Marek Čech (Slovak footballer)

Marek Čech (born 26 January 1983) is a retired Slovak professional footballer.[2] He primarily played as an attacking left-sided full-back or wing-back.

This article is about the Slovak defender. For the Czech goalkeeper, see Marek Čech (Czech footballer).
Marek Čech
Čech playing in the Champions League with Trabzonspor in 2011
Personal information
Full name Marek Čech[1]
Date of birth (1983-01-26) 26 January 1983[1]
Place of birth Trebišov, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Left back
Youth career
Trebišov
Inter Bratislava
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2004 Inter Bratislava 71 (1)
2004–2005 Sparta Prague 17 (0)
2005–2008 Porto 78 (2)
2008–2011 West Bromwich Albion 54 (2)
2011–2013 Trabzonspor 44 (1)
2013–2014 Bologna 11 (0)
2015 Boavista 15 (1)
2016 Como 4 (0)
Total 294 (7)
National team
2004–2013 Slovakia 52 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He won the Primeira Liga in each of his three seasons at Porto, in addition to titles at Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague earlier in his career. He also spent time at West Bromwich Albion in England and Trabzonspor in Turkey, in addition to two brief spells in Italy at the end of his career.

Čech earned 52 caps for Slovakia, having made his debut in 2004. He represented the nation at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Born in Trebišov, Čech began his career with Inter Bratislava, where he won a league and cup double in 2000–01.[3] After helping Sparta Prague to the 2004–05 Czech First League, he transferred to Porto on 31 August 2005 in an undisclosed deal.[4] In the 2005–06 season, he was part of Co Adriaanse's triumphant Primeira Liga- and Taça de Portugal-winning Porto team, and also won the league in his two subsequent seasons.[3]

West Bromwich Albion

On 15 July 2008, Čech signed for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion for £1.4 million, on a three-year contract with the option of a fourth.[3] He made his debut the following month, playing in midfield in a 1–0 defeat to Arsenal in the opening match of the 2008–09 Premier League season.[5] Manager Tony Mowbray referred to him as a "model professional" and said that he had brought the player in to create competition for left-back Paul Robinson.[6] However, he was unable to command a regular place in the side, making just 11 appearances all season.[7]

Following the departure of Mowbray and the sale of Robinson, Čech established himself as an important member of Roberto Di Matteo's squad. He scored his first two goals for West Brom in a 3–1 win over Plymouth Argyle on 12 September 2009.[8] In May 2011, Čech signed a one-year contract extension with West Brom, along with teammate Roman Bednář.[9]

Later career

On 31 August 2011, Čech signed for Turkish Süper Lig club Trabzonspor,[10] on a three-year deal worth €1 million per year.[11]

Čech signed for Serie A club Bologna for a €500,000 fee on 19 August 2013, on a contract of one season with the option of a second.[12] On 5 January 2015 he returned to the city of Porto, signing for Boavista for the remainder of the season as injury cover for their defence.[13] He played 16 games for the Panteras Negras and scored once, equalising in a 3–1 comeback win at home to Vitória S.C. on 15 March.[14] He went back to Italy in March 2016, signing for Como of Serie B.[15]

International career

Čech made his senior international debut for Slovakia on 9 July 2004 at the Kirin Cup in Japan, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–1 loss to the hosts. He scored his first goal on 8 September 2007 in a 2–2 home draw with the Republic of Ireland in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying,[16] and added two more on 21 November in a 5–0 win away to San Marino.[17]

On 6 June 2009, Čech scored another two goals as the Slovaks won 7–0 at home to the same opponents in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.[18] Manager Vladimír Weiss named him in the 23-man squad for the final tournament in South Africa, their first tournament as an independent nation.[19] The team reached the last 16, but he played only once, the opening 1–1 draw with New Zealand in Rustenburg, where he lined up against his West Bromwich teammate Chris Wood. He criticised the vuvuzelas in the crowd for making communication difficult.[20]

Career statistics

International goals
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.8 September 2007Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia Republic of Ireland2 – 22–2UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
2.21 November 2007Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino San Marino0 – 40–5UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
3.0 – 5
4.6 June 2009Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia San Marino1 – 07–0World Cup 2010 Qualifying
5.3 – 0

Honours

Club
Inter Bratislava[3]
Sparta Prague[3]
Porto[3]

International
Slovakia U19

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. p. 26. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. "Marek Čech: Portugalčania nežijú v takom strese ako Slováci". Sme (in Slovak). 21 December 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  3. "Baggies sign Cech". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 15 July 2008. Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
  4. "Porto pick up Sparta's Cech". UEFA. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  5. "Arsenal vs WBA". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 16 August 2008. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2008.
  6. "Boss pleased with Cech impact". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 21 August 2008. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  7. "Marek Cech player statistics". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  8. "West Brom 3–1 Plymouth". BBC. 12 September 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  9. Baggies release three first-team squad members from bbc.co.uk
  10. Cech sözleşme imzaladı (in Turkish) Archived 1 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Profesyonel Futbolcu Marek Cech ve Kulübüyle Anlaşmaya Varılmıştır". Turkish Public Disclosure System (KAP) (in Turkish). 31 August 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  12. "Calciomercato Bologna, preso Marek Cech" (in Italian). Bologna Today. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  13. "Marek Cech volta a Portugal para jogar no Boavista" (in Portuguese). SAPO. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  14. "Boavista vence Vitória de Guimarães e sobe ao 13.º lugar da I Liga" (in Portuguese). SAPO. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  15. "Cech, un'arma in più per le speranze delComo". La Provincia (in Italian). 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  16. Fanning, Dion (9 September 2007). "Familiar failings plague Irish and it's win or bust in Prague". The Observer. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  17. "Slovakia find stride to crush San Marino". UEFA. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  18. "Slovakia's Magnificent Seven Crushes San Marino". Goal. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  19. "World Cup 2010: Martin Skrtel named in Slovakia squad". BBC Sport. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  20. "Marek Cech's criticism of vuvuzelas". Express & Star. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2019.

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