MŠK Žilina

Early years

The club was founded towards the end of 1908 under the Hungarian name Zsolnai Testgyakorlók Köre, and was officially registered on 20 June 1909. The club won its first Slovak championship (Zväzové majstrovstvá Slovenska) in 1928 followed by another in 1929.^{[citation needed]}

Czechoslovak League

In total, Žilina played 30 out of 47 seasons^[1] in the Czechoslovak First League spanning from 1945 to 1993 and come 13th in all-time table.^[2] Their most successful was 1946–47 season, when they clinched 4th place.^{[citation needed]}

Many consider 1961 a milestone in club's history. Firstly, the team reached the final of the National Cup, where they lost to Dukla Prague, the eventual Czechoslovak champion. Despite the defeat, for the first time in its history the club, then known as Dynamo Žilina, broke into Europe to contest in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Notable 3–2 and 1–0 victories over Olympiacos moved them in quarter-finals, however the ambitious Slovak team was ultimately knocked out by the previous year's winner Fiorentina. Although Žilina grabbed a promising 3–2 victory at home, Fiorentina went through by winning the second leg 2–0.^{[citation needed]}

Quarter-Finals

First leg

21 February 1962

More information Dynamo Žilina, 3–2 ...

Dynamo Žilina	3–2	Fiorentina
Jakubčík 11', 63' Majerník 42'	Report	Milani 47' Dell'Angelo 85'

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Žilina

Second leg

27 February 1962

More information Fiorentina, 2–0 ...

Fiorentina	2–0	Dynamo Žilina
Ferretti 38' Hamrin 40'	Report

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Florence

Fiorentina won 4–3 on aggregate.

In the late 1960s the club was renamed TJ ZVL Žilina and participated in the Intertoto Cup for several years, winning the group in 1969 and coming 2nd a year later. In 1973–74 they reached the final of the Mitropa Cup but they were defeated by Tatabányai Bányász 5–2 on aggregate. Between 1972 and 1974, they finished 5th in the First Division of the Czechoslovak League for three years running, followed by relegation to the Second Division in the 1978–79 season. The club bounced back four years later and finished second in the Mitropa Cup.^{[citation needed]}

New era – Slovak League

Following dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, MŠK Žilina has been playing in the Slovak First Football League for the total of 23 seasons with the exception of 1995–96 season after relegation to the Second Division.^{[citation needed]}

In the autumn of 2000, former Czechoslovak defender Ladislav Jurkemik joined the club as a new manager. After his departure halfway through the 2001–02 season the club appointed Czech coach Leoš Kalvoda. During his short reign at the club he led them to win their first title. In the 2002–03 season, now under the management of Milan Lešický, the club succeeded in retaining the title.^{[citation needed]}

Ladislav Jurkemik was reappointed as a manager during the 2003–04 season. He led the defending champions to 10 priceless consecutive victories to clinch the third successive title though narrowly on a goal difference. After Slovan Bratislava, MŠK Žilina became only the second club to win three Slovak titles.

The team's performances in next two seasons faded while they lacked the quality they had been famous for during their winning campaigns. In pursuit of silverware numerous players were signed over next two years. In the span of only fourteen months, three managers; the reputable Karol Pecze, his successor Milan Nemec and eventually Marijan Vlak were in charge over the team. Since the results and performances never met the expectations, Vlak ended his reign immediately at the end of 2005–06 season after they failed to reach UEFA Cup spot only to finish fourth.^{[citation needed]}

They played in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, reaching the group stages where they beat Aston Villa 2–1 at Villa Park.^{[citation needed]}

Former Czechoslovakia and later Czech international Pavel Hapal was appointed new manager before 2009–10 campaign. In his first season, he led the team to win a league title, their fifth in nine years. Arguably the greatest success in their history came by making a debut in 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage after eliminating Sparta Prague in play-off round. In the following season they completed their first ever double, while the 2012–13 season saw the team finishing 7th – their worst league position since 2000. However, as a defeated finalists of the Slovak Cup the club secured a place to contest in the 1st qualifying round of 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.^{[citation needed]}

Events timeline

• 1909 – Founded as Zsolnai Testgyakorlók Köre
• 1910 – Renamed ZsTS Zsolna
• 1919 – Renamed SK Žilina
• 1948 – Renamed Sokol Slovena Žilina
• 1953 – Renamed Jiskra Slovena Žilina
• 1956 – Renamed DSO Dynamo Žilina
• 1961 – First European qualification, 1961–62
• 1963 – Renamed Jednota Žilina
• 1967 – Renamed TJ ZVL Žilina
• 1990 – Renamed ŠK Žilina
• 1995 – Renamed MŠK Žilina

Domestic

Czechoslovakia

• Zväzové Majstrovstvá Slovenska (Slovak League) (1925–33)
  • Winners (2): 1927–28, 1928–29
• Czechoslovak Cup (1961–93)
  • Runners-up (1): 1961–62
• 1.SNL (1st Slovak National football league)
  • Winners (1): 1981–82

Slovakia

• Slovak First Football League (1993–present)
  • Winners (7): 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2016–17
  • Runners-up (6): 2004–05, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2014–15, 2019–20, 2024–25
  • 3rd place (1): 2010–11

• Slovak Cup
  • Winners (2): 2011–12, 2025–26
  • Runners-up (4): 2010–11, 2012–13, 2018–19, 2020–21
• Pribina Cup (Slovak Super Cup)
  • Winners (4): 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2010–11

European

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  • Quarter-final (1): 1961–62
• Mitropa Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 1974, 1983
• UEFA Champions League
  • Group stage (1): 2010-11
• UEFA Europa League
  • Group stage (1): 2008–09

Record transfers

More information Rank, Player ...

Rank	Player	To	Fee	Year
1.	László Bénes	Mönchengladbach	€5.5 million*	2016[25]
2.	Róbert Boženík	Feyenoord	€4.6 million*	2020[26]
3.	Dávid Hancko	ACF Fiorentina	€4.5 million*	2018[27][28]
4.	Tomáš Hubočan	Zenit	€3.8 million	2008[29]
5.	Jakub Kiwior	Spezia	€2.0 million*	2021[30]
	Mário Sauer	Toulouse FC	€2.0 million*	2025[31]
	Adrián Kaprálik	Holstein Kiel	€2.0 million*	2025[32]
6.	Samuel Gidi	FC Cincinnati	€1.7 million*	2025[33]
7.	Nikolas Špalek	Brescia	€1.5 million	2018[34]
	Denis Vavro	FC Copenhagen	€1.5 million*	2017[35]
	Samuel Mráz	Empoli F.C.	€1.5 million	2018[36]
	Ľubomír Belko	Viking FK	€1.5 million	2026[37]
8.	Róbert Mazáň	Celta de Vigo	€1.2 million*	2018[38]
	Milan Škriniar	Sampdoria	€1.2 million*	2016[39][40]
9.	Peter Pekarík	VfL Wolfsburg	€1.0 million*	2009[41]
	Peter Štyvar	Bristol City F.C.	€1.0 million*	2009[42]
	Dawid Kurminowski	Aarhus GF	€1.0 million*	2021[43]
	Timotej Jambor	FC Rapid București	€1.0 million	2024[44]
	Ján Bernát	Westerlo	€1.0 million	2022[45]
10.	Vahan Bichakhchyan	Pogoń Szczecin	€0.9 million*	2022[46]

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*-unofficial fee

Current squad

As of 22 February 2026^[47]

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

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SVK Jakub Badžgoň 2 DF  SVK Marek Okál 6 MF  CMR Xavier Adang 7 FW  SVK František Kóša 8 MF  HUN Regő Szánthó 10 MF  ROU Andrei Florea 11 MF  POL Fabian Bzdyl 14 DF  SVK Michal Svoboda 16 FW  SVK Patrik Iľko 17 DF  SVK Ján Minárik 20 DF  SVK Kristián Bari 21 DF  SVK Timotej Hranica 22 GK  SVK Jakub Jokl

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 MF  SVK Michal Faško 24 MF  SVK Samuel Ďatko 25 DF  CZE Filip Kaša 28 DF  GEO Aleksandre Narimanidze 29 GK  CZE Dominik Sváček (on loan from Zbrojovka Brno) 33 DF  SVK Tobiáš Pališčák 34 FW  SVK Lukáš Prokop 39 FW  CZE Lukáš Juliš 66 MF  SVK Miroslav Káčer 77 FW  ARG Nehuén Mendoza 90 FW  ESP Dani Homet 92 MF  SVK Michal Škvarka 95 FW  CRO Marko Roginić

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For recent transfers, see List of Slovak football transfers winter 2025-26.

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.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  SVK Marek Teplan (at Považská Bystrica until 30 June 2026)

No. Pos. Nation Player 27 FW  NGA Ridwan Sanusi (at Železiarne Podbrezová until 30 June 2026)

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Reserve team

League and Cup history

^{[citation needed]}

Slovak League only (1993–present)

More information Season, Division (Name) ...

Season	Division (Name)	Pos./Teams	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Slovak Cup	Europe		Top Scorer (Goals)
1993–94	1st (Mars Superliga)	5/(12)	32	11	11	10	50	42	33	3.R			Ivan Šefčík (13) Ľubomír Zuziak (13)
1994–95	1st(Mars Superliga)	12/(12)	32	9	3	20	37	53	30	1.R
1995–96	2nd (1.Liga)	2/(16) (P)	30	17	5	8	57	27	56	2.R
1996–97	1st (Mars Superliga)	9/(16)	30	11	4	15	30	34	37	2.R
1997–98	1st (Mars Superliga)	7/(16)	30	11	9	10	23	25	42	1.R	UI	Group stage (9), 4th	Ladislav Meszároš (5)
1998–99	1st (Mars Superliga)	6/(16)	30	15	3	12	36	42	48	2.R			Marek Mintál (11)
1999–00	1st (Mars Superliga)	8/(16)	30	12	5	13	39	37	41	1.R	UI	2.R ( Metz)	Marek Mintál (12)
2000–01	1st (Mars Superliga)	5/(10)	36	11	12	13	41	46	45	2.R			Ľubomír Reiter (12)
2001–02	1st (Mars Superliga)	1/(10)	36	21	6	9	62	39	69	Semi-finals			Marek Mintál (21)
2002–03	1st (Slovak Super Liga)	1/(10)	36	21	7	8	69	31	70	Semi-finals	CL	Q2 ( Basel)	Marek Mintál (20)
2003–04	1st (Corgoň Liga)	1/(10)	36	17	13	6	62	35	64	Quarter-finals	CL UC	Q3 ( Chelsea) 1R ( FC Utrecht)	Marek Bažík (11)
2004–05	1st (Corgoň Liga)	2/(10)	36	19	8	9	73	34	65	Semi-finals	CL	Q2 ( D.București)	Ivan Bartoš (18)
2005–06	1st (Corgoň Liga)	4/(10)	36	18	6	12	69	44	60	2.R	UC	Q2 ( Austria Wien)	Stanislav Šesták (17)
2006–07	1st (Corgoň Liga)	1/(12)	28	22	3	3	80	17	69	Quarter-finals			Stanislav Šesták (15)
2007–08	1st (Corgoň Liga)	2/(12)	33	22	4	4	75	30	73	Semi-finals	CL	Q2 ( Slavia Prague)	Peter Štyvar (15)
2008–09	1st (Corgoň Liga)	2/(12)	33	18	8	7	56	26	62	Quarter-finals	UC	Group stage (F), 4th	Adauto (11)
2009–10	1st (Corgoň Liga)	1/(12)	33	23	4	6	59	17	73	3.R	EL	P-O ( FK Partizan)	Ivan Lietava (13)
2010–11	1st (Corgoň Liga)	3/(12)	33	14	12	7	47	28	54	Runners-up	CL	Group stage (F), 4th	Tomáš Majtán (11) Tomáš Oravec (11)
2011–12	1st (Corgoň Liga)	1/(12)	33	19	10	4	57	27	67	Winner	EL	Q2 ( KR)	Róbert Pich (10)
2012–13	1st (Corgoň Liga)	7/(12)	33	9	15	9	37	28	42	Runners-up	CL	Q2 ( I.K.Shmona)	Róbert Pich (11)
2013–14	1st (Corgoň Liga)	9/(12)	33	11	7	15	49	50	40	Quarter-finals	EL	Q3 ( HNK Rijeka)	Róbert Pich (7)
2014–15	1st (Fortuna Liga)	2/(12)	33	20	9	4	68	25	69	5.R			Matej Jelić (19)
2015–16	1st (Fortuna Liga)	5/(12)	33	14	6	13	58	46	48	Semi-finals	EL	P-O ( Athletic Bilbao)	Nermin Haskić (8)
2016–17	1st (Fortuna Liga)	1/(12)	30	23	4	3	82	25	73	Quarter-finals			Filip Hlohovský (20)
2017–18	1st (Fortuna Liga)	4/(12)	31	17	2	12	61	48	53	Semi–finals	CL	Q2 ( Copenhagen)	Samuel Mráz (21)
2018–19	1st (Fortuna Liga)	4/(12)	32	16	6	10	56	44	54	Runners-up			Róbert Boženík (13)
2019–20	1st (Fortuna Liga)	2/(12)	27	15	6	6	48	25	51	1/8 Fin			Ján Bernát (9)
2020–21	1st (Fortuna Liga)	4/(12)	32	15	7	10	73	52	52	Runners-up	EL	Q1 ( New Saints)	Dawid Kurminowski (20)
2021–22	1st (Fortuna Liga)	6/(12)	32	8	10	14	43	52	34	Quarter-finals	ECL	P–O ( FK Jablonec)	Vahan Bichakhchyan (6)
2022–23	1st (Fortuna Liga)	6/(12)	32	11	6	15	49	53	39	Fourth round			Adrián Kaprálik (10)
2023–24	1st (Niké Liga)	4/(12)	32	16	7	9	54	45	47	Third round	ECL	Q2 ( K.A.A. Gent)	Dávid Ďuriš (9)
2024–25	1st (Niké Liga)	2/(12)	32	15	9	8	55	40	54	Quarter-finals			Dávid Ďuriš (10)
2025–26	1st (Niké Liga)	4/(12)	32	15	7	10	59	41	52	Winner	ECL	Q2 ( Raków)	Michal Faško (14)

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European record

Updated 20 July 2023

More information Season, Competition ...

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1961–62	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1. Round		Olympiacos	1–0	3–2	4–2
		Quarter-finals		Fiorentina	3–2	0–2	3–4
1967	Intertoto Cup	Group B8		Fortuna Düsseldorf	0–2	0–1
				LASK Linz	0–0	1–1
				Vejle BK	1–1	1–2
1969	Intertoto Cup	Group 4		Örebro SK	4–1	0–3
				NEC	2–1	1–1
				AC Bellinzona	3–0	2–1
1970	Intertoto Cup	Group A4		MVV Maastricht	3–3	3–4
				Örebro SK	4–0	0–1
				KSV Waregem	3–1	3–0
1972	Intertoto Cup	Group 6		Eintracht Braunschweig	1–1	0–5
				Landskrona BoIS	1–0	2–2
				Vejle BK	3–1	4–2
1974	Mitropa Cup	Group B		FK Sarajevo	4–0	3–3
				Videoton	5–1	1–3
		Final		Tatabányai Bányász	2–3	0–2	2–5
1983	Mitropa Cup	Group		Hellas Verona	4–0	1–1
				Vasas	3–1	0–2
				Galenika Zemun	2–0	0–2
1997	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 9		Austria Wien	3–1	–
				Rapid Bucharest	–	0–2
				Olympique Lyon	0–5	–
				Odra Wodzisław	–	0–0
1999	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1. Round		Herfølge Boldklub	2–0	2–0	4–0
		2. Round		Metz	2–1	0–3	2–4
2002–03	UEFA Champions League	2. Round		Basel	1–1	0–3	1–4
2003–04	UEFA Champions League	2. Round		Maccabi Tel Aviv	1–0	1–1	2–1
		3. Round		Chelsea	0–2	0–3	0–5
2003–04	UEFA Cup	1. Round		Utrecht	0–4	0–2	0–6
2004–05	UEFA Champions League	2. Round		Dinamo Bucharest	0–1	0–1	0–2
2005–06	UEFA Cup	1. Round		Baku	3–1	0–1	3–2
		2. Round		Austria Wien	1–2	2–2	3–4
2007–08	UEFA Champions League	1. Round		F91 Dudelange	5–4	2–1	7–5
		2. Round		Slavia Prague	0–0	0–0	0–0 (3–4 p)
2008–09	UEFA Cup	1. Round		MTZ-RIPO Minsk	1–0	2–2	3–2
		2. Round		Slovan Liberec	2–1	2–1	4–2
		3. Round		Levski Sofia	1–1	1–0	2–1
		Group F		Hamburg	1–2	–
				Ajax Amsterdam	–	0–1
				Slavia Prague	0–0	–
				Aston Villa	–	2–1
2009–10	UEFA Europa League	2. Round		Dacia Chişinău	2–0	1–0	3–0
		3. Round		Hajduk Split	1–1	1–0	2–1
		Play-off Round		Partizan Belgrade	0–2	1–1	1–3
2010–11	UEFA Champions League	2. Round		Birkirkara	3–0	0–1	3–1
		3. Round		Litex Lovech	3–1	1–1	4–2
		Play-off Round		Sparta Prague	1–0	2–0	3–0
		Group F		Chelsea	1–4	1–2
				Olympique Marseille	0–7	0–1
				Spartak Moscow	1–2	0–3
2011–12	UEFA Europa League	2. Round		KR Reykjavík	2–0	0–3	2–3
2012–13	UEFA Champions League	2. Round		Ironi Kiryat Shmona	1–0	0–2	1–2
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	1. Round		Torpedo Kutaisi	3–3	3–0	6–3
		2. Round		Olimpija Ljubljana	2–0	1–3	3–3 (a.)
		3. Round		Rijeka	1–1	1–2	2–3
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	1. Round		Glentoran	3–0	4–1	7–1
		2. Round		Dacia Chișinău	4–2	2–1	6–3
		3. Round		Vorskla Poltava	2–0	1–3 (a.e.t.)	3–3 (a.)
		Play-off round		Athletic Bilbao	3–2	0–1	3–3 (a.)
2017–18	UEFA Champions League	2. Round		Copenhagen	1–3	2–1	3–4
2020–21	UEFA Europa League	1. Round		The New Saints	—N/a	1–3 (a.e.t.)	—N/a
2021–22	UEFA Europa Conference League	1. Round		Dila Gori	5–1	1–2	6–3
		2. Round		Apollon Limassol	2–2	3–1	5–3
		3. Round		Tobol	5−0	1–0	6−0
		Play-off round		Jablonec	0–3	1–5	1–8
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	1. Round		FCI Levadia	2–1	2–1	4–2
		2. Round		Gent	2–5	1–5	3–10
2025–26	UEFA Conference League	2. Round		Raków Częstochowa	1–3	0–3	1–6

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Most goals

^{[citation needed]}

More information #, Nat. ...

#	Nat.	Name	Goals
1		Jozef Bielek	86
		Štefan Slezák
2		Marek Mintál	76
3		Stanislav Šesták	49
4		Dávid Ďuriš	47
5		Michal Škvarka	43
6		Miroslav Káčer	40
7		Róbert Jež	35

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Players whose name is listed in bold are still active.

Top Goalscorer

Slovak League Top scorer since 1993–94

More information Year, Winner ...

Year	Winner	G
1954–55	Emil Pažický	191
2001–02	Marek Mintál	21
2002–03	Marek Mintál	201
2002–03	Martin Fabuš	201
2014–15	Matej Jelić	191
2016–17	Filip Hlohovský	201
2017–18	Samuel Mráz	21
2020–21	Dawid Kurminowski	19
2025–26	Michal Faško	14

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¹Shared award