Ľubomír Michalík
Personal information
Full name	Ľubomír Michalík
Date of birth	August 13, 1983 (1983-08-13) (age 26)
Place of birth	Čadca, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Leeds United
Number	17
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2005–2007 2007–2008 2007 2008–	FC Senec Bolton Wanderers → Leeds United (loan) Leeds United	020 00(2) 011 00(1) 007 00(1) 048 00(1)
National team2
2007–	Slovakia	004 00(1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:49, 10 May 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 26 May 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Ľubomír Michalík (born 13 August 1983) is a Slovakian football player, currently playing for Leeds United. He plays as a centre-back and has represented his country at international level.

Contents 1 Club career 1.1 Bolton 1.2 Leeds United 2 International career 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Club career

[edit] Bolton

Michalik signed for Bolton Wanderers in January 2007 from FC Senec of Slovakia on a three and a half year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee. On 28 April 2007, Michalík scored his first and only goal for Bolton, in a 2–2 away draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.^[1]

[edit] Leeds United

In March 2007, Michalik made a loan switch to Leeds United on a one month loan deal.^[2] The defender's performances earned a great deal of credit from the Leeds faithful, particularly due to his match-winning goal on 7 April in a 2–1 victory over Plymouth Argyle.^[3] As a result of his strong performances, then Leeds manager Dennis Wise extended the Slovakian's loan deal until the end of the season, although Bolton recalled Michalik back due to a spate of injuries to their first choice centre-backs.

Wise continued to reiterate his liking for the player, and attempted to re-sign the defender in the January 2008 transfer window. A deal was reported to be closed, believed to be involving a £500,000 fee, when Wise left the manager's post to head for Newcastle United. However, upon the appointment of Gary McAllister as Leeds boss, the Yorkshire side remained insistent on their determination to sign the Slovak. On the final day of the transfer window, a deal was concluded and Michalik signed a three-and-a-half-year deal. Bolton seemed willing to sell having recruited Gary Cahill as a replacement. Michalik made 13 first-team appearances in the 2007–08 season.

Michalík managed to establish himself as one of Leeds' first-choice defenders, often partnering Paul Huntington. On 6 September 2008, Michalik was sent off in a match for Leeds against Crewe Alexandra for his second bookable offence. Leeds went on and won the match 5–2. During the middle of the 08/09 season after a number of inconsistent performances Michalik was dropped from the Leeds team by new manager Simon Grayson in favour of new loan signing Richard Naylor. Michalik never regained a starting place and found himself on the bench for the remainder of the season. A role which has continued into the 2009-10 season.

Michalik scored his second goal for Leeds which was his first since signing a permanent deal against Stockport County on 5th September 2009.^[4] He started the 2009-10 season mainly as a substitute, but had been required to come off the bench on several occasions and play a vital role for Leeds. It has been said his form has greatly improved under manager Simon Grayson. Michalik had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside in the Carling Cup tie against Liverpool. Replays showed that Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Becchio were onside. Michalik started the game for Leeds against Brighton & Hove Albion, and with Richard Naylor still injured Michalik once again partnered Patrick Kisnorbo at centre back against Leyton Orient and kept consecutive clean sheets. Michalik started the game against Kettering Town and was judged to be at fault for the goal conceded with Casper Ankergren also sharing the blame. Despite the error Michalik started his 4th game in a row in the league game against Oldham Athletic. Michalik kept his place in the Leeds team for the game against Huddersfield Town and the FA Cup replay against Kettering Town. Michalik is one of the free-kick takers for Leeds United and is known to strike a ball at over 100 MPH, although he is yet to score one of these. With injuries to fellow centre back's Patrick Kisnorbo and Richard Naylor at various points, Michalik has been able to get a regular run of games for Leeds.

[edit] International career

Michalík's international debut came in the second half of the Slovakia verses United Arab Emirates game. His first international goal came in the same game, in his first start for the Slovak international team. He played his second match against Republic of Ireland on March 28.^[5]

1st October 2009 Michalik received an international recall for the world cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Poland. Michalik was an unused substitute in the World Cup Qualifier against Poland. Michalik will be hoping to earn himself a place in Slovakia's World Cup squad after they qualified for the tournament.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ľubomír Michalík career stats at Soccerbase
• Michalik a Bolton player (slovak)
• Michalik at Fussball-talente.com

v • d • e Leeds United A.F.C. – current squad 1 Ankergren · 2 Crowe · 3 Kisnorbo · 4 Doyle · 5 Rui Marques · 6 Naylor (c) · 7 Prutton · 8 Kilkenny · 9 Beckford · 10 Becchio · 12 Higgs · 13 Grella · 14 Howson · 15 Vokes · 16 Johnson · 17 Michalík · 18 Robinson · 19 Parker · 20 Kandol · 21 Showunmi · 22 Hughes · 23 Snodgrass · 24 Huntington · 25 A. Martin · 26 Bromby · 28 Gradel · 30 Capaldi · 31 Webb · 32 White · 33 Falkingham · 34 Jones · 35 Ephraim · 36 D. Martin · Manager: Grayson