1. FC Tatran Prešov

Tatran Prešov
Full nameFC Tatran Prešov
Nickname(s)Zeleno-Bieli (The Green-Whites)
Koňare (Horsemen)
Founded25 May 1898 (1898-05-25)
as ETVE Prešov
GroundFutbal Tatran Arena
Capacity6,500
OwnerCity of Prešov[1]
ChairmanĽuboš Micheľ[1]
Head coachJaroslav Hynek
LeagueSlovak First Football League
2024–252. liga, 1st of 14 (promoted)
Websitefctatran.sk

FC Tatran Prešov (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈtatran ˈpreʂɔw]) is a Slovak football club based in the city of Prešov. Tatran Prešov is the oldest football club in Slovakia, founded on 25 May 1898. The club set to participate in the Slovak First Football League from 2025–26, the top tier of Slovak football after promotion from 2. Liga in 2024–25. The "Green and Whites" played 32 seasons in the Czechoslovak top division. Tatran became the dark horse of the Czechoslovak league in the 1960s and 1970s, but never won a title. The greatest league success was the second place in the 1965 and 1973 seasons. The club also came close in the Czechoslovak Cup, losing twice in 1966 and 1992 finals.

History overview

Early history

The first official football match on the territory of present-day Slovakia took place on 25 May 1898 in Eperjes, today's Prešov, that time in Hungary, between two Budapest-based teams, Óbudai TE and Budapesti TC on the initiation of František Pethe, a gymnastic teacher in the local grammar school. On the same day the Eperjesi Torna és Vívó Egyesület (Eperjesi TVE, lit. Gymnastic and Fencing Association of Eperjes) was founded, which is regarded as the first football club of Slovakia.

Eperjesi TVE initially competed in the Hungarian league system, achieving its best result in the 1907–08 season, when it won the Northern District Championship.[2]

In 1920 Prešov became part of the newly founded Czechoslovakia, subsequently the club competed in the Czechoslovak leagues.

Prešov finished in second place in the Czechoslovak First League in 1965 and 1973, finishing the season just one point behind champions Spartak Trnava in the 1972–73 season.[3] In the national cup the team also had success, reaching the final of the Czechoslovak Cup in 1966, where they lost to Dukla Prague and in 1992 where Sparta Prague were victorious.[3]

The greatest legend of Tatran's Prešov history is Ladislav Pavlovič. From 1948 until 1966, he netted for Tatran Prešov 150 goals in 309 matches. He also represented Czechoslovakia national football team, where he played 14 matches and scored two goals. In 2013, he was stated to Prešov's Hall of Fame.

On 2 May 2025, Tataran Prešov secure champions of 2.Liga, promotion to Slovak First Football League from next season after defeat Samorin 1–2 and return to top tier after seven years absence.

Previous names

  • Eperjesi Torna és Vívó Egyesület (Hungarian version), ETVE Prešov (1898)
  • TVE Prešov (1920)
  • Slávia Prešov (1931)
  • PTS Prešov (1945)
  • DSO Slavia Prešov a DSO Snaha Prešov (split from PTS Prešov) (1947)
  • Sparta Dukla Prešov (1948)
  • Dukla Prešov (1950)
  • Dukla ČSSZ Prešov (1951)
  • ČSSZ Prešov (1952)
  • DSO Tatran Prešov (1953)
  • TJ Tatran Prešov (1960)
  • Tatran Agro Prešov (1989)
  • FC Tatran Prešov (1991)
  • FC Tatran Bukóza Prešov (1996)
  • FC Tatran Prešov (1998)
  • 1.FC Tatran Prešov (2005)
  • FC Tatran Prešov (2022)

Honours

Domestic

Czechoslovakia

Slovakia

Czechoslovak and Slovak Top Goalscorer

The Czechoslovak League top scorer from 1944 to 1945 until 1992–93. Since the 1993–94 Slovak League Top scorer.

Year Winner G
1960–61 Ladislav Pavlovič 171
1962–63 Karol Petroš 19
1963–64 Ladislav Pavlovič 21
1Shared award

European

  • Mitropa Cup
    • Winners (1): 1981
  • InterCup
    • Winners (1): 1978

Results

League and Cup history

Slovak League only (1993–present)

Season Division (Name) Pos./Teams Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Top Scorer (Goals)
1993–94 1st (Mars Superliga) 4/(12) 32 10 14 8 47 43 34 Runner-up
1994–95 1st (Mars Superliga) 9/(12) 32 9 10 13 42 49 37 1/2 finals UC 2R ( Real Zaragoza)
1995–96 1st (Mars Superliga) 5/(12) 32 12 7 13 34 36 43 1/32 finals
1996–97 1st (Mars Superliga) 6/(16) 30 12 7 11 37 38 43 Runner-up
1997–98 1st (Mars Superliga) 10/(16) 30 9 9 12 29 39 36 1/4 finals Milan Jambor (5)
1998–99 1st (Mars Superliga) 8/(16) 30 11 10 9 38 35 43 1/16 finals Vladimír Kožuch (7)
Anton Šoltis (7)
1999–00 1st (Mars Superliga) 6/(16) 30 14 5 11 38 42 47 1/16 finals Vladimír Kožuch (8)
2000–01 1st (Mars Superliga) 7/(10) 36 10 10 16 44 54 40 1/32 finals Marek Petruš (7)
Július Lelkeš (7)
2001–02 1st (Mars Superliga) 10/(10) 36 8 7 21 35 66 40 1/16 finals Ján Šlahor (7)
2002–03 2nd (1. liga) 9/(16) 30 11 6 13 40 37 39 1/4 finals Lukáš Hricov (7)
2003–04 2nd (1. liga) 3/(16) 30 15 7 8 54 35 52 1/8 finals Martin Jakubko (13)
2004–05 2nd (1. liga) 5/(16) 30 12 8 10 38 33 44 1/32 finals Ľubomír Pagor (7)
2005–06 2nd (1. liga) 5/(16) 30 15 7 8 37 22 52 1/32 finals Peter Iskra (6)
2006–07 2nd (1. liga) 5/(12) 36 16 14 6 55 25 62 1/8 finals Tomáš Kaplan (8)
2007–08 2nd (1. liga) 1/(12) 33 23 8 2 64 14 77 1/4 finals Ľuboš Belejík (7)
2008–09 1st (Corgoň Liga) 7/(12) 33 10 11 12 40 50 41 1/16 finals Peter Katona (7)
2009–10 1st (Corgoň Liga) 8/(12) 33 11 5 17 32 38 38 1/8 finals Peter Katona (5)
2010–11 1st (Corgoň Liga) 11/(12) 33 9 6 18 30 49 33 1/16 finals Jhonatan (5)
2011–12 1st (Corgoň Liga) 10/(12) 33 7 12 14 23 35 33 1/4 finals Peter Katona (5)
2012–13 1st (Corgoň Liga) 12/(12) 33 8 9 16 21 41 33 1/16 finals Andriy Shevchuk (3)
Matúš Marcin (3)
2013–14 2nd (DOXXbet Liga) 4/(12) 33 18 6 9 56 28 60 1/4 finals Dávid Leško (11)
2014–15 2nd (DOXXbet Liga) 3/(24) 22 10 6 6 32 24 36 1/32 finals Pavol Šafranko (11)
2015–16 2nd (DOXXbet Liga) 1/(24) 30 16 10 4 61 26 58 1/16 finals Dávid Leško (16)
2016–17 1st (Fortuna Liga) 11/(12) 30 3 10 17 17 63 19 1/8 finals Musefiu Ashiru (5)
2017–18 1st (Fortuna Liga) 12/(12) 31 4 11 16 20 55 23 1/32 finals Roland Černák (7)
2018–19 2nd (II. liga) 15/(16) 30 7 6 17 30 41 27 1/32 finals Lukáš Hricov (3)
2019–20 3rd (III. liga) 1/(16) 17 14 1 2 52 14 43 1/32 finals Kristián Hirka (12)
2020–21 3rd (III. liga) 3/(16) 15 10 1 4 40 15 31 1/32 finals Samuel Gladiš (7)
2021–22 3rd (III. liga) 1/(16) 30 25 2 3 103 20 77 1/32 finals Jozef Dolný (41)
2022–23 2nd (2. liga) 2/(16) 30 19 2 8 49 24 62 1/4 finals Jozef Dolný (19)
2023-24 2nd (MonacoBet Liga) 3/(16) 30 19 6 5 53 21 63 1/32 finals Jozef Dolný (18)
2024-25 2nd (MonacoBet Liga) 1/(14) 26 20 3 3 51 19 63 Quarter-finals Landing Sagna (12)

European competition history

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1966–67 Cup Winners' Cup 1. Bayern Munich 1–1 2–3 3–4
1973–74 UEFA Cup 1. Velež Mostar 4–2 1–1 5–3
2. VfB Stuttgart 3–5(aet) 1–3 4–8
1980–81 Mitropa Cup RR Csepel SC 0–0 0–3
Calcio Como 4–1 0–1
NK Zagreb 2–1 5–1
1994–95 Cup Winners' Cup Q Bangor F.C. 4–0 1–0 5–0
1. Dundee United 3–1 2–3 5–4
2. Real Zaragoza 0–4 1–2 1–6

Rivalries

Tatran's biggest rivals are FC Košice, and the matches between the two teams are referred to as "Eastern Slovak derby" (Slovak: Východniarske derby).[4]
They also have rivalry with MFK Zemplín Michalovce and FC Spartak Trnava. 1. FC Tatran Prešov supporters maintain friendly relations with fans of the Polish side JKS Czarni 1910 Jasło.[5]

Sponsorship

1. FC Tatran Prešov 11/12 season home kit.
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
1998–2000 ATAK Sportswear OTF
2000–2003 ŠARIŠ
2004 Opel
2005 none
2005–2008 Poštová banka
2008–2010 Auto Leas
2010–2011 Adidas none
2011–2012 IMPA
2012–2013 DÚHA
2013–2021 ATAK Sportswear
2021–2022 3b INTRAVENA
2022–2023 Niké
2023 Nike
2024- Adidas

Club partners

source[6]

  • DÚHA
  • Ekofin

Current squad

Updated 26 June 2025.[7] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  SVK Adrián Knurovský
4 DF  SVK Patrik Šimko (captain)
9 MF  SVK Boris Gáll
11 FW  SVK Stanislav Olejník
17 MF  SVK Denis Potoma
22 DF  SVK Richard Župa
23 MF  SVK Jakub Michlík
31 DF  SVK Jozef Menich
80 FW  SEN Landing Sagna
No. Pos. Nation Player
GK  SVK Pavol Bajza
DF  CZE David Heidenreich (on loan from Hradec Králové)
DF  SVK Michal Sipľak
DF  MDA Ioan-Călin Revenco
FW  POL Łukasz Wolsztyński
GK  UKR Maksym Kuchynskyi
MF  SVK Roman Begala
FW  SVK Peter Juritka (on loan from Podbrezová)
DF  CZE Václav Míka (on loan from Plzeň)

For recent transfers, see List of Slovak football transfers summer 2025.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 MF  SVK Klaudio Slebodník (at MŠK Tesla Stropkov until 30 June 2025)

Reserve team

1. FC Tatran Prešov juniori was the reserve team of 1. FC Tatran Prešov. They mostly played in the Slovak 3. Liga (Eastern division).

Squad

Current technical staff

Updated 2 June 2025
Staff Job title
Jaroslav Hynek Manager
Erik Havrila Assistant Manager
Peter Barna Team manager
Branislav Benko Goalkeeping coach
Jozef Vaño Team Leader
MUDr. Ján Mirilovič Team Doctor
MUDr. Július Svätojánsky Team Doctor
MUDr. Peter Cvengroš Team Doctor
Igor Stojimirović Masseur
Vladimír Papp Physiotherapist
Dávid Balucha Physiotherapist

Player records

Most goals

# Nat. Name Goals
1 Ladislav Pavlovič 150
2 Jozef Dolný 82
3 Karol Petroš 67
4 Jozef Kuchár 56
5 Gejza Šimanský 44
6 Dávid Leško 40
7 Peter Katona 39

Players whose name is listed in bold are still active.

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Tatran.

For full list, see Category:1. FC Tatran Prešov players

Notable fan

  • Milan Timoš (1948–2012[8])

Notable managers

References

  1. ^ a b Budúcnosť Tatrana Prešov je podpísaná. Klubu bude šéfovať Micheľ 17 September 2021
  2. ^ "Bajnoki végeredmény: Vidéki bajnokság – Északi kerület 1907/1908" (in Hungarian). Magyarfutball.hu. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  3. ^ a b Truchlik, Ivan (2015). Futbalový atlas sveta (in Slovak). Prague, Czech Republic: Ottovo Nakladatelství. p. 640. ISBN 978-80-7451-455-5.
  4. ^ "Dnes je na programe východniarske derby" (in Slovak). Presov.korzar.sk. 17 September 2011.
  5. ^ "Futbaloví chuligáni: Kto do koho kope". Aktuality.sk.
  6. ^ "1.FC Tatran Prešov – Oficiálna stránka najstaršieho futbalového klubu na Slovensku".
  7. ^ "Káder FC TATRAN Prešov – MFK Zvolen".
  8. ^ Skonal obdivuhodný fanúšik Tatrana 09.02.2012, korzar.sme.sk