František Svoboda

František Svoboda (5 August 1906 – 6 July 1948) was a Czech football player who played as a striker. His nickname was "Franci" (the French).[1]

František Svoboda
Personal information
Date of birth (1906-08-05)5 August 1906
Place of birth Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Date of death 6 July 1948(1948-07-06) (aged 41)
Place of death Czechoslovakia
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
–1926 Rapid Vinohrady
1926–1940 Slavia Prague (101)
1940–1941 Viktoria Žižkov
International career
1926–1937 Czechoslovakia 43 (22)
Medal record
Representing  Czechoslovakia
Men's Football
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up1934 Italy
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

He started his career with Vinohrady Rapid, from where he moved to Slavia Prague in 1926, and with them he was the Champions of Czechoslovakia 8 times, played a pivotal role in helping the club to win 8 national league titles, scoring 101 league goals in his 14 years at the club and being the top goalscorer of the 1934–35 season with 27 goals.[2][1] He remained in Slavia until 1940, after which he succeeded Viktoria Zizkov.

Svoboda enjoyed great fame in his playing days, being a respected and feared striker throughout Europe. Svoboda was a very strong and muscular player, but despite being robust in stature, his movement was elegant and he excelled especially at rocket shots even from great distances, becoming known for his goals from long range.[1]

International career

He played 43 matches in 10 years for the Czechoslovakia national team, scoring 22 goals, and he was a member of the team that reached the final of the 1934 FIFA World Cup, playing in three matches and scoring a goal in the match against Switzerland.[3][1] Half of his international tally came in the Central European Cup, and with those 11 goals, he is the fourth all-time top goal scorer in the competition's history.

International goals

Czechoslovakia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Svoboda goal.
International goals by cap, date, venue, opponent, score, result and competition[4][5]
No. Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 22 January 1927Stade de Sclessin, Liège, Belgium Belgium
1–0
3–2Friendly
2
3–1
3 424 April 1927Stadion Letná, Prague, Czechoslovakia Hungary
3–0
4–1
4 823 October 1927 Italy
1–1
2–21927–30 Central European Cup
5
2–1
6 928 October 1927 Yugoslavia
2–1
5–3Friendly
7
5–3
8 123 March 1929Stadio Littoriale, Bologna, Italy Italy
2–2
2–41927–30 Central European Cup
9 1317 March 1929Stadion Letná, Prague, Czechoslovakia Austria
3–2
3–3Friendly
10 158 September 1929 Hungary
1–0
1–11927–30 Central European Cup
11 176 October 1929  Switzerland
3–0
5–0
12 2023 March 1930 Austria
1–1
2–2Friendly
13 2313 June 1930 Spain
2–0
2–0
14 2722 March 1931 Hungary
1–2
3–31931–32 Central European Cup
15
3–3
16 3015 November 1931Stadio Nazionale PNF, Rome, Italy Italy
1–1
2–2
17
2–2
18 3222 May 1932Stadion Letná, Prague, Czechoslovakia Austria
1–1
1–1
19 3510 June 1933 France
3–0
4–0Friendly
20 3625 March 1934Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes, France France
1–1
2–1
21 3731 May 1934Stadio Benito Mussolini, Turin, Italy  Switzerland
1–1
3–21934 World Cup quarter-final
22 4221 February 1937Stadion Letná, Prague, Czechoslovakia  Switzerland
3–1
5–21936–38 Central European Cup

Honours

Club

Slavia Prague

Czechoslovak First League:

International

Czechoslovakia

World Cup:

  • Runners-up (1): 1934

Central European Cup:

Individual

References

  1. "František SVOBODA 1932-1936". Pes Miti del Calcio. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  2. "Czechoslovakia 1925-1938". RSSSF. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  3. František Svoboda at FAČR (in Czech)
  4. "Frantisek Svoboda - International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  5. "František Svoboda". football.eu. Retrieved 27 May 2022.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.