Igor Bališ
Slovak footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Igor Bališ (born 5 January 1970) is a Slovak former footballer. He played for West Bromwich Albion in England. Bališ played club football in Slovakia for Spartak Trnava and Slovan Bratislava, making a combined 257 appearances, as well as the Slovakia national team at international level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 January 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Križovany nad Dudváhom, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Youth career | |||
| Spartak Trnava | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1999 | Spartak Trnava | 242 | (11) |
| 1999–2000 | Slovan Bratislava | 15 | (0) |
| 2000–2003 | West Bromwich Albion | 69 | (4) |
| 2003 | DAC Dunajská Streda | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 326 | (15) | |
| International career | |||
| 1995–2001 | Slovakia | 41 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
Bališ made a combined total of 257 appearances for Slovak sides Spartak Trnava and Slovan Bratislava between 1988 and 2000.[1] In 1997 he finished fifth in voting for footballer of the year at the Slovak Footballer of the Year Awards behind winner Dušan Tittel.[2] In February 2000 Bališ scored his only international goal, scoring from a left-footed shot in the 5th minute of a 2–0 away victory against Chile in the Copa Ciudad de Valparaíso.[3]
Bališ joined West Bromwich Albion in November 2000 for a fee of £150,000. He made his Albion debut on 23 December 2000, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–0 victory against Nottingham Forest. Bališ converted a dramatic stoppage time penalty against Bradford City in the penultimate game of the 2001–02 season, which put Albion on the brink of promotion to the Premier League.[4][5]
After completing a season in the Premiership with Albion, Bališ quit the club and returned to Slovakia due to a recurrence of tinnitus.[6] He signed for DAC Dunajská Streda but left the club without making an appearance, subsequently moving to Austria, where he played in the lower leagues.[7]
