Anton Malatinský Stadium

Football has been played on this site for close to a century, but the Anton Malatinský Stadium itself has been transformed twice — first in 2006, then completely between 2013 and 2015.

Construction and opening

The ground has carried its present name since 14 January 1998, honouring Anton Malatinský, a Spartak player and manager who led the club to three Czechoslovak championships and died in 1992; a bronze statue of him was unveiled outside the stadium in 2016. Planning consent for the new arena came in April 2013, the building permit in August, and construction started in September 2013. The work finished in August 2015 at a total cost of €78 million, of which roughly €30 million covered the sporting element itself.

Major renovations

• 1971 — a steel structure replaced the original concrete bowl of the south stand
• 2006 — major works: a rebuilt west stand, undersoil heating, new floodlights and refurbished north and south stands
• 2013–2015 — the full reconstruction that produced today's ground, briefly the largest and most modern in Slovakia until the national stadium opened

Notable moments

The reopening on 22 August 2015 began with a legends match between Spartak and Ajax Amsterdam (2–4), in which Richard Witschge, formerly of Ajax and Barcelona, scored the first goal at the new ground; Ľubomír Luhový replied for the Trnava old boys. The senior sides of Spartak and Brazil's Atlético Paranaense followed (0–2).

Trnava's support is among the most loyal in Slovakia, and the derby against Slovan Bratislava has been filling this ground since the 1920s.

Fan culture

The first ever meeting of Slovakia's two great rivals took place here on 21 March 1926: the hosts, in their traditional red-and-black hooped shirts, beat the white-and-blue ŠK Bratislava 3–1, with Žigárdy scoring twice. That fixture still dictates when the stadium fills. The record league attendance of 28,000 came against Slovan on 10 June 1973; since Slovak independence the high mark is 24,850, again versus Slovan, in April 1995. The largest crowd of all, 30,000, watched a European Cup tie against Dinamo Bucharest (2–2) on 29 September 1971.

Big matches

Czechoslovakia played here just once, drawing 1–1 with the Soviet Union on 27 April 1988 before 22,036 people. Slovakia first appeared on 24 April 1996 against Bulgaria (0–0) and claimed a first win over Iceland (3–1) on 29 April 1997, when Spartak's own Július Šimon scored the first international goal at the ground. After the rebuild, Slovakia played its entire 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign here, losing 0–1 to England before beating Scotland 3–0, Lithuania 4–0, Slovenia 1–0 and Malta 3–0. The heaviest home defeat came on 6 September 2019, a 0–4 loss to world runners-up Croatia.

The stadium stands inside the city and forms part of a shopping complex, so a match here combines easily with everyday errands.

How to get there

• By car: the complex has its own car park for 1,000 vehicles, generous by Slovak standards
• By train: Trnava sits on the main line from Bratislava, and the ground is a short walk from the station
• On foot: the stadium is in the city itself rather than on its outskirts

Tickets and tours

FC Spartak Trnava sells league tickets directly; for the Slovan derby and international fixtures, book ahead — both 2016 internationals, against Northern Ireland and England, sold out all 18,111 seats. A bronze statue of Anton Malatinský has stood outside the ground since 2016.

Visitor tips

• When to arrive: earlier than usual for the derby, when the atmosphere builds long before kick-off
• What is nearby: the shopping centre inside the complex, a 600-seat multiplex and a 45-bed hotel
• Where to park: the complex car park, with 1,000 spaces
• What to look for: the statue of Anton Malatinský, whose name the ground has carried since 1998