He was one of the best Slovak footballers in history, he also played for Real Madrid. But his life was broken by death, Peter Dubovsky was only twenty-eight years old. The fatal tragedy at the Thai waterfalls did not have to happen at all, and just today the legendary midfielder was able to celebrate his fiftieth birthday.
He made his debut in the Czechoslovak League at the age of seventeen, and in 1992 he was the main driver of Slovan Bratislava at the age of twenty on the way to the title. In the federal competition, he scored 59 goals in 93 matches, a year after the championship primacy he signed a contract with Real Madrid.
He danced in the “White Ballet” for two seasons, then moved to Oviedo, for which he played the highest Spanish competition until the fateful summer of 2000.
The news then came like lightning. Peter Dubovsky died on holiday in Thailand.
At that time, he wanted to take pictures of the waterfalls on the island of Ko Samui, his foot slipped in search of the best shot, and the famous offensive footballer fell from about ten meters. He succumbed to heavy bleeding and brain damage.
At the same time, little was enough and he did not go to Thailand on a fateful trip at all. A month before the tragedy, he joined Slovakia in preparation against Russia.
“After that match, the former president of the Slovak Football Association, František Laurinec, called us that we had an excellent offer for a tournament in Japan. Nice money was played there,” recalled the then assistant national coach Anton Dragúň.
However, the invitation arrived in Bratislava at the last minute and the players already had their holidays planned after the season. “So we, the coaches, had to persuade them to cancel them,” said the coach.
To this day, he recalls how he went to see Dubovský. “I remember when I was in peace at Petě and we had fun that he could take a vacation in Japan. He wanted to cancel everything and go to the tournament with us, but the travel agency did not want to return the deposit,” Dragun complained.
The Slovaks thus flew to the land of the rising sun without their biggest star. She headed to Thailand… The news of Dubov’s death caught Dragun after returning from Japan when he was watching the European Championships in the Netherlands and Belgium.
“Coach Adamec and I were on our way when Jože’s phone rang. He picked it up cheerfully and suddenly says: No, that can’t be true. The then secretary of the Slovak association, Mikuláš Tarči, told him that Dubovský was not alive. It was a huge shock. he shook so that we almost crashed, “said Dragúň.
“We parked as fast as we could, and for half an hour we couldn’t talk at all. We just looked at each other. We couldn’t believe what happened. It was an immense talent. When I think he could, poor thing, still live, I’m crying, “the coach admitted.
“It was a great pity, because he was one of the best footballers I had the honor to meet. It’s a pity they didn’t return the money and he would rather not go to Japan with us. If the travel agency had been more accommodating, he could have lived,” Dragun repeated.
And celebrate its 50th birthday today…
