Róbert Formanko

Róbert Formanko
Personal information
Date of birth 29 January 1976
Place of birth Pavlice, Slovakia
Date of death June 23, 2000(2000-06-23) (aged 24)
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Centre-back
Youth career
–1993 Spartak Trnava
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–2000 Spartak Trnava 110 (8)
2000 FC Petržalka 16
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Róbert Formanko (1976 – 2000) was a Slovak footballer who played as a centre-back. He mostly played for FC Spartak Trnava. He played a total of 126 matches in the first tier of Slovak football.

Early career

Formanko started playing football in neighboring Voderady, from where he joined the academy of Spartak Trnava as a teenager.[1]

Club career

Formanko debuted as a 17 year old in the first league in the 1993–94 season against FC Baník Prievidza.[2] In the following season, he completed his military service in the second league team OD Trenčín. After returning to Trnava in the 1995–96 season, he scored his first league goal in a 3–1 win against FC Lokomotíva Košice.[3] He scored in the final of the 1995–96 Slovak Cup, a 2–1 loss against Chemlon Humenné.[4] He was a part of the Trnava squad that almost won the league in the 1996–97 season, when they lost the title to 1. FC Košice in a 1–0 away loss against MŠK Rimavská Sobota in the final round of the season. In the 1998–99 Cup Winners' Cup, his team played against Besiktas Istanbul, where he scored.[3] Later that season, he scored in the second leg of the semi-final of the Slovak Cup at Pasienky against Inter Bratislava and in the final against 1. FC Košice where he sealed Trnava's 2–0 victory.[5] He played his last match in a 4–1 win against Tatran Prešov. Altogether, he played 110 matches for Spartak in the Slovak First Football League and scored 8 goals.[1]

In the winter of 1999, he transferred to Artmedia Petržalka, where he played the entire spring part of the 2000 season.[1]

Death

Formanko died in a car accident on 23 June 2000. While returning to his native Pavlíce, he crashed his Peugeot 306. According to a report by the Slovak Ministry of the Interior the vehicle went off the road and overturned several times.[1][6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Jeho srdce bilo pre Trnavu, život predčasne uťala tragická nehoda". sportnet.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2026-05-10.
  2. ^ s.r.o, Zoznam (2021-01-29). "Slovenský futbalista by mal 45 rokov: Dožil sa len trochu viac ako polovice!". Topky.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2026-05-10.
  3. ^ a b a.s, Petit Press. "Legenda trnavského Spartaka by mala štyridsaťpäť rokov". MY Trnava (in Slovak). Retrieved 2026-05-10.
  4. ^ a.s, Petit Press. "Humenné prekvapujúcim víťazom Slovenského pohára". SME.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2026-05-10.
  5. ^ Michael. "Slovak national cup 1997/98". www.slovakfutball.com. Archived from the original on 2005-11-09. Retrieved 2026-05-10.
  6. ^ [email protected]. "Pavličania na Róberta Formanka nezabúdajú". Trnavský Hlas. Retrieved 2026-05-10.
  7. ^ "Dubovského prežil len o dva dni: Poviem vám celú pravdu! Spoveď Formankovho brata po 25 rokoch". Šport24.sk (in Slovak). 2025-06-24. Retrieved 2026-05-10.