| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 26 March 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Zeleneč, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Spartak Trnava | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–2000 | Spartak Trnava | 240 | (55) |
| 2000–2001 | Drnovice | 15 | (1) |
| 2001 | → Spartak Trnava (loan) | 16 | (9) |
| 2001 | Slovan Bratislava | 16 | (2) |
| 2002–2007 | Spartak Trnava | 127 | (30) |
| 2007 | Senec | 13 | (3) |
| 2008 | ViOn Zlaté Moravce | 23 | (2) |
| 2009 | UFC Tadten | 15 | (3) |
| 2009–2012 | OŠK Šúrovce | ||
| International career | |||
| 1995–2001 | Slovakia | 40 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Marek Ujlaky (born 26 March 1974) is a Slovak former footballer who played as a midfielder and spent most of his career with Spartak Trnava.
Born in Zeleneč, Czechoslovakia, Ujlaky began his senior career with Spartak Trnava in 1991 after being promoted from the academy. After his loan spell with Czech side 1. FK Drnovice in 2000, he returned to Spartak Trnava. Later in his career, he had short spells with Slovan Bratislava in 2001, FC Senec in 2007, Zlaté Moravce in 2007–2009, and lower-division clubs including UFC Tadten and Horses Surovce until his professional retirement in 2012. [1]
Ujlaky made his first league debut when he was just 17 years old, making an appearance in an Czechoslovak First League match in the autumn of 1991, were Trnava would lose 2–1 at home against Dynamo České Budějovice. [2] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 home loss to Tatran Presov in the spring of 1992. [2] In 1991/92 season, Ujlaky was Spartak's top scorer with 4 goals in his debut season. [2] He was most prolific in the 1995/96 season, when he netted 11 league goals across the season. In that season, Ujlaky scored 4 goals in a 5–2 home win against Tatran Presov, ending Tatran’s invincibility hopes. [3] He played in the 1996 Slovak Cup final, were Spartak would lose 2–1 against Chemlon Humenné. [4] In European competitions, Ujlaky appeared in 10 matches across the UEFA Cup and Intertoto Cup, where he scored 5 goals, including a brace against PAOK Thessaloniki [5] and two against Vllaznia Shkodër. [2] Ujlaky would feature in a 4–0 league win against rivals Slovan Bratislava. [6]
In 2000, Ujlaky joined Czech club 1. FK Drnovice. [7]
Following the relegation of Spartak Trnava at the end of the 2000–01 season, Ujlaky joined rivals ŠK Slovan Bratislava in July 2001, signing a 2 and a half year contract. [8] In the first half of the 2001–02 season, he played in 16 matches and scored 2 goals for Slovan, who finished 6th in the League. [9] Ujlaky later described the transfer as a "football adventure" in light of several offers that arose following Trnava's relegation. However, he noted that the fans did not hold this against him when he returned. [10]
In 2002, after his unsuccessful spell with Slovan, Ujlaky rejoined FC Spartak Trnava. [11] He scored the second goal of a 4–0 away win against Slovan Bratislava. [11] He would help the club get promoted the following season. [12] [13] In April 2006, Ujlaky was injured in a match against FC Nitra after a tackle from Peter Dobiáš. [14] [15] The incident, which occurred in the 78th minute, required immediate surgery, which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2005–06 season, with full recovery not being expected until August or September 2006 after months of rehabilitation. [16]
Following his recovery, Ujlaky joined FC Senec ahead of the 2007–08 season. [17] After a few months at Senec, it was rumored that he would be returning to Trnava again. [18] He then transferred to ViOn Zlaté Moravce in 2008. [19] In 2009, Ujlaky briefly played abroad with Austrian club UFC Tadten, making 15 appearances and scoring 3 goals in regional leagues. Later that year, he returned to Slovakia to join FC Horses Šúrovce in the lower divisions, where he continued playing until retiring in 2012. [20]
After retiring from professional football, Ujlaky played with amateur side ŠK Slávia Zeleneč in the Slovak 6th league. He finished his active career in 2019 with a farewell match, where he left the pitch on a bicycle gifted by Slávia Zeleneč. [21] Prior to his full retirement, Ujlaky briefly pursued coaching roles, serving as an assistant to the youth team categories of his former club Spartak Trnava between 2012 to 2013. [22] [23] In 2012, he became the manager of the newly re-established club OŠK Šurovnce. [20]
Ujlaky made his debut for the Slovak national team on February 22, 1995, in a 5–0 friendly defeat to Brazil. [26] Ujlaky scored his first international goal for Slovakia on 11 October 1995, in a UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying match against Poland at the Tehelné pole in Bratislava. Coming on as a substitute, he scored the third goal in the 78th minute, helping Slovakia win 4–1. [27]
During his career, he played in the qualifiers for Euro 96, the 1998 World Cup, and Euro 2000. From 1995 to 2001, he played 40 matches for the national team, scoring two goals.