Peter Pekarík

Peter Pekarík (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈpɛtɛɾ ˈpɛkaɾiːk]; born 30 October 1986) is a Slovak football defender who plays for Hertha BSC and the Slovakia national team.

Peter Pekarík

Pekarík with Hertha BSC in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Peter Pekarík[1]
Date of birth	(1986-10-30) 30 October 1986[1]
Place of birth	Žilina, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Playing position(s)	Right back
Club information
Current team	Hertha BSC
Number	2
Youth career
	Žilina
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2009	Žilina	111	(5)
2004–2005	→ Dubnica (loan)	27	(0)
2009–2012	VfL Wolfsburg	55	(0)
2011–2012	→ Kayserispor (loan)	27	(0)
2012–	Hertha BSC	152	(2)
National team^‡
2006–	Slovakia	91	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 July 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2019

Club career

Žilina

Pekarík, born in Žilina, began playing football at the youth section of his local club.[2] His Corgoň Liga debut came for ZŤS Dubnica.[2] In his first season, he played 27 matches and came back to MŠK Žilina in the summer of 2005.[3][2] He won the Corgoň Liga in the 2006–07 season, playing 35 matches.[3][4]

Wolfsburg

He impressed with great performances in the first half of the 2008–09 season and signed a four-and-a-half-year contract for German side VfL Wolfsburg in January 2009.[5]

On 31 January 2009, matchday 18, he debuted in the Bundesliga in a 1–1 draw against the 1. FC Köln. At half time, coach Felix Magath substituted him for Cristian Zaccardo.[6] Except for one game, he played in the second half of the season in all games and won with Wolfsburg for the first time in club history the German championship.[7][8] However, at the end of the season he was substituted more often and lost his place in the starting eleven.

Kayserispor

In August 2011, Pekarík joined Turkish first division side Kayserispor for the 2011–12 season on loan.[9]

Hertha BSC

After a year in Turkey, Pekarík returned to Germany, signing for Hertha BSC.[10]

On 31 March 2017, in his eighth season in Germany, Pekarík scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 1–3 loss against Hoffenheim. At the moment it was his 151st Bundesliga match.[11]

International career

Pekarík made his national team debut against United Arab Emirates on 10 December 2006.[2] He scored his first international goal in a 7–0 home victory over San Marino.[12][13] He was a part of the Slovakia national football team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016.[14]

Career statistics

Club statistics

As of 15 October 2017

Club	Season	Division	League		Cup		Continental		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
MFK Dubnica (loan)	2004–05	Corgoň Liga	27	0	–	–	–	–	27	0
MŠK Žilina	2005–06		27	2	–	–	4	0	31	2
	2006–07		35	0	–	–	–	–	35	0
	2007–08		31	1	–	–	4	0	35	1
	2008–09		18	3	–	–	10	0	28	3
	Total		138	6	–	–	18	0	156	6
VfL Wolfsburg	2008–09	Bundesliga	16	0	2	0	–	–	18	0
	2009–10		16	0	–	–	7	0	23	0
	2010–11		23	0	1	0	–	–	24	0
	Total		55	0	3	0	7	0	65	0
Kayserispor (loan)	2011–12	Süper Lig	27	0	2	0	–	–	29	0
	Total		27	0	2	0	–	–	29	0
Hertha BSC	2012–13	2. Bundesliga	19	0	–	–	–	–	19	0
	2013–14	Bundesliga	31	0	2	0	–	–	33	0
	2014–15		30	0	1	0	–	–	31	0
	2015–16		12	0	1	0	–	–	13	0
	2016–17		31	1	3	0	2	0	36	1
	2017–18		2	0	–	–	2	0	4	0
	Total		125	1	7	0	4	0	136	1
Career total			345	7	12	0	29	0	386	7

International

As of match played 19 November 2019[15]

National team	Season	Apps	Goals
Slovakia	2006	1	0
	2008	5	0
	2009	12	1
	2010	10	0
	2011	8	0
	2012	8	0
	2013	6	0
	2014	8	0
	2015	5	1
	2016	10	0
	2017	7	0
	2018	5	0
	2019	6	0
Total		91	2

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	6 June 2009[12]	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia	San Marino	2–0	7–0	World Cup 2010 Qualifying
2.	27 March 2015[12]	Štadión pod Dubňom, Žilina, Slovakia	Luxembourg	3–0	3–0	Euro 2016 qualifier

Honours

MŠK Žilina

• Corgoň Liga: 2006–07[4]
• Super Cup: 2007

VfL Wolfsburg

• Bundesliga: 2008–09[4]

Hertha BSC

• 2. Bundesliga: 2012–13[4]

References

1. "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. p. 26. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
2. "Slovakia's Pekarik raring to go". FIFA.com. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
3. "Peter Pekarík". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
4. "P. Pekarík". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
5. "Pekarík vo Wolfsburgu s číslom 19" (in Slovak). profutbal. 21 January 2009. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
6. "Pekarík si odkrútil debut v bundeslige, Wolfsburgu pomohol k remíze" (in Slovak). pravda.sk. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
7. "Peter Pekarik" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
8. "Wolfsburg ist zum ersten Mal Meister" (in German). Badische Zeitung. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
9. "PETER PEKARİK KAYSERİSPOR'DA" (in Turkish). sporbul.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
10. "Hertha verpflichtet Pekarik" [Hertha signs Pekarik] (in German). DFL. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
11. "Pekarík prelomil nekonečné čakanie, strelil premiérový gól v Bundeslige" (in Slovak). sport.sk. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
12. Hribik, Rastislav (27 March 2015). "Pekarík happy to end wait for Slovakia goal". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
13. "Fußball-WM-Qualifikation - Miroslav Stoch (links) und die - Fußball-WM" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. 7 June 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
14. "Peter PEKARÍK". FIFA.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
15. "Peter Pekarík". National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 October 2017.

External links

• Peter Pekarík – FIFA competition record
• Peter Pekarík at National-Football-Teams.com
• Peter Pekarík at fussballdaten.de (in German)