Miroslav Stoch Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Miroslav Stoch
Personal information
Stoch with PAOK in 2019
Date of birth	(1989-10-19) 19 October 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth	Nitra, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.67 m
Playing position	Winger
Youth career
1995–2005	Nitra
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2005–2006	Nitra	4	(0)
2006–2010	Chelsea	4	(0)
2009–2010	→ Twente (loan)	32	(10)
2010–2017	Fenerbahçe	82	(14)
2013–2014	→ PAOK (loan)	30	(7)
2014–2015	→ Al Ain (loan)	25	(9)
2015–2016	→ Bursaspor (loan)	25	(1)
2017–2019	Slavia Prague	59	(16)
2019–2020	PAOK	11	(0)
2021	Zagłębie Lubin	8	(0)
2021–2022	Slovan Liberec	12	(1)
2022–2024	Motorlet Prague	36	(13)
Total		328	(71)
National team
2007–2008	Slovakia U19	12	(11)
2008–2009	Slovakia U21	7	(2)
2009–2019	Slovakia	60	(6)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Miroslav Stoch (born 19 October 1989) is a former professional footballer from Slovakia. He was known for playing as a winger, a player who plays on the sides of the field.

Miroslav Stoch played for the Slovakia national team 60 times. He first played for them in 2009. He also played in big tournaments like the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016. In 2012, he won the amazing FIFA Puskás Award for scoring a fantastic goal from far away!

Club Career Highlights
International Career
Playing Style
International Goals
Trophies and Awards
See also

Club Career Highlights

Starting Out and Chelsea

Stoch with Chelsea in March 2009

Miroslav Stoch's dad saw his talent early on. He joined his local club's academy, Nitra, when he was young. He worked very hard and joined Nitra's main team at just 15 years old! He made his first team debut when he was 16. By then, many European scouts were already watching him.

Chelsea, a famous English club, noticed him and offered him a trial. He did very well and joined Chelsea's youth academy in 2006. He was a top scorer for the under-18 team in the 2006–07 season, even though he played on the wing. He later moved up to the reserve team. Miroslav Stoch made his first appearance for Chelsea's main team on 30 November 2008.

Success with Twente

On 16 July 2009, Stoch joined Twente in the Netherlands on a loan from Chelsea. He quickly started scoring goals for Twente. He scored two goals in a 2–0 win against Heerenveen. He also scored a great goal from long distance against Groningen.

On 2 May 2010, Stoch scored the winning goal against NAC Breda. This helped Twente win the Eredivisie league title for the very first time! He finished the season with 10 league goals.

Joining Fenerbahçe

Stoch during training with Fenerbahçe

Miroslav Stoch moved to the Turkish team Fenerbahçe on 11 June 2010. He signed a four-year deal. He scored his first goal for the club in a Champions League match. Fenerbahçe won the Süper Lig title in the 2010–11 season.

Stoch won the 2012 FIFA Puskás Award for an amazing goal he scored for Fenerbahçe. He hit a volley from outside the penalty area that went right into the top corner of the goal! This goal was against Gençlerbirliği.

Loan Spells and New Clubs

After Fenerbahçe, Stoch went on several loan spells to other clubs. In August 2013, he joined PAOK in Greece for one year. He scored his first goal for PAOK in a Champions League play-off match.

On 3 July 2014, he joined Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates on a one-year loan. He also played for Bursaspor in Turkey on loan in 2015.

Time at Slavia Prague

On 11 August 2017, Stoch joined the Czech club Slavia Prague. He chose this club because they had a good chance to play in the Champions League. He played in the play-off matches, but Slavia didn't make it to the group stage. They then played in the Europa League.

Stoch helped Slavia Prague win the 2017–18 Czech Cup final in May 2018. He also signed a new contract with Slavia in November 2018. He left the club in June 2019 to return to PAOK.

Return to PAOK and Later Clubs

On 29 June 2019, Stoch officially signed a three-year contract to play for PAOK again. However, in August 2020, his contract with PAOK ended.

He later joined Zagłębie Lubin in Poland in February 2021. After that, he played for FC Slovan Liberec in the Czech Republic in September 2021. In September 2022, Stoch made his debut for Motorlet Prague.

International Career

Stoch celebrating his winning goal against Russia on 7 September 2010

Miroslav Stoch first played for the Slovakia senior team on 10 February 2009. He scored his first international goal for Slovakia against San Marino in a World Cup qualifier match on 6 June 2009.

He was chosen for the 2010 FIFA World Cup team. On 7 September 2010, he scored the only goal in a win against Russia in a Euro 2012 qualifying game. On 9 October 2014, Stoch scored the winning goal against the strong team of Spain in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match.

Stoch was part of the team for UEFA Euro 2016. He played in one match during the tournament. He later had a disagreement with the national team coach and was not called up for a while. However, he returned to the national team in November 2018 under a new coach.

Playing Style

Miroslav Stoch said that he looked up to two famous football players, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. He tried to play like them on the field.

International Goals

Here are the goals Miroslav Stoch scored for Slovakia:

List of international goals scored by Miroslav Stoch
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 June 2009	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia	San Marino	4–0	7–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	11 August 2010	Štadión Pasienky, Bratislava, Slovakia	Croatia	1–1	1–1	Friendly
3	7 September 2010	Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow, Russia	Russia	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
4	29 February 2012	Bursa Atatürk Stadium, Bursa, Turkey	Turkey	2–0	2–1	Friendly
5	9 October 2014	Štadión pod Dubňom, Žilina, Slovakia	Spain	2–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
6	29 March 2016	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	Republic of Ireland	1–0	2–2	Friendly