Martin Dúbravka

Martin Dúbravka
Dúbravka playing in the UEFA Champions League with Žilina
Personal information
Full name Martin Dúbravka[1]
Date of birth (1989-01-15) 15 January 1989
Place of birth Žilina, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Newcastle United
Number 12
Youth career
Žilina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2013 Žilina 98 (0)
2014–2016 Esbjerg fB 66 (0)
2016–2017 Slovan Liberec 28 (0)
2017–2018 Sparta Prague 11 (0)
2018 → Newcastle United (loan) 12 (0)
2018– Newcastle United 8 (0)
National team‡
2007–2008 Slovakia U19 6 (0)
2009–2010 Slovakia U21 12 (0)
2014– Slovakia 12 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:58, 7 October 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2018

Martin Dúbravka (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmartin ˈduːbraʊ̯ka]; born 15 February 1989) is a Slovakian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Newcastle United.

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.[2]

Club career

Dúbravka made his senior team debut in a 5–2 home win against Dubnica on 26 May 2009. In the next season he played 26 Corgoň Liga 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.[3] On 30 January 2014, he signed a 3½ year deal with the Danish Superliga club Esbjerg fB.[4]

Dúbravka joined Slovan Liberec of the Czech First League in July 2016 on a one-year contract.[5][3] He joined Sparta Prague in June 2017, signing a three-year contract.[3]

In January 2018, Newcastle United had shown 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 half a 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.[6] He made his debut on 11 February, playing a pivotal role and keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win against Manchester United. 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 for an undisclosed fee of around 5 million euros.[7]

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 Republic of Ireland.

Dúbravka made his national team debut against Montenegro on 23 May 2014 (2–0 win).[8]

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.[9][10]

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 a 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 thle squad, Dúbravka remained preferred 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.[11]

Style of play

Dúbravka is a third-generation goalkeeper: his father and grandfather also played in the position.[12] 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".[12]

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 has had coaching staff suggest he switch to a midfield role.[12]

Career Statistics

As of match played 26 August 2018[13]
Club Season League 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 130000060290
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 280000000280
Sparta Prague 2017–18 Czech First League 110200020150
Newcastle United (loan) 2017–18 Premier League 120000000120
Newcastle United 2018–19 Premier League 300000—30
Career total 2180110031002600

Honours

Žilina

References

  1. ↑ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  2. ↑ Edwards, Luke (13 April 2018). "Exclusive Martin Dubravka interview: From hyperactive ice-hockey goalkeeper to Newcastle cult hero – via a freak machete injury". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "Další nováček ve Spartě, z Liberce přichází brankář Dúbravka". idnes.cz (in Czech). 12 June 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  4. ↑ uefa.com (30 January 2014). "Esbjerg bring in Dúbravka from Žilina". Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "Liberec ulovil brankáře Dúbravku. Zachytá si už proti vídeňské Admiře?". idnes.cz (in Czech). 28 July 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ https://www.nufc.co.uk/news/latest-news/magpies-confirm-permanent-d%C3%BAbravka-deal%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  8. ↑ Slovensko vyhralo nad Čiernou Horou 2:0, Kozákovi chýbala atmosféra, SME.sk, retrieved 25. 5. 2014 (in Slovak)
  9. ↑ "Prípravný futbalový zápas: Slovensko prehralo s Ugandou 1:3". www.sportinak.sk (in Slovak). 8 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "Slováci prehrali so Švédskom 0:6. To je niečo strašné, hovorí Kozák". www.sportinak.sk (in Slovak). 12 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  11. ↑ English, Tom (6 October 2017). "Scotland still in it after dramatic late win over Slovakia". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 Taylor, Louise (23 February 2018). "Reluctant keeper Martin Dubravka makes right impression at Newcastle". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  13. ↑ Martin Dúbravka at Soccerway
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