Luboš Kubík (born 20 January 1964) is a Czech former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

and former manager of

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

, who played libero for the

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

national teams, winning 56 caps in total, and a number of notable clubs. He is currently an assistant coach with the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ...

Playing career

Kubík was born in Vysoké Mýto,

Pardubice Region Pardubice Region ( cs, Pardubický kraj; , ; pl, Kraj pardubicki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located mainly in the eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia, with a small part in northwestern Moravia. I ...

and began his career in 1981 with ''Hradec Králové'', and moved to local powers

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

the following year. He made his international debut for Czechoslovakia in 1985. In 1988, Kubík and fellow Czechoslovakian international Ivo Knoflíček defected to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

from a training camp in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. In January 1989, they attempted to sign for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

as free agents, and were presented as new signings by the club's then-owner, the Czechoslovak-born

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from ...

, during a match against

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

. However, both players were still under contract with

, who refused to allow the players to transfer. Later in 1989, he was bought by

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

club Fiorentina, and played there for two years. He moved to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

club

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league ...

in 1991, and then to

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

team

1. FC Nürnberg 1. Fußball-Club Nürnberg Verein für Leibesübungen e. V., often called 1. FC Nürnberg (, en, 1. Football Club Nuremberg) or simply Nürnberg, is a German association football club in Nuremberg, Bavaria, who currently compete in the 2. Bund ...

in 1993, before returning to the

with

Drnovice FK 1. FK Drnovice was a Czech football club based in the Moravian village of Drnovice near Vyškov, founded in 1932. The club played in the top flight of Czech football, the Czech First League, between 1993 and 2002, and again in the 2004/05 season. ...

SK Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in ...

, and

AFK Lázně Bohdaneč AFK or afk may refer to: Songs * "AFK", a song on the 2004 album ''Summer in Abaddon'' by Pinback * "AFK", a song on the 2015 album ''Glyptothek (album), Glyptothek'' by Momus Transportation * Nebraska City Municipal Airport (FAA LID), Unit ...

. Kubík moved to

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

in 1998, joining the expansion team Chicago Fire. While helping the Fire to win both the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

and the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

in their inaugural year, Kubík was named the

MLS Defender of the Year Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the ...

. Kubík continued to be a valuable attacking force from the back in 1999, registering 5 goals and 8 assists, and was named in the

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award The Landon Donovan MVP Award is an annual award for MLS players. It is voted on by ...

for a second time. The Fire traded Kubík to the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wit ...

during the 2001 offseason in exchange for Sergi Daniv. Kubík's final year was again beset by injuries, and he only managed to play 11 games for the Burn. Kubík retired due to injury at the end of the 2001 MLS season and returned to the Czech Republic. Kubík was also a stalwart for the

Czechoslovakian , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and Czech Republic's national teams, representing Czechoslovakia in the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being M ...

and the Czech Republic in Euro 96. He played in his last international game in 1997.

Coaching and managerial career

Kubík had a brief spell working for Hradec Králové and in the summer of 2006 was appointed as manager of Polish side

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław, Śląsk Wrocław () or simply Śląsk, is a Polish football club based in Wrocław that plays in Ekstraklasa, the highest level of the Polish f ...

. However, he was sacked in October 2006 after just 11 league games in charge. He was appointed manager of the English

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...

side

on 27 November 2006 through his close friendship with Torquay chairman Chris Roberts. Despite his impressive playing career, his lack of managerial experience and contacts in England was a problem, not aided by Roberts appointing

Richard Hancox Richard Hancox (born 4 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer. He has held various roles at Torquay United in his career. Career Hancox was born in Stourbridge and first joined Exeter city in 1985, he was not offered a con ...

as Kubik's assistant. Torquay struggled under Kubik, winning just twice in 15 games, and he left club by mutual consent on 5 February 2007, with Torquay deep in relegation trouble. Roberts also resigned as chairman later that month. Torquay would be relegated at the end of the season, ending a 79-year spell in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kubik, Lubos Living people 1964 births People from Vysoké Mýto Men's association football midfielders Czech footballers Czech football managers Czech expatriate football managers Czechoslovak footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers Czechoslovakia men's international footballers 1. FC Nürnberg players ACF Fiorentina players Chicago Fire FC players FC Dallas players FC Hradec Králové players FC Metz players 1. FK Drnovice players SK Slavia Prague players AFK Atlantic Lázně Bohdaneč players Torquay United F.C. managers Śląsk Wrocław managers Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Czech First League players Ligue 1 players Serie A players 1990 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1996 players Czech expatriate footballers Czech expatriate sportspeople in Italy Czech expatriate sportspeople in Germany Czech expatriate sportspeople in the United States Czech expatriate sportspeople in France Czech expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate football managers in England Expatriate football managers in Poland Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Italy Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Czechoslovak expatriate footballers Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in France Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate soccer players in the United States Sportspeople from the Pardubice Region Czechoslovak defectors