Martin Dúbravka

Martin Dúbravka (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmaɾtin ˈduːbɾaʊ̯ka]; born 15 January 1989) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Slovakia national team.

Martin Dúbravka
Dúbravka with Newcastle United in 2018
Personal information
Full name Martin Dúbravka[1]
Date of birth (1989-01-15) 15 January 1989[2]
Place of birth Žilina, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Newcastle United
Number 1
Youth career
Žilina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2013 Žilina 98 (0)
2014–2016 Esbjerg 66 (0)
2016–2017 Slovan Liberec 28 (0)
2017–2018 Sparta Prague 11 (0)
2018 → Newcastle United (loan) 12 (0)
2018– Newcastle United 76 (0)
National team‡
2007–2008 Slovakia U19 6 (0)
2009–2010 Slovakia U21 12 (0)
2014– Slovakia 24 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:06, 26 July 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2019

Early life

As a child, Dúbravka enjoyed playing ice hockey as well as football, and could have moved into the former sport were it not for a leg injury he sustained when he was five years old.[4]

Club career

Early career

Dúbravka made his first-team debut in a 5–2 home win against Dubnica on 26 May 2009. In the next season he played 26 Slovak Superliga games, finishing as a league champion. He became a first choice after the transfer of Dušan Perniš in January 2010. He qualified with Žilina to the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League and played all 6 group games. He kept a clean sheet in the play-off round against Sparta Prague.[5] On 30 January 2014, he signed a 3½ year deal with the Danish Superliga club Esbjerg fB.[6]

Dúbravka joined Slovan Liberec of the Czech First League in July 2016 on a one-year contract.[7][5] He joined Sparta Prague in June 2017, signing a three-year contract.[5]

Newcastle United

In January 2018, Newcastle United showed interest in Dúbravka, initially offering Sparta Prague a loan for €500,000, with an option to sign in the summer for €4.5 million. He finally joined the Premier League side on 31 January 2018, the final day of the winter transfer window on a half-year loan deal, due to expire at the end of 2017–18 season. According to isport.cz, he joined the club for €2 million, with an option to sign in the summer for €4 million.[8] He made his debut on 11 February, playing a pivotal role and keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win against Manchester United.[9] He became the sixteenth Slovak player and only the second Slovak goalkeeper, after Ján Mucha, to start in a Premier League fixture.

After a very successful loan spell, he signed permanently for Newcastle on 30 May 2018 for an undisclosed fee of around €5 million.[10] On 17 February 2019 in Durham, Dúbravka was recognised as the 2018 Player of the Year by the North East Football Writers' Association, joining the likes of Alan Shearer, Kevin Keegan and Shay Given. He became the seventh goalkeeper to win the award, over its thirty-nine seasons. Dúbravka stated that he was happy to win the award because "amazing players have won this trophy before".[11] FourFourTwo ranked Dúbravka as the twentieth best player of the Premier League, in the 2018–19 season. He was the highest ranked goalkeeper, ahead of highly valued goalkeepers such as Alisson (Liverpool) and David de Gea (Manchester United).[12]

International career

Dúbravka, a former under-19 and under-21 national player, was selected for the Slovakia national football team for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying home game against the Republic of Ireland.

On 23 May 2014, Dúbravka made his national team debut in a 2–0 win over Montenegro.[13]

In January 2017, he played his first full game for the national team, having played 45 minutes in both of his previous matches. While he was benched against Uganda (1–3 loss), on 12 January he was fielded in an unofficial friendly match against Sweden in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Slovakia lost the game 0–6, despite only trailing 0–1 at half time. This match also marked the first time Dúbravka conceded in the national team and he was also Slovak captain for the game, being the most experienced with international football.[14][15]

He made his competitive debut in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier, against Lithuania (2–1 win), on 10 June 2017, when the preferred goalkeeper in the qualification, Matúš Kozáčik, was unavailable due to injury. He however achieved his first competitive clean sheet on 1 September in a home qualifier against Slovenia. Slovakia won thanks to an 81st-minute goal by Adam Nemec. Just as in the previous cap, Dúbravka was chosen due to a prolonged injury of Kozáčik. After Kozáčik's return to the squad, Dúbravka remained the preferred choice for the remaining matches against England, Scotland and Malta. In the match against Scotland, Dúbravka made a series of saves before he was finally beaten by an own goal from Martin Škrtel.[16]

Ján Kozák's resignation incident

Dúbravka was called up for a double fixture against Czech Republic and Sweden on 13 October and 16 October 2018, respectively.[17] He played the entirety of both games, but was also involved in an incident, that had led to resignation of Ján Kozák, then Slovakia's longest-serving and most successful coach, who introduced him to the national team.

Dúbravka violated the code of conduct of national team players, along with Michal Šulla, Norbert Gyömbér, Ľubomír Šatka, Milan Škriniar, Vladimír Weiss and Stanislav Lobotka. On the night of 13 October 2018, after a 2–1 loss in Slovakia's second UEFA Nations League fixture and a derby match against the Czech Republic, they left the hotel and went out, missed the bedtime and violated the wellness policy, regarding regeneration and rehabilitation. They were allegedly discovered by Kozák at about midnight, admitting to the incident and apologising during the next day. Kozák resigned from the national team during the afternoon 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 such squad under these conditions as the primary reason, as almost a third of the team was concerned, including players, those Kozák described as crucial, with Dúbravka being a part of this group. President of SFZ, Ján Kováčik, said that the players will be punished by not receiving any financial rewards for future nominations and performances in the national team during the upcoming qualification cycle. During the press conference, Kozák also revealed that Dúbravka had claimed "difficult times at Newcastle" as one of the reasons for his conduct.[18]

On 19 October, SFZ published Dúbravka's official statement. He acknowledged that missing the bedtime was a violation, but maintained that the rest was within norms. He accepted any sanctions and stressed that the conduct was not aimed against Kozák, commenting that he regrets that Kozák didn't accept an apology from the trespassers. He also stated that Kozák's resignation surprised him, because of the good relations within the team.[19]

Style of play

Dúbravka is a third-generation goalkeeper: his father and grandfather also played in the position.[20] Dúbravka has been dubbed the "quintessential sweeper-keeper" due to his "outstanding footwork" and he believes "in modern football the keeper's almost like a libero. You need to play with the ball, not just kick it long".[20]

Louise Taylor of The Guardian christened Dúbravka the "reluctant keeper" after he admitted his favourite position to play is right wing; he sometimes plays as an outfielder in training and coaching staff have suggested that he switch to a midfield role.[20]

Personal life

Dubravka lives with his girlfriend Lucia, and his dog.[21]

Career statistics
Dúbravka playing for Žilina in 2010
As of match played 9 January 2021[22]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Žilina 2008–09 Slovak Super Liga 1000000010
2009–10 Slovak Super Liga 260000010270
2010–11 Slovak Super Liga 2401000120370
2011–12 Slovak Super Liga 80000020100
2012–13 Slovak Super Liga 260500020330
2013–14 Slovak Super Liga 130000060190
Total 98060002301270
Esbjerg fB 2013–14 Danish Superliga 150000020170
2014–15 Danish Superliga 330300040400
2015–16 Danish Superliga 180000000180
Total 660300060750
Slovan Liberec 2016–17 Czech First League 280000090370
Sparta Prague 2017–18 Czech First League 110200020150
Newcastle United (loan) 2017–18 Premier League 120000000120
Newcastle United 2018–19 Premier League 3800000—380
2019–20 Premier League 3801000—390
2020–21 Premier League 001000—10
Total 880200000900
Career total 2910130003103440

International
As of match played 19 November 2019[23]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Slovakia 201410
201610
201770
201870
201980
Total240

Honours

Žilina

Slovakia

Individual

References
  1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  2. "Martin Dubravka". ESPN. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  3. "Martin Dubravka: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  4. Edwards, Luke (13 April 2018). "Exclusive Martin Dubravka interview: From hyperactive ice-hockey goalkeeper to Newcastle cult hero – via a freak machete injury". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  5. "Další nováček ve Spartě, z Liberce přichází brankář Dúbravka". idnes.cz (in Czech). 12 June 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  6. uefa.com (30 January 2014). "Esbjerg bring in Dúbravka from Žilina". Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  7. "Liberec ulovil brankáře Dúbravku. Zachytá si už proti vídeňské Admiře?". idnes.cz (in Czech). 28 July 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  8. SPORT.SK, s.r.o. & Ringier Axel Springer Slovakia a.s. (31 January 2018). "Newcastle a Sparta sa dohodli, Dúbravka mieri do Premier League!" (in Slovak). Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  9. "Martin Dubravka: Newcastle United complete permanent deal for Slovakia keeper". BBC Sport. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  10. "Newcastle 1–0 Manchester United". BBC Sport. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  11. "Dúbravka receives North East Football Writers' Association player of the year award". nufc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  12. "The 50 best players in the Premier League - The magazine FourFourTwo have ranked what they..." MARCA English. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  13. Slovensko vyhralo nad Čiernou Horou 2:0, Kozákovi chýbala atmosféra Archived 26 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine, SME.sk, retrieved 25. 5. 2014 (in Slovak)
  14. "Prípravný futbalový zápas: Slovensko prehralo s Ugandou 1:3". www.sportinak.sk (in Slovak). 8 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  15. "Slováci prehrali so Švédskom 0:6. To je niečo strašné, hovorí Kozák". www.sportinak.sk (in Slovak). 12 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  16. English, Tom (6 October 2017). "Scotland still in it after dramatic late win over Slovakia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  17. "Tréner Kozák nominoval na Česko a Švédsko aj Škrtela či Pekaríka, pozvánku dostali a mladíci zo Serie A". SportDnes.sk. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  18. 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.
  19. zväz, Slovenský futbalový. "SR A – Všetci siedmi reprezentanti sa ospravedlňujú: Mrzí nás to, bola to chyba a budeme za ňu niesť následky". www.futbalsfz.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  20. Taylor, Louise (23 February 2018). "Reluctant keeper Martin Dubravka makes right impression at Newcastle". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  21. King, Dan (23 March 2020). "Dúbravka has a canine companion as he recovers from knee injury". nufc.co.uk. Newcastle United. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  22. Martin Dúbravka at Soccerway
  23. "Dúbravka". National-football-teams.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  24. https://www.espn.co.uk/football/lineups?gameId=509792
  25. "Slovakia beat Thailand 3-2, win King's Cup". Bangkok Post. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  26. "Dúbravka wins North East Football Writers' Association player of the year award". nufc.co.uk. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  27. "Martin Dúbravka is Newcastle United's 2019/20 player of the year". nufc.co.uk. 26 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
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