Where Slovakia's stars will be in 2010

Slovakia’s successful World Cup run may create some big opportunities for Slovakia’s stars. Here’s a look at where some of the squad will be in 2010-2011.

Jan Mucha-The Slovak goalkeeper spent 2009-10 with Poland’s Legia Warszawa, but moved to Merseyside club Everton in the off-season. Mucha will back up American Tim Howard in goal, although some have said that he could challenge for the starting spot. His strong performance in South Africa could open up the door for Mucha and we may see him starting a few games for the Toffees.

Martin Skrtel-The Liverpool defender spent most of last season on the sideline with a slew of injuries. He’ll be back for the Reds this season and will most likely feature prominently after his stellar showing this summer.

Miroslav Stoch-The 20-year-old winger spent most of 2009-10 with Dutch outfit FC Twente (on loan from Chelsea) where he led the squad to their first ever league title. In the off-season however, the Blues sent Stoch to Turkish club Fenercbahce (although Stoch claims he turned down Man City, Real Madrid and Juventus to sign with the Turkish side). He will add speed and creativity to the squad, which hopes to add it’s 18th Super Lig title this season.

Marek Hamsik-The 22-year-old midfielder has yet to sign a contract extension with Napoli however he recently pledged his allegiance to the Italian side. One hopes that he can return to the form he was enjoying at the end of last season, when he led the team with 12 goals.


Robert Vittek-Slovakia’s hero of the tournament was sent to Turkey's Ankaragucu for this fall, the team with whom he spent the latter half of the 2009-10 season. The striker still had two years left on his deal with Lille, and hinted at a return to Germany club Nuremburg, but Ankaragucu proved victorious in securing his services. Hopefully Slovakia's World Cup star can find his club form in Turkey.

Vladimir Weiss Jr.-Although Weiss is officially on Man City’s books, he spent all of last season on loan to Bolton. With all of City's off-season dealings, it's expected that he will be loaned out again this season, with Sampdoria's name being thrown around as the front runner. Weiss however, is adamant that he wants to fight for his place at Eastlands. The 20-year-old, who's currently in New York City with Man City on it's pre-season tour, will sit down with manager Roberto Mancini to discuss his future.

Kamil Kopunek-I speculated in July that Kopunek's game-winning goal against Italy in the World Cup would garner some interest from European clubs, and that's just what has happened, with Bari and Brescia rumored to be keen suitors. If Kopunek does go, that will mean only one national team player from its World Cup roster (Kornel Salata) will play in Slovakia's Corgon Liga in 2010.