Juraj Čobej
Slovak footballer (born 1971)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Juraj Čobej (born 7 August 1971) is a Slovak former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, spending most of his career with Artmedia Petržalka.[2] He made a single appearance for Slovakia in 2006.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 August 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Stropkov, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| MŠK Tesla Stropkov | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1998 | BŠK Bardejov | 16 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Artmedia Petržalka | 15 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Slovan Bratislava | 5 | (0) |
| 2000–2008 | Artmedia Petržalka | 122 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Partizán Bardejov | ||
| International career | |||
| 2006 | Slovakia | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Čobej featured as one of the most important players during Artmedia Petržalka's famous run to the lucrative group stage of the UEFA Champions League in 2005–06, after beating Kairat of Kazakhstan, Scottish side Celtic and Serbian outfit Partizan in the qualifying rounds.[3] Čobej kept a clean sheet in the second qualifying round first leg against Celtic in a 5–0 win, which BBC News described as being among Celtic's "most embarrassing defeats ever".[4]
He underwent brain surgery in the Kramáre district of Bratislava lasting for eight hours in December 2005,[5] just days after playing the Champions League against Portuguese side Porto.[6]
After his surgery, Čobej did not play in the Slovak First League - aside from a two-minute symbolic appearance on 31 May 2006 - until May 2007.[6] He joined fourth-tier side Partizán Bardejov as a player-coach in March 2010.[7] Čobej was head coach of amateur side Dlhá Lúka in 2014, who were playing in the fifth football league.[8] In 2015 Čobej re-joined Bardejov's staff as assistant coach to Jozef Kukulský.[9]
International career
Čobej was named in the Slovakia squad to face Spain in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA second round playoff in November 2005, but withdrew from the squad due to injury and was replaced by Marián Kelemen.[10] Slovakia head coach Dušan Galis included Čobej in a 33-man squad in April 2006 ahead of a friendly match in Trnava.[11] On 20 May 2006, Čobej played his first and only game for the Slovak national team, featuring for just two minutes against Belgium.[6]