Luboš Kubík (born 20 January 1964) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * 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. The ...

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 h ...

Playing career

Kubík was born in

Vysoké Mýto Vysoké Mýto (; german: Hohenmaut, also ''Hohenmauth'') is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Its town square is the largest example of its type in the country. ...

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. It ...

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 ...

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

Ivo Knoflíček Ivo Knoflíček (born 23 February 1962) is a Czech football coach and a former player. He played for the Czechoslovakia national team, for which he played 38 matches and scored seven goals. At club level, he played mostly for Slavia Prague ...

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 b ...

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 188 ...

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 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 built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. 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 Cop ...

club

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

, and played there for two years. He moved to Ligue 1 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 sys ...

in 1991, and then to Bundesliga team 1. FC Nürnberg in 1993, before returning to the Czech Republic with Drnovice FK, SK Slavia Prague, and AFK Lázně Bohdaneč. Kubík moved to Major League Soccer in 1998, joining the expansion team Chicago Fire FC, Chicago Fire. While helping the Fire to win both the MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup in their inaugural year, Kubík was named the MLS Defender of the Year. 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 for a second time. The Fire traded Kubík to the Dallas Burn 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 Czechoslovakia national football team, Czechoslovakian and Czech Republic national football team, Czech Republic's national teams, representing Czechoslovakia in the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the Czech Republic in 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, 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. However, he was sacked in October 2006 after just 11 league games in charge. He was appointed manager of the English Football League Two side

on 27 November 2006 through his close friendship with Torquay chairman Chris Roberts (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 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.

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