František Karkó

František Karkó
Personal information
Date of birth (1944-02-27)27 February 1944
Place of birth Kravany nad Dunajom, Slovakia
Date of death 3 May 2022(2022-05-03) (aged 78)
Place of death Slovakia
Position Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1962–1963 Spartak Komárno
1963– Dukla Brno
–1966 Spartak ZJŠ Brno
1966–1968 Strojárne Martin
1968–1973 TŽ Třinec 58 (15[1])
1973–1980 Strojárne Martin
International career
1971 Czechoslovakia 2 (2)
Managerial career
Strojárne Martin
Bardejov
Ružomberok
1996–1997 Třinec
Turčianske Teplice
Michalovce
Žiar nad Hronom
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

František Karkó (27 February 1944 – 3 May 2022) was a Slovak footballer and manager.

Playing career

Born in Kravany nad Dunajom, Karkó started playing football with both a tennis ball and a rubber ball.[2] At the age of 18, he joined Spartak Komárno, before joining Dukla Brno.[2] He spent three years in Brno with Dukla Brno and Spartak ZJŠ Brno, before returning to Slovakia with TŽ Třinec in 1968, and helping them reach the Czechoslovak First League for the 1970–71 season.[2] In 1973, he returned to Strojárne Martin, where he would retire in 1980, at the age of 36.[2]

International career

Karkó made two appearances for the Czechoslovakia national team, scoring twice, with both coming in a UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying win against Finland.[3][2] He would later play against Brazil at the Maracanã, where Czechoslovakia lost 1–0. [2] While at TŽ Třinec, fans of the team chanted that he should've gone to the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.[2]

Managerial career

Following his retirement. he worked as both a manager and assistant manager for the likes of Strojárne Martin, Třinec, Turčianske Teplice, Michalovce, and Žiar nad Hronom.[2]

Personal life and death

In 1997, Karkó was involved in a serious car accident, which would take nearly a year to recover from.[2] He died on 3 May 2022, following an illness.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Profil hráče na csfotbal.cz". csfotbal.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Šurin, Peter (4 May 2022). "Zomrel František Karkó, ktorý hral aj v Riu na Maracane" [František Karkó, who also played in Rio at the Maracana, has died]. futbalsfz.sk (in Slovak).
  3. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "František Karkó (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 3 May 2026.