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	Petra Kania
Manager	Radoslav Kováč
League	Czech First League
2023–24	9th of 16
Website	https://www.fcslovanliberec.cz
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 professional 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.

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).^[1] Because Liberec was a city where the majority of inhabitants were of German nationality, until 1945, it was Germans who first established clubs and played their own league. The first Czech football club, SK Liberec, was established after World War I on 11 May 1919. In 1922, the original German club FK Rapid Ober Rosenthal became the Czech club SK Rapid Horní Růžodol. In the same year, another Liberec-based club – SK Doubí – was established, followed by AFK Stráž bezpečnosti in 1931. On 27 February 1934, SK Liberec took on the new name of Slavia Liberec so that the Czech footballers could affirm their club's Slavic character at a time when the Nazi regime in neighbouring Germany already represented a serious threat to the former Czechoslovakia as well as all of Europe.

The rivalry that once existed in Liberec between Rapid and Slavia can be compared to a smaller version of the rivalry between Prague's two most famous clubs, Sparta and Slavia. In 1938, the Munich Agreement was signed, in which representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany forced Czechoslovakia to withdraw from their border area and surrender it to Germany. After the city of Liberec was incorporated into the Third Reich, Czech football in the city came to a halt for a full seven years.

At the end of World War II and with the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945, Liberec took on the character of a Czech city. The first post-war match was played in Turnov on 10 June 1945 by Liberec's football club Slavia. On 15 July 1945, representatives of Czech football clubs from the border areas that had started up again met at the Radnice hotel. The result of the meeting was the verdict that each border-area club continue in the same league that it had played in up until 1938. After seven years of forced inactivity, Slavia Liberec was again included in Class I A and Rapid Horní Růžodol in Class II. In February 1948, the Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia. Under the new name of Kolora, Rapid Liberec, formerly Horní Růžodol, fought its way to be promoted to the Czechoslovak First League. Due to the poor restructuring of Czechoslovak physical education and sports, Kolora remained in the second league – yet an administrative decision placed Slavoj Liberec, originally established as Čechie, in the First League. At the time, Slavoj had only played in the regional league. This reorganization created a lot of bad blood in Liberec. After one season, Slavoj was relegated to the second league. Three years later, Kolora once again fought its way up to be promoted to the First League, but the team could not manage to save themselves from relegation the following season.

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 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 Bohemian, one Moravian and ten Slovak teams. Due to the vast distances, the footballers from Liberec even had to board planes to play against teams in Bardejov or Michalovce, located in the eastern parts of the country. In 1971, Slovan again failed in its attempt to be promoted to the First League. Following this were two relegations and promotions back to the second league.

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 Ladislav Škorpil, Slovan Liberec became the first champions of the Czech Republic outside Prague. As Czech champions, the club entered the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, but lost their first tie to that season's eventual tournament winners Milan (0–1, 2–1). Subsequently, the team finished fourth in the league in 2002–03. Due to a league-wide corruption scandal in the 2004–05 season, the club was penalised with a six-point deduction and finished in fifth position with 46 points. In the 2005–06 season, Slovan won their second league title.

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 2008–09 season began with bitter European defeat in the UEFA Cup, as Slovan lost their second qualifying round tie to Slovak club MŠK Žilina. By contrast, the club began their domestic league season with positive results against both of the dominant Prague sides, beating champions Slavia Prague 2–1 and Sparta Prague 3–0. However, a series of poor results against average opposition left the club down in fifth place by the fall. The spring saw Slovan opt for a more offensive approach and brought an improvement in results, with the club winning a derby against local rival Baumit Jablonec and beating an ambitious Mladá Boleslav side by three goals. Croatian striker Andrej Kerić scored 15 goals and became the league's top scorer as the club finished third, qualifying for the newly rebranded UEFA Europa League for the 2009–10 season. In the 2011–12 season, Slovan became league champions for the third time in club history.

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

Since TJ (Tělovýchovná jednota) Slovan Liberec was created in 1958, the club's name has been changed on numerous occasions, reflecting changes in sponsorship. In the 1980s, Slovan Liberec 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.^[5]

As of 7 August 2024^[6]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SVK Ivan Krajčírik (on loan from Widzew Łódź) 2 DF  CZE Dominik Plechatý 3 DF  CZE Jan Mikula 4 DF  SVK Martin Rýzek 5 MF  CZE Denis Višinský 6 MF  UKR Ivan Varfolomeyev 7 FW  CZE Michael Rabušic 8 MF  CZE Marek Icha 9 MF  CZE Michal Hlavatý 10 FW  SVK Ľubomír Tupta 11 MF  CZE Christián Frýdek 13 DF  CZE Adam Ševínský (on loan from Sparta Prague) 14 MF  CZE Matěj Strnad 15 MF  KOS Qëndrim Zyba 16 FW  NED Olaf Kok

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 DF  CZE Josef Koželuh 20 DF  CZE Dominik Preisler 21 FW  SVK Lukáš Letenay 24 MF  SVK Patrik Dulay 25 MF  NGA Ahmad Ghali 26 MF  EQG Santiago Eneme 27 DF  UGA Aziz Kayondo 28 FW  GHA Benjamin Nyarko 29 MF  CZE Sebastian Kop 30 DF  CZE Denis Halinský (on loan from Slavia Prague) 31 GK  CZE Hugo Jan Bačkovský 32 GK  CZE Lukáš Hasalík 33 DF  GRE Marios Pourzitidis

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  CZE Tomáš Polyák (at Pardubice) — DF  CZE Ondřej Lehoczki (at Opava) — MF  CZE Milan Lexa (at Varnsdorf)

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  CZE Lukáš Pešl (at Varnsdorf) — MF  CZE Jakub Hudák (at Varnsdorf)

As of 16 December 2024.^[7]

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 218 5 Michael Rabušic 197 6 Miroslav Holeňák 184 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 44 4 Andrej Kerić 32 5 Leandro Lázzaro 30 Josef Šural 7 Josef Obajdin 26 8 Petr Papoušek 24 9 Jan Blažek 23 10 Martin Barbarič 22

#	Name	Clean sheets
1	Ladislav Maier	50
2	Zbyněk Hauzr	49
3	Antonín Kinský	43

• Seasons spent at Level 1 of the football league system: 31
• 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

Notes: † six points deducted

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

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

• 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

• 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)

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