First League and their best placing was second in 1970–71. In 1971 and 1973 VSS qualified for the UEFA Cup. In 1971 they won 2–1 against Spartak Moscow in the home leg and they drwe 0–0 in Moscow and as a first team from Slovakia progrssed to the group stage of the Champions League. Two years later VSS qualified for the UEFA Cup. Against Honvéd FC they won 1–0 home and lost 2–5 away. Most successful VSS players were Andrej Kvašňák, Titus Buberník, Jaroslav Pollák, Dušan Galis (Euro 1976 Champions both), Anton Švajlen, Ján Pivarník, Jozef Bomba, Jozef Desiatnik and others. VSS was renamed to ZŤS in 1978.

90's

The twice Slovak football champions (1997, 1998) were relegated from the premier division in 2003 after the proposed sale of the club to Italian owners^[1] in 2001 by the former owner and late VSŽ steelmaking tycoon Alexander Rezeš fell through. Although Rezeš's^[2] dream to turn 1. FC Košice into a top European club never came true, he managed to lift an average second division team to the first group stage of the UEFA Champions' League in 1997–98. However, the next year's failure to make the same stage of the major European competition, and failure to defend the league title, combined with the change of government which undermined the position of the Rezeš clan (Alexander Rezeš was economy minister of Vladimír Mečiar's government in 1994–97) represented the beginning of the end of the "millionaires". Their home stadium was the Všešportový areál.^[3][4]

1997–98 Champions League campaign

1. FC famously became the first Slovak club to reach the lucrative UEFA Champions League Group Stages when they did so in the 1997–98 season. Also during this Champions League campaign, 1. FC Košice became the first club in the Champions League history to record no points at all in the group stage, losing all their six games.

1. FC Košice are best known outside their homeland for their two clashes with Manchester United in the 1997–98 European Champions League group stages. Manchester United won both legs with the same score, 3–0. During this brief campaign in Europe's most prestigious club competition, Kosice suffered a tragedy when midfielder Milan Čvirik was killed in a car crash at the age of 21.

1. FC Košice kit. Orange and black symbolized of former sponsor VSŽ.

Recent history

2003–04 season, on the brink of financial collapse and relegation from the second division, the owners of 1. FC, were offered help by the president of Steel Trans Ličartovce Blažej Podolák,^[5] one of the favourites to advance to the premier league that season. Steel Trans also paid for the Čermeľ stadium in Košice, where all former 1. FC teams – now under the protective wings of Ličartovce played their matches. In 2004–05 season 1.FC Košice in effect became reserve team of Steel Trans Ličartovce, playing in the third division, group East. Košice, the second largest city in Slovakia, now had no club in the top two divisions (although many can remember two in the Czechoslovak federal league). Another great team from the past, FC Lokomotíva Košice, is in the third division. It was quite difficult to predict the future of football in the city, whose major stadium is in a catastrophic condition and whose football officials turn a deaf ear to cries for help.

Reformed on 17 June 2005, FC Steel Trans Ličartovce was renamed MFK Košice. They ended the season gaining promotion back to the premier league.

Home Stadium

The stadium is in the Čermeľ district, a multi-use stadium in Košice, Slovakia. It is currently used mostly for football matches as the home ground of VSS Košice since 1997. The stadium holds 10,787 (8,787 seated) spectators and was built in 1970. Initially was the stadium used by Lokomotíva Košice and 1.FC Košice (now VSS) have played there since 1997. The Slovakia national football team played there a few matches, but the stadium does not meet UEFA criteria for international events today. The club planned construction of the new stadium for 20,000 spectators in neighbourhood of the old not used Všešportový areál stadium.^[6][7][8][9] The estimated cost of the stadium is €28 million. However, the construction was not launched and it is not clear when it starts.^[10]

Rivalries

MFK Košice's most important rivalry is with FC Lokomotíva Košice. The match between them is called, Košické Derby (Košice Derby). MFK Košice and Lokomotíva Košice include among historically the most successful football teams in the country. The next biggest rivalry is with 1. FC Tatran Prešov. Matches between these two clubs are referred to as the Východniarske derby (Eastern Slovak derby). They also have rivalries with ŠK Slovan Bratislava, FC Spartak Trnava and MŠK Žilina. MFK Košice supporters are called Viva Košice. MFK Košice supporters maintain friendly relations with fans of MFK Zemplín Michalovce and Czech Sparta Prague.

Historical names

Note: The club played 2004–05 season as Steel Trans Ličartovce reserve squad.

Honours

MFK Košice positions in the Slovak Top Division.

Czechoslovakia

• Czechoslovak First League (1925 – 1938, 1945 – 1993)
  • Runners-up (1): 1970–71
• Czechoslovak Cup (1961–1993)
  • Winners (1): 1992–93
  • Runners-up (3): 1963–64, 1972–73, 1979–80
• 1.SNL (1st Slovak National football league) (1969–1993)
  • Winners (3): 1973–74, 1977–78, 1992–93

Slovakia

• Slovak Superliga (1939 – 1944, 1993 – Present)
  • Winners (2): 1996–97, 1997–98
  • Runners-up (3): 1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–00
• Slovak Cup (1961 – Present)
  • Winners (5): 1972–73, 1979–80, 1992–93, 2008–09, 2013–14
  • Runners-up (3): 1980–81, 1997–98, 1999–00
• Slovak Super Cup (1993 – Present)
  • Winners (1): 1997
  • Runners-up (3): 1998, 2009, 2014
• Slovak Second Division (1993 – Present)
  • Winners (1): 2005–06

Czechoslovak and Slovak Top Goalscorer

The Czechoslovak League top scorer from 1944–45 until 1992–93. Since the 1993–94 Slovak League Top scorer.

Year Winner G 1975–76 Ladislav Pavlovič 21 1995–96 Róbert Semeník 29 1996–97 Jozef Kožlej 22 2007–08 Ján Novák 17

¹Shared award

Košice in Europe

UEFA-administered

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Agg.	Home leg	Away leg
1971–72	UEFA Cup	1st. Round	Spartak Moscow	2–3	2–1	0–2
1973–74	UEFA Cup	1st. Round	Budapest Honvéd	3–5	1–0	2–5
1993–94	Cup Winners' Cup	Qualifying	FK Žalgiris	3–1	2–1	1–0
		1st. Round	Beşiktaş	2–3	2–1	0–2
1995	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group Stage	Wimbledon		1–1
			Beitar Jerusalem			5–3
			Charleroi		3–2
			Bursaspor			1–1
1995–96	UEFA Cup	Preliminary	Újpest	1–3	0–1	1–2
1996–97	UEFA Cup	Preliminary	KS Teuta	6–2	2–1	4–1
		Qualifying	Celtic	0–1	0–0	0–1
1997–98	Champions League	1st. Qualifying	ÍA	4–0	3–0	1–0
		2nd. Qualifying	Spartak Moscow	2–1	2–1	0–0
		Group Stage	Manchester United		0–3	0–3
			Juventus		0–1	2–3
			Feyenoord		0–1	0–2
1998–99	Champions League	1st. Qualifying	Cliftonville	13–1	8–0	5–1
		2nd. Qualifying	Brøndby	1–2	0–2	1–0
	UEFA Cup	1st. Round	Liverpool	0–8	0–3	0–5
2000–01	UEFA Cup	Qualifying	Ararat	4–3	1–1	3–2
		1st. Round	Grazer AK	2–3	2–3	0–0
2009–10	Europa League	3rd. Qualifying	FK Slavija	5–1	3–1	2–0
		Play-off	Roma	4–10	3–3	1–7
2014–15	Europa League	2nd. Qualifying	Slovan Liberec	0–4	0–1	0–3

^{Key – Pld: Played, W: Won, D: Drawn, L: Lost, GF: Goals For, GA: Goals Against, GD: Goal Difference.}

Not UEFA-administered

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home leg	Away leg
1964–65	Intertoto Cup	Group B3	Szombierki Bytom	4–2	0–3
			Vorwärts Berlin	0–0	3–0
			Wiener Sportclub	3–2	1–1
1965–66	Intertoto Cup	Group B2	Empor Rostock	0–3	0–1
			Zagłębie Sosnowiec	4–3	0–3
			Radnički Niš	2–7	2–0
1966–67	Intertoto Cup	Group B5	Vorwärts Berlin	1–3	4–0
			Elfsborg	3–0	0–6
			Borussia Neunkirchen	2–0	2–2
1967	Intertoto Cup	Group B6	Dynamo Dresden	0–0	2–1
			AIK	4–0	1–1
			AGF	3–1	1–1
1968	Intertoto Cup	Group B4	Szombierki Bytom	2–3	2–0
			Djurgårdens	1–0	3–2
			Werder Bremen	1–0	3–1
1969	Intertoto Cup	Group 8	Wisła Kraków	0–4	4–0
			Lierse	2–1	1–1
			EfB	3–1	4–0
1970	Intertoto Cup	Group A5	Åtvidaberg	0–1	2–0
			MSV Duisburg	1–1	3–0
			Holland Sport Haag	4–1	2–0
1974	Intertoto Cup	Group 9	ŁKS Łódź	1–1	1–3
			Randers Freja	6–1	3–1
			Sturm Graz	6–0	2–2
1976	Intertoto Cup	Group 11	Widzew Łódź	0–1	0–2
			KB	1–2	2–3
			Start	2–0	1–0

Sponsorship

Club partners

source^[11]

• STEEL TRANS
• City of Košice

Players

Current squad

As of 6 February 2016.^[12] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Matúš Ružinský 2 DF Michal Jonec 3 MF František Vancák 6 MF Dalibor Takáč 7 DF Tomáš Kubík 8 MF Milan Dimun 9 MF Mojmír Trebuňák 10 MF Peter Šinglár (Captain) 13 DF Zoltán Žebík 15 DF Mikuláš Tóth 16 MF Samuel Dancák

No. Position Player 17 FW Boris Gáll 18 DF Ladislav Hirjak 20 MF Kamil Karaš 23 MF Juraj Hovančík 24 FW Róbert Jano 26 FW Jésus Konnsimbal 29 MF Michal Horodník 33 GK Martin Leško 77 MF Kamil Kuzma TBD GK Marián Kello

For recent transfers, see List of Slovak football transfers winter 2015–16.

Out on loan

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

Current technical staff

Position	Staff
First coach	Jaroslav Galko
Assistant coach	Ivan Lapšanský
Assistant coach	Peter Šinglár
Fitness Coach	Rastislav Švický
Goalkeeping Coach	Michal Hurtuk
Youth manager	Ladislav Šimčo
Team chef	Roman Šimko
Team doctor	Ľubomír Jacko
Team doctor	Ján Michalko
Team doctor	Bartolomej Magyar
Masseur	Zoltán Zimmermann
Masseur	Karol Orban

• Last updated: 30 November 2015

Reserve team

MFK Košice B was the reserve team of MFK Košice. They recently played in the Slovak 3. Liga (Eastern division). MFK Košice "B" played home matches at Barca stadium, near Košice. MFK Košice"B" withdrew from the league before 2014/2015 season.

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for MFK.

Past (and present) players who are the subjects of Wikipedia articles can be found here.

Managerial history

Name Nationality Period Jozef Vengloš 1969–73 Jozef Jankech 1973–75 Štefan Jačiansky 1975–76 Alexander Felszeghy 1976–77 Jozef Karel 1980–81 Vladimír Hrivnák 1982 František Skyva 1983 Michal Baránek 1984 Andrej Ištók 1985 Jozef Jankech 1991 Jozef Móder 1992 Ján Zachar 1993 Stanislav Seman 1994 Jozef Obert 1994 Ján Zachar 1994 Dušan Radolský 1995–96 Ján Kozák 1996–97 Karol Pecze 1997–98 Ján Kozák 1998–99

Name Nationality Period Ján Zachar 1999 Ladislav Molnár 1999–00 Jozef Valovič 2000–01 Erik Bogdanovský 2001–02 Jaroslav Gürtler 2002 Ondrej Daňko 2002–03 Bohumil Andrejko 2003 Ján Kozák July 1, 2005 – Jan 5, 2010 Goran Milojević Jan 12, 2010 – June 30, 2010 Žarko Đurović July 1, 2010 – Sept 28, 2010 Štefan Tarkovič Sept 28, 2010 – June 30, 2011 Ladislav Šimčo July 1, 2011 – April 29, 2012 Ján Kozák April 30, 2012 – June 30, 2013 Jaroslav Galko July 1, 2013 – Sept 13 Radoslav Látal Sept 19, 2013 – Nov 29, 2014 Marek Fabuľa Jan 7, 2015 – Sep 21, 2015 Jozef Vukušič Sep 22, 2015 – Dec 31, 2015 Jaroslav Galko Jan 25, 2016 – present

References

External links

• Official website
• FC VSS Košice on Facebook