Peter Pekarík (; born 30 October 1986) 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 ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

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 footba ...

club Hertha BSC and the Slovakia national team.

Club career

Žilina

Pekarík, born in

Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of ...

, began playing football at the youth section of his local club. His

Corgoň Liga 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, ...

debut came for ZŤS Dubnica. In his first season, he played 27 matches and came back to

MŠK Žilina MŠK Žilina () is a Slovak football club based in the town of Žilina, that is playing in the Slovak Superliga. Since the league inception in 1993, the club has won 7 titles and comes second in All-time table that makes them one of the most ...

in the summer of 2005. He won the Corgoň Liga in the 2006–07 season, playing 35 matches.

VfL Wolfsburg

Pekarík impressed with great performances in the first half of the 2008–09 season and signed a four-and-a-half-year contract for

side

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

in January 2009. On 31 January 2009, matchday 18, he debuted in the Bundesliga in a 1–1 draw against the 1. FC Köln. At half time, coach

Felix Magath Wolfgang Felix Magath (; born 26 July 1953) is a German football manager and former player. The most notable spell of his playing career was with Hamburger SV, with whom he won three Bundesliga titles, the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final a ...

substituted him for

Cristian Zaccardo Cristian Zaccardo (; born 21 December 1981) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. He mainly played as a centre back, although he was also capable of playing as a full-back or in midfield. He began his club career with Ital ...

. Except for one game, he played in the second half of the season in all games and won with Wolfsburg for the first time in club history the German championship. However, at the end of the season he was substituted more often and lost his place in the starting eleven.

Kayserispor

In August 2011, Pekarík joined Turkish first division side

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits. The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also fi ...

for the 2011–12 season on loan.

Hertha BSC

After a year in Turkey, Pekarík returned to Germany, signing for Hertha BSC. On 31 March 2017, in his eighth season in Germany, Pekarík scored his first

goal in a 3–1 loss against

1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg. Originally founded in 189 ...

. At the moment it was his 151st Bundesliga match.

International career

Pekarík made his Slovakia national team debut against

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

on 10 December 2006. He scored his first international goal in a 7–0 home victory over

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

. He was a part of the Slovakia team at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

and

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 ...

. On 1 June 2021, he played his 100th match for Slovakia in a 1–1 draw in a friendly match against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Slovakia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pekarík goal.''

Honours

MŠK Žilina *

Fortuna Liga 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, ...

: 2006–07 *

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 ...

: 2007 VfL Wolfsburg *

: 2008–09 Hertha BSC *

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Slovakia * King's Cup:

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 Unit ...

References

External links

Profile
at the Hertha BSC website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pekarik, Peter Living people 1986 births Sportspeople from Žilina Slovak footballers Association football fullbacks Slovakia international footballers 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2016 players UEFA Euro 2020 players Slovak Super Liga players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Süper Lig players MŠK Žilina players FK Dubnica players VfL Wolfsburg players Kayserispor footballers Hertha BSC players Slovak expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Turkey Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Turkey FIFA Century Club