Ján Popluhár vs Ján Švehlík
Slovakia against Slovakia. The almanac states its case, the crowd votes, you decide.
Ján Popluhár
Slovakia · 1960s · CB
- Almanac rating
- 89
- Rank in Slovakia
- #1 of 33
- Caps
- 62 · 1 goals
- Clubs
- ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Rudá Hvězda Brno, Olympique Lyonnais
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 Slovakia; club career at ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Rudá Hvězda Brno, Olympique Lyonnais.
Ján Švehlík
Slovakia · 1969–1982 · ST
- Almanac rating
- 87
- Rank in Slovakia
- #7 of 33
- Caps
- 17 · 4 goals
- Clubs
- ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Dukla Prague, K.S.C. Hasselt
Eight minutes into the 1976 final in Belgrade, Berti Vogts lost the ball near his own area, Nehoda crossed from the right, and Švehlík arrived from deep to drive Czechoslovakia in front of West Germany. That strike opened the scoring in the only European Championship Czechoslovakia has won, and the striker collected four Czechoslovak league titles, three with Slovan Bratislava, a European Under-23 crown in 1972, and 79 goals in 296 top-flight matches. Career record: 17 caps and 4 goals for Slovakia; club career at ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Dukla Prague, K.S.C. Hasselt.
The verdict
The almanac puts Ján Popluhár ahead by 2 rating points, 89 against 87.
Fans have not settled this one yet. Cast the first vote in the duels.