Ľubomír Šatka

Ľubomír Šatka (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈʎubɔmiːɾ ˈʃatka]; born 2 December 1995) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Ekstraklasa club Lech Poznań and the Slovakia national team.

Ľubomír Šatka

Šatka training with York City in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Ľubomír Šatka[1]
Date of birth	2 December 1995[2]
Place of birth	Ilava, Slovakia
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s)	Centre back[4]
Club information
Current team	Lech Poznań
Number	37
Youth career
0000–2012	Dubnica
2012–2014	Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2017	Newcastle United	0	(0)
2016	→ York City (loan)	6	(0)
2017	→ Dunajská Streda (loan)	10	(0)
2017–2019	Dunajská Streda	59	(3)
2019–	Lech Poznań	38	(1)
National team^‡
2011	Slovakia U17	3	(1)
2012–2013	Slovakia U19	8	(0)
2016–2017	Slovakia U21	2	(1)
2018–	Slovakia	10	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 November 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2020

Club career

Early career

Šatka was born in Ilava, Trenčín Region.[2] A product of Dubnica, he joined Newcastle United in 2012.[5] In 2014, he was included in the senior squad for a friendly tournament to be held in New Zealand.[6] On 3 January 2015, Šatka made his first-team debut in an FA Cup match against Leicester City, which his team lost.[7]

Šatka joined League Two club York City on 29 January 2016 on a one-month youth loan,[8] and made his debut on 6 February as a 58th-minute substitute for Matty Dixon in a 2–0 away defeat to Northampton Town.[9]

Dunajská Streda

Šatka returned to Slovakia to join Dunajská Streda on 10 January 2017 on a six-month loan deal.[10] Satka left Newcastle when his contract expired at the end of the 2016–17 season.[11]

Šatka signed a three-year contract with Dunajská Streda on 18 June 2017.[12]

Lech Poznań

Šatka agreed to sign for Ekstraklasa club Lech Poznań on 29 June 2019 on a four-year contract, only joining the club in mid July after Dunajská Streda's tie in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.[13]

International career

Šatka has been capped by Slovakia at under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels.[14]

Šatka was listed as an alternate in the senior team for the two qualifying matches against Slovenia and England on 1 September 2017.[15] In March 2018, he was called up to the senior team for the first time for two fixtures at the 2018 King's Cup.[16] Although an unused substitute for the 2–1 victory over the United Arab Emirates,[17] he debuted and played the entire final match on 25 March 2018 against Thailand in a 3–2 win.[18]

Ján Kozák's resignation incident

Šatka was nominated for a double fixture against Czech Republic and Sweden on 13 and 16 October 2018, respectively.[19] He was fielded against Sweden in the 83rd, but was notably involved in the controversy, that had led to resignation of Ján Kozák, then Slovakia's longest serving and most successful coach, who introduced him to the national team.

Šatka violated the code of conduct of national team player, along with Martin Dúbravka, Michal Šulla, Norbert Gyömbér, Milan Škriniar, Vladimír Weiss and Stanislav Lobotka. On the night of 13 October 2018, after loss in Slovakia's second UEFA Nations League fixture and a derby match against Czech Republic (1–2), they left the hotel and went out, missed the bedtime and violated the wellness policy, regarding regeneration and rehabilitation. They were allegedly busted by Ján Kozák at about midnight, admitting to the incident and apologising during the next day. Ján Kozák resigned from the national team in afternoon hours of 14 October, revealing the details of his decision in a press conference on 18 October, to avoid distractions during the preparation for the fixture against Sweden, that was managed by his former assistant Štefan Tarkovič on a caretaker basis. Kozák cited his inability to work with the squad under such conditions as the primary reason, as about a third of the squad was involved. The coach additionally revealed, that when seeking an explanation from Šatka, on the day after the incident, he apparently claimed he "just went out with friends", to which Kozák sarcastically reacted:"If your friends jump out of the window, will you follow them?". President of SFZ, Ján Kováčik, said that the players will be punished by not receiving any financial rewards for any future nominations and performances in the national team during the upcoming qualification cycle.[20]

On 19 October, SFZ published Šatka's statement, in which he apologised to the entire footballing public of Slovakia, including the fans, SFZ, the team and his fans of DAC Dunajská Streda. He stressed that conduct was not aimed against the coach and he was saddened to learn about Kozák's resignation, being thankful to him for a chance in the senior national team. He stated that it was and it will be his honour to represent the country and that he takes lesson from what happened, now concentrating on his career and professionality off the field, accepting any sanctions from the club or SFZ.[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 October 2020

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[lower-alpha 1]		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Newcastle United	2013–14[22]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2014–15[23]	Premier League	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2015–16[9]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2016–17[24]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
York City (loan)	2015–16[9]	League Two	6	0	—		—		—		6	0
Dunajská Streda (loan)	2016–17[25]	Slovak Super Liga	10	0	1	0	—		—		11	0
Dunajská Streda	2017–18[25]	Slovak Super Liga	30	1	3	0	—		—		33	1
	2018–19[25]	Slovak Super Liga	29	2	3	0	—		4[lower-alpha 2]	0	36	2
	2019–20[25]	Slovak Super Liga	—		—		—		2[lower-alpha 2]	0	2	0
	Total		69	3	7	0	—		6	0	82	3
Lech Poznań	2019–20[25][26]	Ekstraklasa	31	1	4	0	—		—		35	1
	2020–21[27]		4	0	1	2	—		4[lower-alpha 2]	0	9	2
	Total		35	1	5	2	—		4	0	44	3
Lech II Poznań	2019–20[25][26]	II liga	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
Career total			111	4	13	2	0	0	10	0	134	6

1. Includes FA Cup, Slovak Cup, Polish Cup
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 15 November 2019[28]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Slovakia	2018	5	0
	2019	3	0
	2020	2	0
Total		10	0

References

1. "Retained and released lists submitted by Premier League clubs". Premier League. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
2. "Ľubo Šatka". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
3. "Ľubomír Šatka". FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
4. Lustig, Nick (27 June 2017). "Lubomir Satka leaves Newcastle to join FC DAC 1904". Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
5. "Mladý Šatka chce zostať v kádri A-tímu Newcastle" [Young Šatka wants to stay in the Newcastle A-team]. SME (in Slovak). Bratislava. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
6. "Newcastle boss Pardew has big hopes for Lubomir Satka". Tribal Football. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
7. "Ľubomír Šatka zažil súťažný debut za Newcastle United" [Ľubomír Šatka experienced a debut for Newcastle United]. aktuality.sk (in Slovak). 3 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
8. Marshall, Anthony (29 January 2016). "Satka agrees York loan switch". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
9. "Games played by Lubomir Satka in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
10. Nagy, Krisztián (10 January 2017). "Ľubomír Šatka: Cieľom európsky šampionát" [Ľubomír Šatka: The aim is the European Championship] (in Slovak). FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
11. King, Dan (9 June 2017). "Magpies submit retained list". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
12. Nagy, Krisztián (18 June 2017). "Ľubomír Šatka podpísal zmluvu na tri plus jeden rok" [Ľubomír Šatka signed a three-year contract] (in Slovak). FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
13. "Lubomir Šatka piłkarzem Lecha Poznań" [Lubomir Šatka is a footballer of Lech Poznań] (in Polish). Lech Poznań. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
14. King, Dan (25 May 2014). "Satka makes Slovakia U21 bow". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
15. "Šatka medzi náhradníkmi trénera Kozáka" [Šatka between the coach's substitutes] (in Slovak). FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
16. King, Dan (15 March 2018). "Slovakia selection for Dúbravka". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
17. "Video: Slovensko porazilo Spojené arabské emiráty a zahrá si finále" [Video: Slovakia defeated the United Arab Emirates and will play the final]. Šport.sk (in Slovak). 22 March 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
18. "Pačindov životný gól pri reprezentačnom debute" [Pačinda's lifetime goal during national team debut] (in Slovak). FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
19. "Tréner Kozák nominoval na Česko a Švédsko aj Škrtela či Pekaríka, pozvánku dostali a mladíci zo Serie A". SportDnes.sk. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
20. a.s., Petit Press. "Kozák vymenoval hráčov, ktorí po zápase s Českom porušili večierku (minúta po minúte)". sport.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 18 October 2018.
21. zväz, Slovenský futbalový. "SR A - Dúbravka, Škriniar, Lobotka, Gyömbér, Šulla a Šatka: Mrzí nás to, bola to chyba a budeme za ňu niesť následky". futbalsfz.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 19 October 2018.
22. "Games played by Lubomir Satka in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
23. "Games played by Lubomir Satka in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
24. "Games played by Lubomir Satka in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
25. "L. Šatka: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
26. "Sezon 2019/20". 90minut. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
27. "Sezon 2020/21". 90minut. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
28. "Šatka, Ľubomír". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 8 October 2019.

External links

• Profile at the Lech Poznań website
• Ľubomír Šatka at Soccerbase