Martin Dúbravka (born 15 January 1989) is a Slovak 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 le ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and the Slovakia national team. After playing in the top flights of Slovak, Danish and Czech football, Dúbravka joined English club Newcastle United in January 2018, initially on loan. He won the club's

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

award in the 2019–20 season. He spent part of the 2022–23 season on loan at

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, playing twice in their

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

-winning campaign. Dúbravka represented Slovakia at under-21 level, before making his senior international debut in May 2014. He started all three of Slovakia's games at

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

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.

Club career

Žilina

In the

2009–10 Slovak Superliga The 2009–10 season of the Slovak Superliga (also known as ''Corgoň Liga'' due to sponsorship reasons) was the 17th season of the league since its establishment. It began on 10 July 2009 and ended on 15 May 2010. Slovan Bratislava were the defe ...

he played 26

Slovak Superliga The Slovak Super Liga is the top level football league in Slovakia, currently known as the Fortuna Liga due to a sponsorship arrangement. It was formed in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The record for most titles is eleven, he ...

games, finishing as a league champion. He became a first choice after the transfer of

Dušan Perniš Dušan Perniš (born 28 November 1984) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Dubnica. Perniš has been capped for Slovakia at senior level. Club career Perniš began his professional football career at FC Nitra, in ...

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 team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in the

play-off round The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

against

Sparta Prague ) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští'' , ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena , capacity = 19,416 , clubname = Sparta Prague , image = Sparta Praha logo.png , image_size = 160px , fu ...

Esbjerg

On 30 January 2014, he signed a 3½-year deal with the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...

club

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)

Slovan Liberec

Dúbravka joined

Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles and the domesti ...

of the

Czech First League The Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically r ...

in July 2016 on a one-year contract.

Sparta Prague

He joined

in June 2017, signing a three-year contract.

Newcastle United

In January 2018,

showed interest in Dúbravka, initially offering Sparta Prague a

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

for €500,000, with an option to sign in the summer for €4.5 million. He finally joined the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

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. He made his debut on 11 February, playing a pivotal role and keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win against

. After a very successful loan spell, he signed permanently for Newcastle on 30 May 2018 for an undisclosed fee of around €5 million. On 17 February 2019 in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, Dúbravka was recognised as the 2018 Player of the Year by the North East Football Writers' Association, joining the likes of

Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...

and

Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. With 134 caps, he is the second-highest capped Republic of Ireland player. Given started his career at Celtic, however he neve ...

. 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". ''

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is a football magazine published by Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4-4-2. In 2008, it was announced that ''FourFourTwo'' had e ...

'' 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 Becker Álisson Ramsés Becker (born 2 October 1992), known as Alisson Becker or simply Alisson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team. He is widely regarded to ...

(

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

) and

David de Gea David de Gea Quintana (born 7 November 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Manchester United. During the mid-2010s, he was widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Born in Madrid ...

(Manchester United). While Dúbravka was ever present for Newcastle for the next two seasons, he was mostly replaced in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

and

, by either

Karl Darlow Karl Darlow (born 8 October 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Newcastle United. He is the grandson of former Wales international forward Ken Leek who was included in the Welsh 1958 W ...

Freddie Woodman Frederick John Woodman (born 4 March 1997) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Preston North End F.C., Preston North End. Woodman sta ...

. His performances during the 2019–20 season, saw him win the club's Player of the Year award. In August 2020, Dúbravka injured his ankle in a training session prior to the start of the 2020–21 season. Darlow played in his absence and he returned to the bench for the club's last match of the year, a 0–0 draw with Liverpool. On 9 January 2021, Dúbravka started his first match of the season, in a

extra-time loss to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. On 27 February, Dúbravka started his first league match of the season in a 1–1 draw with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. Afterwards, he went on to make twelve more appearances in goal as Newcastle, despite having been in a relegation battle for much of the season, finished in twelfth place.

Loan to Manchester United

Dúbravka lost his place in the starting line-up to Nick Pope after the

England international The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

signed from

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

. On 1 September 2022, he joined

on a season-long loan from Newcastle. On 3 September 2022, it was confirmed that he would wear the number 31 shirt last worn by

Nemanja Matić Nemanja Matić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Матић, ; born 1 August 1988) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Italian Serie A club Roma. Starting his career as an attacking midfielder, Matić shifted to a d ...

. He made his debut in United's 4–2 win over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

in the EFL Cup third round on 10 November 2022. Newcastle recalled Dúbravka from the loan on 1 January 2023. He made two appearances, both in the

2022–23 EFL Cup The 2022–23 EFL Cup is the 63rd season of the EFL Cup (known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons). The competition is open to all clubs participating in the Premier League and the English Football League. The winner of the competition ...

, keeping one clean sheet.

Return to Newcastle

Dúbravka played in Newcastle's 2–1 FA Cup third round defeat to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

. He made his first Premier League appearance since the last day of the previous season on 18 February 2023, replacing Elliot Anderson after Nick Pope was sent off for handling the ball outside the penalty area in the 2–0 home defeat to Liverpool. Dúbravka was

cup-tied In association football, a player who has appeared for a football club during a knockout cup but subsequently transfers to another club is ineligible to play for the new club in the remainder of that season's cup competition. Such a player is said ...

for the 2023 EFL Cup final on 26 February, having played for Newcastle's opponents in the third and fourth rounds, which Manchester United won 2–0.

International career

Dúbravka made 10 appearances for the Slovakia under-21 team. On 23 May 2014, Dúbravka made his debut for the

Slovakia national football team The Slovakia national football team ( sk, Slovenská futbalová reprezentácia) represents Slovakia in men's international football competition and it is governed by the Slovak Football Association (SFZ), the governing body for football in Slo ...

in a 2–0 win over

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

.Slovensko vyhralo nad Čiernou Horou 2:0, Kozákovi chýbala atmosféra
, SME.sk. Retrieved 25 May 2014 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 }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

(3–1 loss), on 12 January he was fielded in an unofficial friendly match against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates. Slovakia lost the game 6–0, despite only trailing 1–0 at half time. This match also marked the first time Dúbravka conceded in the national team and he was also Slovak

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

for the game, being the most experienced with international football. He made his competitive debut in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier, against

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

(2–1 win), on 10 June 2017, when the preferred goalkeeper in the qualification,

Matúš Kozáčik Matúš Kozáčik (; born 27 December 1983) is a Slovak retired football goalkeeper who last played for Czech club Viktoria Plzeň, and who now serves as a goalkeeping coach with the club's first team. Club career While Kozáčik was playing for ...

, was unavailable due to injury. He however achieved his first competitive clean sheet on 1 September in a home

qualifier In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure which ''modifies'' the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", provi ...

against

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. Slovakia won thanks to an 81st-minute goal by

Adam Nemec Adam Nemec (; born 2 September 1985) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga I side FC Voluntari. In his career, he has played in seven different countries but mostly for teams in Germany and Romania. During 13 years ...

. Just as in the previous

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

, 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 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 b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. In the match against Scotland, Dúbravka made a series of saves before he was finally beaten by an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

from

Martin Škrtel Martin Škrtel (born 15 December 1984) is a Slovak former professional footballer, a former player and captain of the Slovakia national team and Liverpool Football Club. Škrtel previously played for FK AS Trenčín and Zenit Saint Petersburg, ...

. Dúbravka missed all the national team fixtures of 2020 due to injuries ruling him out of play during the autumn of the year, he returned to the national team in March 2021, in a 0–0 draw with

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. He made notable saves in the second half preventing and upset loss and received some praise for them, while the team received overall criticisms for the upset result and the performance labelled as "boring". He was named in Slovakia's final squad for

, where he played in all three group matches. Going into the match against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

on 23 June, Slovakia had a slim chance to advance to the knockout stage as a third-placed team. Dúbravka started well, saving a penalty from

Álvaro Morata Álvaro Borja Morata Martín (; born 23 October 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team. He began his career at Real Madrid, making his debut with the sen ...

in the twelfth minute. After a shot from

Pablo Sarabia Pablo Sarabia García (; born 11 May 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Spain national team. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a right winger. After pl ...

hit the crossbar, he tried to tip the ball away and instead punched the ball into his own net. In doing so, he became the first goalkeeper in European Championship history, to save a penalty and score an own goal in the same match. Dúbravka would go on to concede four goals, as Spain won the match 5–0.

Style of play

Dúbravka is a third-generation

: his father and grandfather also played in the position. 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". Louise Taylor of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' christened Dúbravka the "reluctant keeper" after he admitted his favourite position to play is

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

; he sometimes plays as an outfielder in training and coaching staff have suggested that he switch to a

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

role.

Personal life

Dúbravka lives with his girlfriend Lucia, and his dog. The couple had their first child in March 2021.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Manchester United *

: 2022-23 Žilina *

: 2009–10, 2011–12 *

Slovak Super Cup The Slovak Super Cup (''Slovenský Superpohár'' in Slovak), in the past named as ''Matičný pohár'' or ''Pribinov pohár'', was a football match between the champion of the Corgoň Liga and winner of the Slovak Cup. The cup was played annual ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Slovakia *

King's Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Individual * Newcastle United Player of the Year: 2019–20

References

External links

Profile
at the Newcastle United F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dubravka, Martin 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Žilina Slovak footballers Association football goalkeepers MŠK Žilina players Esbjerg fB players FC Slovan Liberec players AC Sparta Prague players Newcastle United F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Slovak Super Liga players Danish Superliga players Czech First League players Premier League players UEFA Euro 2020 players Slovakia youth international footballers Slovakia under-21 international footballers Slovakia international footballers Slovak expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in the Czech Republic Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate footballers in England Slovak expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Slovak expatriate sportspeople in England