Peter Dubovský (7 May 1972 – 23 June 2000) was 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 lea ...

who played as a forward. After starting his career with Slovan Bratislava he played seven years in Spain, amassing

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

totals of 151 games and 19 goals for two teams. Dubovský died in 2000 at 28, while on vacation in Thailand.

Club career

Born in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, Dubovský made his professional debut with local

ŠK Slovan Bratislava ŠK Slovan Bratislava (, "Bratislava Slavs") is a professional association football, football club based in Bratislava, Slovakia, that plays in the Slovak First Football League. Founded as I. ČSŠK Bratislava in 1919, the club changed its name ...

, for whom he signed at the age of 13. Only four years later he made his first

Czechoslovak First League The Czechoslovak First League (, ) was the premier football (soccer), football league in the Czechoslovakia from 1925 to 1993, with the exception of World War II. Czechoslovakia was occupied by German forces who formed Gauliga Sudetenland and Ga ...

appearance, and went on to score 51 goals in only 59 appearances in his last two seasons combined (leading the scoring charts on both occasions), being an instrumental offensive figure as his hometown club won the national championship in 1992. After being named the '' Slovak Footballer of the Year'' in 1993, Dubovský moved to Spain and signed for

giants

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. He appeared in 26 games in his first season but was completely ostracized by new manager

Jorge Valdano Jorge Alberto Francisco Valdano Castellanos (born 4 October 1955) is an Argentine former football player, coach, and the former general manager of Real Madrid. He is currently working as a commentator for beIN Sports. Nicknamed "The Philosophe ...

in his second and last, his options being further diminished at the club following the emergence of 17-year-old Raúl. Dubovský remained in the country – and its top division – in the following five years, playing for

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

and scoring a career-best in Spain seven goals in 31 matches in the 1995–96 campaign, helping the

Asturians Asturians () are a Romance ethnic group native to the autonomous community of Asturias, in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula. Culture and society Heritage The Asturians have Celtic ( Astures) and Latin cultural origins, most notably f ...

to the 14th position.

International career

Dubovský made his debut for

on 13 November 1991 at the age of 19, starting in a 2–1 away loss against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

for the

UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having been inv ...

qualifiers. He went on to appear in a further 13 internationals in the following two years, scoring six goals. After the independence of Slovakia, Dubovský represented its national team, eventually becoming the country's record goalscorer at 12 (until it was broken by

Szilárd Németh Szilárd Németh (; ; born 8 August 1977), also known mononymously as Szilárd, is a Slovak former professional footballer who played as a striker. After playing for clubs in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, he spent four and a half seasons at ...

). He remained among the national team's Top 10 goalscorers until March 2024, when he was eliminated by 13th goal of

Ondrej Duda Ondrej Duda (; born 5 December 1994) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Hellas Verona and the Slovakia national team. Club career Duda began his football career at his hometown club MFK Snina. He later mov ...

, moving Dubovský to a shared 11th place.

Death

On 23 June 2000, Dubovský was on vacation in Thailand with his

fiancée An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

, in the southern island resort of

Ko Samui Ko Samui (or Koh Samui), often locally shortened to Samui (, ), is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Mu Ko Samui, Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko Samui was granted munic ...

. While taking pictures of a waterfall, he tumbled and fell to his death, succumbing to "heavy loss of blood and severe brain injuries".Italy's Lazio eyes Argentine striker Crespo;

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

, 23 June 2000 He was 28 years old.

Career statistics

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

Honours

Slovan Bratislava *

: 1991–92 Real Madrid *

: 1994–95 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Individual * Slovak Footballer of the Year: 1993 *

top scorer: 1991–92, 1992–93

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dubovsky, Peter 1972 births 2000 deaths Footballers from Bratislava Czechoslovak men's footballers Slovak men's footballers Men's association football forwards ŠK Slovan Bratislava players La Liga players Real Madrid CF players Real Oviedo players Czechoslovakia men's international footballers Slovakia men's international footballers Dual internationalists (men's football) Slovak expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Spain Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in Thailand