33 Legends The football almanac
‹ Slovakia's 33
Ján Popluhár
Photo: Joop van Bilsen for Anefo · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · edited (crop, resize, colour toning, WebP format) · source
01 / Slovakia · 1958–1967

Ján Popluhár

CB leaderanchor
Caps · Czechoslovakia
62
Goals · Czechoslovakia
1
Life
1935–2011
Clubs
ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Rudá Hvězda Brno, Olympique Lyonnais
#1
Editorial rank of 33 for Slovakia
–
The people's rank, live from duel votes

Considered one of Czechoslovakia's greatest ever, this elegant defender was a rock at the back and part of the 1962 World Cup final squad. Career record: 62 caps and 1 goals for Czechoslovakia; club career at ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Rudá Hvězda Brno, Olympique Lyonnais.

Career sourcesCareer dates · checked 4 October 2026
Identity and career · Wikidata Q360747
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Career record

1954–1968ŠK Slovan Bratislava
1955–1958Rudá Hvězda Brno
1968–1970Olympique Lyonnais
1970–1974FC Zbrojovka Brno
1974–1979Wiener Sport-Club
1974–1979Vienna Sportclub
Czechoslovakia62 caps, 1 goals

Sources

Shared the era

Slovakia legends whose careers overlapped Popluhár's

The world's great CBs

Around Popluhár in the almanac

One rank below: Marek Hamšík at #2.

Slovakia's editorial top five: Ján Popluhár · Marek Hamšík · Milan Škriniar · Adolf Scherer · Anton Ondruš.

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