Vratislav Greško (born 24 July 1977) is a Slovak former
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 ...
. His preferred position was
left-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categ ...
. He was an attacking full-back widely known for his
crossing ability.
Club career
Early career
Greško began his career at
Dukla Banská Bystrica in 1995, before he was signed by
Inter Bratislava in 1997 where he played until 1999.
Bayer Leverkusen
He moved to
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
in 1999.
Move to Internazionale and Parma
In October 2000, he signed a four–year contract with
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...
for a fee of €4.857 million (exactly 9.5 million
Deutsche Mark
The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...
), which media reported a difference figure from 9 billion lire (€4.65 million) to 14 billion
lire (€7.23 million) Greško was the first Slovak who ever played for Inter. He made his league debut on 1 November 2000 in a 2–0 victory against
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
People, characters, figures, names
* Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas.
* Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun
* Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...
. On 5 May 2002, during the last week of the 2001–02 season, Greško headed the ball to
Karel Poborský, allowing him to score in a 2–4 defeat against
Lazio
Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
. After the match, he was heavily criticised for the error, which led to Inter losing the
scudetto
The ''scudetto'' (; Italian for 'little shield') is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous ...
. His performance at Inter Milan was "firm" and "erratic". He spent only eighteen months between November 2000 and June 2002, making a total of 41 league appearances.
A swap deal was also made between Internazionale and Parma in June 2002, which saw Greško make a switch for
Matías Almeyda
Matías Jesús Almeyda (; born 21 December 1973) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. He is the current head coach of La Liga club Sevilla.
Nicknamed ''El Pelado'' ("bald one") despite his traditionally long hair, he ...
, both players were tagged for €16 million
The deal was criticized as a financial success than a good deal for the team performance. He was out of favour at his next club,
Parma
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
, he made just two full appearances during the 2002–03 season.
Blackburn Rovers
Meanwhile,
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
manager
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player, manager and television pundit.
A midfielder, Souness achieved his greatest period of success as an integral part of the Liverpool team of the late 19 ...
was looking for left-sided defensive cover. Greško, who initially played on loan to Blackburn for four months (January–May
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
) was given a full contract in August. He scored twice in his first permanent season at Blackburn, with goals against
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
and
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
.
During the
2004–05 campaign, he suffered a
cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint
and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...
damage in December which led to him not playing for the rest of the season. He then did not make a single appearance during the
2005–06 season, and was released when his contract expired in July. Not only this season was over for him, even during the following season, he struggled with form and persistent symptoms.
Move to Nürnberg and return to Bayer Leverkusen
In 2006, he moved to
1. FC Nürnberg, joining his Slovakian teammates
Róbert Vittek
Róbert Vittek (; born 1 April 1982) is a Slovak former professional footballer who played as a forward.
With 23 goals in 82 matches since 2001, Vittek is the second top scorer in the history of the Slovakia national football team. He played fo ...
and
Marek Mintál
Marek Mintál (; born 2 September 1977) is a Slovak professional football coach and a former player who played as a attacking midfielder or forward.
Playing career
Mintál started to play football in Slovak club MŠK Žilina, with whom he won ...
. In September 2006, Greško signed there in the light of his injury a strong performance-based one-year contract. In October 2006, he made his Bundesliga debut as a substitute. Overall in the 2006–07 season, he started in 15 matches in the Bundesliga, scoring one goal.
In July 2007, Greško returned to Bayer Leverkusen as a free agent on a two-year contract after nearly seven years. In June 2009, Bayer Leverkusen announced that Greško would leave the club.
ŽP ŠPORT Podbrezová
In March 2011, he joined Slovak club
ŽP ŠPORT Podbrezová (promoted to the second league 2011–12 – the second highest team event in Slovakia), Where he received a one-year contract in July 2011. On 14 June 2015, he announced end of professional career.
[Greško zavesil kopačky na klinec: Je čas na niečo nové](_blank)
14 June 2015
International career
Greško appeared 34 times for the
Slovak national team, scoring two goals. He scored his first goal in the A-team on 14 May 2002 in the friendly against
Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
.
International goals
:''Scores and results list Slovakia's goal tally first.''
Honours
1. FC Nürnberg
*
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...
2006–07
References
External links
Inter ArchiveLeverkusen who's who*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gresko, Vratislav
1977 births
Living people
People from Banská Bystrica District
Footballers from the Banská Bystrica Region
Slovak men's footballers
Slovak expatriate men's footballers
Slovakia men's international footballers
Slovakia men's under-21 international footballers
FK Inter Bratislava players
FK Dukla Banská Bystrica players
FK Železiarne Podbrezová players
Bayer 04 Leverkusen players
Inter Milan players
Parma Calcio 1913 players
Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Slovak expatriate sportspeople in England
Men's association football defenders
Premier League players
1. FC Nürnberg players
Slovak First Football League players
Bundesliga players
Serie A players
Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers for Slovakia
21st-century Slovak sportsmen