Ľubomír Moravčík Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Ľubomír Moravčík
Personal information
Moravcik (right) at the John Kennedy testmonial match in 2011
Date of birth	(1965-06-22) 22 June 1965 (age 60)
Place of birth	Nitra, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Slovakia (vice-president)
Youth career
	Nitra
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1983–1990	Nitra	119	(30)
1990–1996	Saint-Etienne	197	(31)
1996–1998	Bastia	33	(8)
1998	MSV Duisburg	5	(0)
1998–2002	Celtic	94	(29)
2002	JEF United Ichihara	2	(0)
2003–2004	Nitra
Total		432	(98)
International career
1987–1993	Czechoslovakia	42	(7)
1994–2000	Slovakia	38	(6)
Managerial career
2004–2005	Ružomberok
2005–2008	Slovakia U16
2008	Zlaté Moravce
2016–2017	ŠKF Sereď (assistant)
2017	Zvolen (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ľubomír Moravčík (born June 22, 1965) is a Slovak football manager and former player. He was a very creative midfielder. He was known for his great skill with the ball. He could shoot powerfully and pass the ball perfectly with both feet.

Moravčík played for teams in Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, France, Germany, Japan, and Scotland. While playing for the Scottish club Celtic, he played 129 games. He scored 35 goals and won two Scottish Premier League titles. He also played for the national teams of Czechoslovakia and Slovakia. He was part of the Czechoslovak team at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Club Career Highlights
International Career
After Playing Football
How He Played
Personal Life
Career Statistics
- Club
- International
Honours and Awards
Images for kids
See also

Club Career Highlights

Starting Out in Football

Moravčík started his career at Plastika Nitra in Czechoslovakia. He played his first league game on October 16, 1983. He was part of a very successful group of young players at Nitra.

He played over 170 games for the club. In 1990, he moved to France. He joined Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne. There, he played over 230 matches. Later, he played for Bastia and then MSV Duisburg in Germany.

Time at Celtic

On October 27, 1998, Moravčík joined Scottish Premier League team Celtic. The transfer cost £330,000. He joined up with his fellow Slovak, Jozef Vengloš, who was Celtic's manager.

Even though he was 33 years old, Moravčík became a fan favorite. He formed a great partnership with Henrik Larsson. Moravčík played his first league game for Celtic on November 7, 1998. It was a big 6-1 win against Dundee United. On November 21, he scored two goals against Celtic's rivals, Rangers. Celtic won that game 5–1.

Moravčík played for Celtic for four seasons. He won two Scottish championships. He also won one Scottish Cup and two Scottish League Cups. Many of his former teammates praised his skill with both feet. Moravčík said that playing for Celtic was a "gift from God" to him. He played his last game for Celtic on April 21, 2002.

Playing in Japan

On May 4, 2002, Moravčík announced he was leaving Celtic. He joined JEF United Ichihara in Japan's J-League. This move reunited him with Jozef Vengloš.

Moravčík only played three games for JEF United Ichihara. He suffered an ankle injury. After not being able to recover, he retired from football. This was on September 6, 2002.

International Career

Moravčík played 80 games for his country. He played for Czechoslovakia and Slovakia. His international career lasted from 1987 to 2000.

He first played for Czechoslovakia on November 11, 1987. It was a 2–0 win against Wales. He scored his first goal in a 3–0 win against Switzerland. This was during the qualifiers for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Moravčík played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. He was sent off in the quarter-final game against Germany. Germany won that game 1–0.

His first game for the new Slovak team was on March 30, 1994. It was a 2–1 friendly win against Malta.

After Playing Football

After retiring, Moravčík became a football manager. He coached the Slovak national U-17 team. Then he became the coach of FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce. This team plays in the highest Slovak league.

He is also a vice-president of the Slovak Football Association. He also worked as an assistant coach for ŠKF Sereď. Moravčík also earned an engineering degree. He studied at the Slovak University of Agriculture while playing for Nitra.

How He Played

Moravčík was known for his amazing skill. He was a free kick specialist. He was also famous for being able to use both his left and right feet equally well.

Henrik Larsson said that Moravčík was one of the best players he ever played with. Larsson even said he didn't know if Moravčík was right-footed or left-footed. This shows how good he was with both feet.

Personal Life

Ľubomír Moravčík became a French citizen on November 5, 1996.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Plastika Nitra	1983–84	First League	9	0							9	0
	1984–85		24	4							24	4
	1985–86		29	4							29	4
	1986–87	First League	27	7							27	7
	1987–88		24	3							24	3
	1988–89		30	6							30	6
	1989–90		29	14							29	14
	Total		172	38							172	38
Saint-Étienne	1990–91	French Division 1	37	7							37	7
	1991–92		32	4							32	4
	1992–93		34	5							34	5
	1993–94		33	4							33	4
	1994–95		27	4							27	4
	1995–96		34	7							34	7
	Total		197	31							197	31
Bastia	1996–97	Division 1	21	6							21	6
	1997–98	Division 1	12	2							12	2
	Total		33	8							33	8
MSV Duisburg	1998–99	Bundesliga	5	0							5	0
Celtic	1998–99	Premier League	14	6	3	0	0	0	0	0	17	6
	1999–00		30	8	1	0	4	1	4	0	39	9
	2000–01		27	9	5	1	3	1	5	3	40	14
	2001–02		23	6	1	0	3	0	6	0	33	6
	Total		94	29	10	1	10	2	15	3	129	35
JEF United Ichihara	2002	J1 League	2	0	0	0	1	0	-		3	0
Career total			450	98	10	1	11	2	15	3	486	104

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Czechoslovakia	1987	1	0
	1988	5	0
	1989	8	1
	1990	12	1
	1991	6	2
	1992	6	1
	1993	6	1
Total		44	6
Slovakia	1994	6	2
	1995	8	0
	1996	5	1
	1997	3	0
	1998	10	3
	2000	5	0
Total		37	6
Career total		81	12

Moravčík's team's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Moravčík goal.

International goals by Ľubomír Moravčík
No.	Team	Cap	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	Czechoslovakia	13	25 October 1989	Stadion Letná, Prague, Czechoslovakia	Switzerland	3–0	3–0	1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
2		26	14 November 1990	Stadion Evžena Rošického, Prague, Czechoslovakia	Spain	3–2	3–2	UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
3		27	27 March 1991	Andrův stadion, Olomouc, Czechoslovakia	Poland	2–0	4–0	Friendly
4		31	25 September 1991	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	2–1	3–2	Friendly
5		35	19 August 1991	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia	Austria	2–2	2–2	Friendly
6		39	24 March 1993	Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus	Cyprus	1–0	1–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	Slovakia	2	20 April 1994	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia	Croatia	4–1	4–1	Friendly
8		5	12 October 1994	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Israel	1–0	2–2	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
9		18	31 August 1996	Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	1–0	2–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10		24	6 February 1998	Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus	Slovenia	1–1	1–1	Friendly
11		25	7 February 1998	Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus	Iceland	2–0	2–1	Friendly
12		30	5 September 1998	Štadión Lokomotívy, Košice, Slovakia	Azerbaijan	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying