Juraj Kucka
![]() Kucka in 2014
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Personal information | |||
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Full name | Juraj Kucka | ||
Date of birth | 26 February 1987 | ||
Place of birth | Bojnice, Czechoslovakia | ||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
Playing position | Midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team
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Milan | ||
Number | 33 | ||
Youth career | |||
2001–2002 | Prievidza | ||
2002–2004 | Radvaň | ||
2004–2006 | Podbrezová | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2005–2007 | Podbrezová | 42 | (3) |
2007–2008 | Ružomberok | 48 | (9) |
2009–2011 | Sparta Praha | 45 | (11) |
2011–2015 | Genoa | 122 | (9) |
2015– | Milan | 46 | (3) |
National team‡ | |||
2007–2008 | Slovakia U21 | 11 | (0) |
2008– | Slovakia | 52 | (6) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 January 2017. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 November 2016 |
Juraj Kucka (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈjuraj ˈkutska]; born 26 February 1987) is a Slovak footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club Milan in Serie A and the Slovakia national football team.[1] He is nicknamed Kuco, a moniker he was given in kindergarten.[2]
Contents
Club career[edit]
Kucka made his Slovak Super Liga debut for MFK Ružomberok on 11 March 2007. He played six games in his first season. Overall, Kucka played 49 games and scored eight goals for Ružomberok. Czech manager Michal Bílek, coaching Ružomberok in 2008, recommended Kucka for Sparta Praha. In January 2009, he has signed a three-year contract for Sparta. In 2009–10 Czech First League season he won the champions.
Genoa[edit]
On 6 January 2011, he signed a four-and-a-half-year contract for €3.55 million transfer fee[3] with Genoa C.F.C. (later extended one more year to 30 June 2016).[3][4] He made his debut in the Coppa Italia match against Inter on 12 January 2011. He was voted man of the match by Genoa fans after 1–1 draw against Milan on 6 February 2011. Kucka proved immediately to fit fine in the squad, showing a remarkable physical strength and good technical skills, resulting the second best player of Genoa.[5] He scored his first goal for Genoa in a 2–1 away win against Lazio on 18 September 2011.
On 31 August 2011, the last day of transfer window, Inter and Genoa came to an agreement to swap co-ownerships of Juraj Kucka (€8M) and Emiliano Viviano (€5M). In June 2012 Kucka returned to Genoa where he spent 2011–12 season on loan for just €6.5 million, co-currently Samuele Longo returned to Inter for €7M.[6][7]
Milan[edit]
On 28 August 2015, Kucka was signed by A.C. Milan[8] for €3 million[9] However, Milan also paid an unknown parties for an additional €1 million.[10] He made his debut on 29 August 2015 in a 2-1 home win against Empoli, and scored his first Milan goal on 9 January 2016 to equalize against Roma in a 1–1 draw.
International career[edit]
Kucka, a former Slovakia under-21 player, made his senior international debut in an friendly match against Liechtenstein on November 19, 2008. Slovakia manager Vladimír Weiss called him up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup despite the fact that Kucka had not played in any qualification matches. He played in three games at the World Cup: against New Zealand, Italy and The Netherlands.
Kucka was called up to the squad for the Euro 2016 tournament in France.
Career statistics[edit]
Club[edit]
- As of 29 January 2017.[11]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Ružomberok | 2006–07 | Super Liga | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
2007–08 | 24 | 5 | — | — | — | 24 | 5 | |||||
2008–09 | 18 | 3 | — | — | — | 18 | 3 | |||||
Total | 48 | 8 | — | — | — | 48 | 8 | |||||
Sparta Praha | 2008–09 | First League | 12 | 3 | — | — | — | 12 | 3 | |||
2009–10 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 27 | 6 | |||
2010–11 | 13 | 3 | — | 11 | 2 | — | 24 | 5 | ||||
Total | 45 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 3 | — | 63 | 14 | |||
Genoa | 2010–11 | Serie A | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||
2011–12 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 2 | ||||
2012–13 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 3 | ||||
2013–14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 2 | ||||
2014–15 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 2 | ||||
2015–16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
Total | 122 | 9 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 127 | 9 | ||||
Milan | 2015–16 | Serie A | 29 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 1 | ||
2016–17 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 20 | 3 | |||
Total | 46 | 3 | 7 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 54 | 4 | |||
Career total | 261 | 31 | 14 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 292 | 35 |
- ^ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
International[edit]
Slovakia national team | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
2009 | 3 | 0 |
2010 | 9 | 0 |
2011 | 6 | 1 |
2012 | 6 | 0 |
2013 | 9 | 1 |
2014 | 4 | 2 |
2015 | 6 | 0 |
2016 | 9 | 2 |
Total | 52 | 6 |
International goals[edit]
- As of match played 11 November 2016. Slovakia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kucka goal.[11]
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 August 2011 | Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria | 17 | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
2 | 15 November 2013 | Stadion Miejski, Wrocław, Poland | 35 | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
3 | 9 October 2014 | Štadión pod Dubňom, Žilina, Slovakia | 37 | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
4 | 15 November 2014 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia | 39 | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying |
5 | 29 May 2016 | WWK Arena, Augsburg, Germany | 46 | ![]() |
3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
6 | 11 November 2016 | Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava, Slovakia | 52 | ![]() |
2–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours[edit]
Club[edit]
- Sparta Praha[12]
- Gambrinus liga (1): 2009–10
- Supercup (1): 2010
- Milan
References[edit]
- ^ "Slovakia – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ Nobilini, Simone (8 June 2016). "Juraj Kucka: la Nazionale Slovacca e il perchè del nome "Kuco"" [juraj Kucka: Slovakia national team and the reason for the name "Kuco"]. milannews.it (in Italian). Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- ^ a b Genoa CFC SpA Report and Accounts on 31 December 2011 (Italian)
- ^ "Kucka definitívne hráčom Janova, podpísal 4,5-ročnú zmluvu" (in Slovak). profutbal. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
- ^ Only Kakha Kaladze did better than him according to the Italian sports newspaper la Gazzetta dello Sport, see Filippo Grimaldi, Marcello Pirovano, Carrarmato Kucka: che affare
- ^ Genoa CFC SpA Report and Accounts on 30 June 2012 (Italian)
- ^ FC Internazionale Milano SpA Report and Accounts on 30 June 2012 (Italian)
- ^ "MILANELLO: ARRIVATO JURAJ KUCKA" (in Italian). A.C. Milan. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ^ Genoa C.F.C. S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2015, PDF purchased from CCIAA (in Italian)
- ^ A.C. Milan S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2015, PDF purchased from CCIAA (in Italian)
- ^ a b Juraj Kucka profile at Soccerway
- ^ http://us.soccerway.com/players/juraj-kucka/35495/
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Player profile (Italian)
- Juraj Kucka at National-Football-Teams.com
- Juraj Kucka – FIFA competition record
- 1987 births
- Living people
- People from Bojnice
- Association football midfielders
- Slovak footballers
- Slovakia international footballers
- FO ŽP Šport Podbrezová players
- MFK Ružomberok players
- AC Sparta Prague players
- Genoa C.F.C. players
- Slovak Super Liga players
- Czech First League players
- Serie A players
- Slovak expatriate footballers
- Slovak expatriates in the Czech Republic
- Slovak expatriates in Italy
- Expatriate footballers in the Czech Republic
- Expatriate footballers in Italy
- 2010 FIFA World Cup players
- A.C. Milan players
- UEFA Euro 2016 players