Ladislav Pavlovič

(* 8 April 1926 in Prešov; † 28 January 2013 in Prešov) also known as the Russian Tsar, was one of twelve siblings, of whom two boys, he and his two years younger brother Rudolf made it into the first football league. Ladislav and Rudolf have played together for the team of Tatran Prešov for 22 years. In the historical table of the Czechoslovak football league strikers, he occupies the fourth place with 164 league goals. He is the second most successful Slovak football player, right after Jozef Adamec.

He played actively in the first league in the years 1948-1966 as a striker of the classic right wing. In 1959 he scored a goal against Ireland (4-0) in Bratislava at the Tehelné pole stadium in front of 60 000 spectators, which qualified Czechoslovakia for the European Cup (first unofficial European Championship) in France. On 9 July 1960, in Marseille, in the battle for the third place, his spectacular goal against France (2-0) helped win the bronze medal for Czechoslovakia in the European Cup.

Club career

His dizzying career started by accident. In 1948 he played with his brother Rudo for the first time in the "A-class" adult team of Prešov in a soccer match against Levoča. He actually got that chance because players were missing.

Ladislav Pavlovič banner