Extreme Football Tourism: SLOVAKIA: Zsolnai TK (1908-1919) / ŠK Žilina (1919-1948, 1990-1995) / JTO Sokol Slovena Žilina (1948-1953) / DŠO Iskra Slovena Žilina (1953-1956) / DŠO Dynamo Žilina (1956-1963) / TJ Jednota Žilina (1963-1967) / TJ ZVL Žilina (1967-1990) / MŠK Žilina (1995-)

Štadión pod Dubňom, Žilina (MŠK Žilina, formerly Zsolnai TK / ŠK Žilina / JTO Sokol Slovena Žilina / DŠO Iskra Slovena Žilina / DŠO Dynamo Žilina / TJ Jednota Žilina / TJ ZVL Žilina)

Slovakia, region: Žilina

10 VIII 2024 / MŠK Žilina - MFK Zemplín Michalovce 3-1 / 1. Liga (= SVK level 1)

Timeline

1905 / First football activities in the town of Žilina (or Zolna in Hungarian – relevant given that Slovakia was part of the Hungarian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time), as students of the local secondary school play matches on a makeshift pitch at Malá Praha (modern-day Hálkova ulica), but also near the local cemetery, and finally at Strelnica on the northern outskirts of the town – in fact the location of the current Štadión pod Dubňom.
1908 / A football and tennis club is founded in Žilina, which takes on the Hungarian name Zsolnai Testgyarkorlók Köre (TK). Július Tafferner becomes the club’s first chairman. In the first year of existence, the club, which plays its football at Strelnica, sticks to playing friendly matches.
1909 / Zsolnai TK is officially registered as a football club.
1914 / As World War I starts, the activities of Zsolnai TK come to a standstill.
1919 / Resumption of footballing activities in Žilina, with Zsolnai TK being refounded as Športový Klub (ŠK) Žilina – the new name in the Slovak language being appropriate given that Czechoslovakia has been granted independence by the major powers at the Paris Peace Conference. Under the new chairman Emil Klein, the club has difficult years in the early 1920s, with dissolution due to financial problems being staved off narrowly.
1924 / ŠK Žilina enjoys its first tangible success, as the club wins the Central Slovak Regional Championship title – the first of eight consecutive wins of this trophy.
1925 / The Strelnica playing field is hit by a flood of the nearby Váh River, causing its complete destruction. The reconstruction sees a first wooden grandstand being put in place.
1926 / A second flood hits the Strelnica playing field.
1928 / ŠK Žilina wins the pan-Slovak championship play-offs, in which the club sees off ČcŠK Bratislava and SC Ligeti Bratislava. Also in 1928, a first set of dressing rooms is put in place at the Strelnica playing field.
1929 / ŠK Žilina wins the pan-Slovak championship play-offs for a second time running, defeating SC Ligeti Bratislava.
1939 / Having been markedly less successful in the 1930s than in the second half of the preceding decade, ŠK Žilina now has its most attractive result, finishing in third place in the makeshift Slovak Cup (in fact a regular league competition held in the early months of 1939, which replaces the traditional Slovak championship following the break-up of Czechoslovakia) behind AC Sparta Považska Bystrica and ŠK Bratislava.
1940 / ŠK Žilina finishes in third place in the Slovak league championship for a second time running, behind ŠK Bratislava and AC Sparta Považska Bystrica. Also in 1940, works get underway on the construction of a veritable stadium on the location of the Strelnica playing field.
1941 / Although works on the stadium have not been completed yet – with just the athletics track and part of the western stand being ready – the new Štadión pod Dubňom is inaugurated with ŠK Žilina defeating local rivals AC Sparta Považska Bystrica (3-0). According to some sources – although contested by others – the ground is named after the hill Dubeň, situated just across the Váh River and in plain sight from the stadium, and the name of the stadium literally means Stadium under the Dubeň Hill.
1942 / ŠK Žilina finishes in third place in the Slovak league championship for a third time, this time behind ŠK Bratislava and FC Vrútky.
1943 / Works on the are completed. A considerable part of the works have been performed by Jewish prisoners from the Žilina Concentration Camp – a fact which is honoured in 2019 with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at the stadium.
1945 / Upon the resumption of footballing activities in the reinstated republic of Czechoslovakia, ŠK Žilina is placed in the top division, in which it finishes in a respectable sixth place in the 1945-46 season.
1947 / ŠK Žilina finishes in fourth place in the 1. Liga, which was to remain the club’s best result in the post-war Czechoslovak top division until the country’s dissolution in 1993.
1948 / As the Sokol movement takes over ŠK Žilina, the club is renamed Jednotná Telovýchovná Organizácia (JTO) Sokol Slovena Žilina.
1952 / Finishing in seventh place in the 1. Liga, JTO Sokol Slovena Žilina withdraws from the Czechoslovakian top flight.
1953 / As the Sokol movement is banned by communist authorities, JTO Sokol Slovena Žilina changes its name to become Dobrovol’ná Športová Organizácia (DŠO, ‘Amateur Sports Organisation’) Iskra Slovena Žilina. Also in 1953, the Štadión pod Dubňom is the venue of a gala match between a Slovakia XI and FK Dinamo Moskva, attended by a record crowd of 25,000.
1954 / DŠO Iskra Slovena Žilina manages a return to the 1. Liga.
1956 / Finishing second-last in the 1. Liga, DŠO Iskra Slovena Žilina drops back into the second tier along with bottom club Spartak VSS Košice. Also in 1956, DŠO Iskra Slovena Žilina changes its name to become DŠO Dynamo Žilina.
1958 / Winning the title in Group B of the 2. Liga, 1 point ahead of TJ Jednota Košice B, DŠO Dynamo Žilina wins promotion to the 1. Liga. In the winter of 1958-59, the Štadión pod Dubňom is hit by a flood of the Váh River yet again.
1959 / Finishing second-last in the 1. Liga, DŠO Dynamo Žilina drops back into the 2. Liga along with bottom club Spartak Ústí nad Labem.
1960 / DŠO Dynamo Žilina narrowly misses out on an immediate return to the top flight of the Czechoslovak football pyramid, finishing runners-up in Group B of the 2. Liga, just 1 point behind champions TJ TTS Trenčin.
1961 / Champions in Group C of the 2. Liga, 6 points ahead of closest rivals TJ Jednota Košice, DŠO Dynamo Žilina manages a return to the top flight of Czechoslovak football. That same season, the club reaches the final of the Czechoslovak cup, losing the match at Stadion Míru in Olomouc 3-0 against Dukla Praha. Due to Dukla also winning the national title, however, DŠO Dynamo Žilina qualifies for European football for the first time, contesting the Cup Winners Cup, in which it eliminates PAE Olympiacos Piraeus in R1 (4-2 aggr.) before being eliminated in R2 (QF) by AC Fiorentina (4-3 aggr.).
1962 / Finishing in joint eleventh place in the 1. Liga with TJ Spartak Praha Sokolovo, DŠO Dynamo Žilina takes on the club from Prague in a relegation play-off, which it loses 2-0 – resulting in the club being relegated back to the second level after just one season, along with the two bottom clubs, TJ Spartak Trnava and TJ Spartak KPS Brno.
1963 / DŠO Dynamo Žilina misses out on an immediate return to the top flight, finishing runners-up in Group C of the 2. Liga, 4 points behind champions TJ VSS Košice. Also in 1963, the club changes its name to become Telovýchovná Jednota (TJ) Jednota Žilina.
1965 / TJ Jednota Žilina narrowly misses out on promotion, finishing runners-up in Group C of the 2. Liga, 1 point behind champions TJ Lokomotíva Košice.
1966 / Champions in Group B of the 2. Liga, 3 points ahead of closest followers TJ VŽKG Ostrava, TJ Jednota Žilina wins promotion to the top flight of Czechoslovak football, in which it usually manages safe mid-table positions in the following decade – with fifth place finishes in 1972, 1973, and 1974 as highlights.
1967 / TJ Jednota Žilina changes its name to become TJ Závody Valivých Ložisk (ZVL) Žilina.
1974 / In the Mitropa Cup, a cup competition between clubs from Central-European countries, in which TJ Jednota Žilina takes part on several occasions, the club wins first place in the group stage against FK Sarajevo and Videoton SC, losing the final against Hungary’s Tatabányai Bányász SC (5-2 aggr.).
1977 / TJ Jednota Žilina reaches the final of the Slovak Cup, losing the tie 4-2 on aggregate against TJ Lokomotíva Košice.
1978 / After a tranquil decade in the 1. Liga, TJ ZVL Žilina now finishes bottom of the table, resulting in the club being retrograded to the second level after twelve seasons.
1979 / TJ ZVL Žilina misses out on an immediate return to the top flight, finishing runners-up in the 1. Slovak National Football League, as the second level in the eastern half of Czechoslovakia is now called following a reorganisation of the football pyramid, 7 points behind champions TJ Plastika Nitra.
1980 / TJ ZVL Žilina finishes runners-up in the 1. Slovak National Football League for a second year running, 3 points behind champions TJ Tatran Prešov. That same season, the club also reaches the final of the Slovak Cup, suffering a 7-4 aggregate defeat at the hands of ZŤS Košice.
1982 / Champions in the Slovak National Football League, 3 points ahead of runners-up ZŤS Košice, TJ ZVL Žilina manages a return to the top tier of Czechoslovakian football after an absence of four seasons.
1986 / TJ ZVL Žilina reaches the final of the Slovak Cup competition, held at the Futbalový Štadion Prievidza, losing the match against TJ Spartak TAZ Trnava 1-0.
1988 / After several seasons of narrowly avoiding the drop, TJ ZVL Žilina now finishes second-last in the 1. Liga, thus descending to the second level along with bottom club TJ Tatran Prešov.
1989 / TJ ZVL Žilina narrowly misses out on an immediate return to the top flight, finishing runners-up in the Slovak National Football League, 1 point behind champions (and local rivals) ZVL Považská Bystrica.
1990 / TJ ZVL Žilina reaches the final of the Slovak Cup competition, held at the Mestský Štadión at Žiar nad Hronom, losing the match against TJ Internacionál Slovnaft ŽTS Bratislava comprehensively (6-0). Also in 1990, following the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, TJ ZVL Žilina reinstates the old, pre-communist name ŠK Žilina.
1993 / In the year of Slovak independence and the break-up of Czechoslovakia, ŠK Žilina finishes in third place in the Slovak National Football League, enough to be placed in the 1. Football League, the new top division of the Slovak football pyramid. In 47 seasons of football in post-war Czechoslovakia, the club from Žilina – under its various names – contested thirty of those at the top level.
1995 / ŠK Žilina finishes last in the relegation group of the Slovak Football League, resulting in the club being retrograded to the 2. Football League. Also in 1995, ŠK Žilina adapts its name to become Mestský Športový Klub (MŠK) Žilina.
1996 / Runners-up in the 2. Football League, 7 points behind champions FC Artmedia Petržalka, MŠK Žilina accedes to the 1. Football League, which is extended from twelve to sixteen clubs.
2000 / In the Slovak squad for the 2000 Summer Olympics football tournament in Sydney, two MŠK players are included, midfielder Miroslav Barčik and striker Marek Mintal.
2002 / Coached by Czech trainer Leoš Kalvoda, MŠK Žilina wins its first-ever Slovak national title, finishing 7 points ahead of runners-up ŠK Matador Púchov; MŠK’s centre-forward Marek Mintál crowns himself top scorer of the league with 21 goals. Thus qualifying for a UEFA European competition for the first time in 41 years, the club stumbles over the first hurdle, FC Basel, the second qualifying round of the Champions League (4-1 aggr.). Also in 2002, renovation works on the stadium get underway, the goal being to make it a ground which complies with all UEFA rules. In the early stages of the works, the athletics track is removed and the terracing behind the goals is replaced by temporary all-seating stands.
2003 / Coached by Milan Lešický, MŠK Žilina conquers its second national title in a row, 3 points ahead of FK Artmedia Petržalka; the national top scorer title is shared by two of the club’s players, Marek Mintal and Martin Fabuš, with each of them scoring twenty goals. After six years in the club’s first team, Mintal now earns himself a transfer to 1. FC Nürnberg. At the start of the 2003-04 season, MŠK Žilina also wins the Super Cup, defeating cup winner ŠK Matador Púchov 2-0 at the ViOn Aréna in Zlaté Moravce. In the Champions League, the club defeats Maccabi Tel Aviv FC in the second qualifying round (2-1 aggr.), only to be eliminated in the third qualifying round by English giants Chelsea FC (5-0 aggr.). Subsequently being drawn in R1 of the UEFA Cup, MŠK Žilina bows out immediately against FC Utrecht (6-0 aggr.). Also in 2003, the Štadión pod Dubňom sees a Slovakia international match for the first time, with the home nation entertaining Greece in a friendly (2-2). Later that same year, the national team returns for the Euro qualification match against Macedonia (1-1). The stadium in Žilina, one of the first in Slovakia to be modernised, becomes a regular venue for national team matches in subsequent years.
2004 / Coached by former Czechoslovak international player Ladislav Jurkemik, MŠK Žilina conquers its third national title in a row, staying ahead of runners-up Dukla Banská Bystrica only on goal difference. Later that year, the club also wins the Super Cup, defeating FK Artmedia Petržalka (2-1) at the NTC Štadión in Senec. In the Champions League, the club is eliminated in the second qualifying round by FC Dinamo Bucureşti (2-0 aggr.).
2005 / MŠK Žilina finishes as runners-up in the 1. Football League, 7 points behind champions FC Artmedia Bratislava. In the UEFA Cup, the club defeats Bakı FC in the first qualifying round (3-2 aggr.), only to be eliminated by FK Austria Wien in the second qualifying round (4-3 aggr.).
2006 / Inauguration of all-seater stands at the northern and western end of the stadium.
2007 / Coached by Croatian trainer Marijan Vlak, MŠK Žilina wins its fourth national title, finishing 10 points ahead of closest rivals FC Artmedia Bratislava. Later that year, the club also conquers the Super Cup, defeating FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce (1-1 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out) at the NTC Štadión in Senec. In the Champions League qualifiers, the club defeats F91 Dudelange in R1 (7-5 aggr.), only to be eliminated in R2 by SK Slavia Praha (0-0 aggr. & penalty shoot-out).
2008 / MŠK Žilina finishes as runners-up in the 1. Football League, 11 points behind runaway champions FC Artmedia Bratislava. In the UEFA Cup qualifiers, the club successively eliminates MTZ-RIPO Minsk (3-2 aggr.), FC Slovan Liberec (4-2 aggr.), and PFC Levski Sofia (2-1 aggr.), thus qualifying for the main tournament, in which it bows out in the group stage, finishing fourth in a group of five against Hamburger SV (1-2 home defeat), AFC Ajax (1-0 away defeat), Aston Villa FC (1-2 away win), and SK Slavia Praha (0-0 home draw). Also in 2008, the new, expanded south stand is inaugurated.
2009 / MŠK Žilina finishes as runners up in the 1. Football League, 8 points behind champions ŠK Slovan Bratislava. In the qualifiers of the first edition of the Europa League, MŠK Žilina successively defeats FC Dacia Chişinău (3-0 aggr.) and HNK Hajduk Split (2-1 aggr.), only to be eliminated in the play-off round by FK Partizan (Belgrade, 3-1 aggr.). Uniquely, that same year, a Roman Catholic room of prayer is inaugurated at the Štadión pod Dubňom, the St Krištofa Chapel, with the space being consecrated by Žilina’s bishop Tomáš Galis. Also in 2009, the new East Stand is inaugurated.
2010 / Coached by former Czechoslovak and Czech international player Pavel Hapal, MŠK Žilina wins its fifth national title, finishing 3 points ahead of runners-up ŠK Slovan Bratislava. Later that year, the club also conquers the Super Cup, defeating ŠK Slovan Bratislava (1-1 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out) at Štadión Pasienky in Bratislava. Meanwhile, in the Champions League qualifiers, the club successively eliminates Birkirkara FC (3-1 aggr.), PFC Litex Lovech (4-2 aggr.), and AC Sparta Praha (3-0 aggr.), thus qualifying for the group stage of Europe’s main international cup tournament for the first time. Being drawn against Chelsea FC, Olympique Marseille, and FK Spartak Moskva, the club goes on to lose all of its eight matches – with a 0-7 home drubbing at the hands of OM being the nadir of the campaign.
2011 / MŠK Žilina reaches the Slovak Cup final, played at Štadión SNP in Banská Bystrica, eventually losing out to ŠK Slovan Bratislava after a penalty shoot-out (3-3 A.E.T.). Meanwhile, after the successful Champions League campaign of the previous season, the club fares less successfully in the Europa League qualifiers now, stumbling over the first hurdle, Iceland’s KR (3-2 aggr.).
2012 / Coached by Lubomír Nosický, MŠK Žilina wins its sixth national title, finishing 2 points ahead of runners-up FC Spartak Trnava. Also in the 2011-12 season, MŠK Žilina conquers the Slovak Cup for the first time in club history, defeating FK Senica in the final, held at the Mestský Štadion in Bardejov (att. 3,000) after extra time (3-2, Žilina goals by Tomáš Majtan, Miroslav Barčík, and Jean Deza). As the club now won its first double, no Super Cup is contested. In the Champions League qualifiers, MŠK Žilina is eliminated immediately by Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona FC (2-1 aggr.). Also in 2012, a new away section is inaugurated on the eastern half of the North Stand, to the dismay of many home supporters, who considered the North Stand their spiritual home. In subsequent years, many of them boycott home games as a sign of protest.
2013 / MŠK Žilina reaches the Slovak Cup final, played at Štadión MFK Ružomberok, suffering defeat at the hands of ŠK Slovan Bratislava (2-0). In the Europa League qualifiers, the club edges past FC Torpedo Kutaisi (6-3 aggr.) and NK Olimpija Ljubljana (3-3 aggr. & away goals), before being eliminated in R1 by HNK Rijeka (3-2 aggr.). In the summer of 2013, the European Under-17 Championships are held in Slovakia, with the Štadión pod Dubňom hosting six matches, including the final between Italy and Russia (0-0 A.E.T., Russia wins penalty shoot-out).
2014 / In a Euro qualification match against in Spain in Žilina, Slovakia pulls off a sensational 2-1 win (goals by Juray Kucka and Miroslav Stoch). The match is attended by 9,478 spectators. In subsequent years the Štadión pod Dubňom is replaced as national stadium by the completely rebuilt Tehelné Pole Stadium in Bratislava, inaugurated in 2019.
2015 / MŠK Žilina finishes as runners-up in the 1. Football League, 5 points behind champions FK AS Trenčín. The club’s centre-forward, Croatia’s Matej Jelić, crowns himself top scorer of the league with 19 goals. In the 2015-16 Europa League, MŠK Žilina has a successful run in the qualifiers, successively defeating Glentoran FC (7-1 aggr.), FC Dacia Chişinău (6-3 aggr.), and FC Vorskla Poltava (3-3 aggr. & away goals), before being eliminated in the play-off round by Athletic Club (Bilbao, 3-3 aggr. & away goals). Also in 2015, in the last stage of reconstruction works on the stadium, the West and East Stands are extended, bringing total capacity to 10,897.
2016 / MŠK Žilina sells its 21-year-old defender Milan Škriniar, a youth academy product, to UC Sampdoria; Škriniar goes on to also defend the colours of FC Internazionale Milano and Paris Saint-Germain further on in his career. That summer, MŠK midfielder Viktor Pečovský is included in Slovakia’s squad for the 2016 European Championships in France. Also in 2016, an artificial surface replaces the grass pitch at the Štadión pod Dubňom. As a result, the ground is no longer used for international matches by the Slovakian national team – with the completely rebuilt Tehelné Pole Stadium in Bratislava, inaugurated in 2019, taking over as national stadium later that decade.
2017 / Coached by Adrián Gul’a, MŠK Žilina conquers its seventh national title, finishing an impressive 16 points ahead of runners-up ŠK Slovan Bratislava. The club’s centre-forward Filip Hlohovský crowns himself top scorer of the league with 17 goals. In the Champions League, the club is eliminated in the qualifiers by FC København (4-3 aggr.).
2018 / In spite of MŠK Žilina only finishing in fourth place in the Championship Group of the 1. Football League, the club’s striker Samuel Mráz crowns himself top scorer of the league with 21 goals. That summer, the club sells its 20-year-old defender Dávid Hancko, a youth academy product, to ACF Fiorentina. Hancko later goes on to defend the colours of AC Sparta Praha and Feyenoord.
2019 / MŠK Žilina reaches the Slovak Cup final, played at Štadión pod Zoborom in Nitra, suffering defeat at the hands of FC Spartak Trnava (3-3 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out).
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short due to the COVID lockdown, MŠK Žilina finds itself in second place at the time of the breaking off of play, a comprehensive 17 points behind leaders ŠK Slovan Bratislava. In the Europa League, the club is eliminated in the first qualifying round by TNS FC in a solitary tie played in Oswestry (3-1 A.E.T.).
2021 / MŠK Žilina reaches the Slovak Cup final, played at the Tehelné Pole Stadium in Bratislava, suffering defeat at the hands of ŠK Slovan Bratislava (2-1 A.E.T.). The club’s Polish striker Dawid Kurminowski crowns himself top scorer of the league with 19 goals. In the Conference League, MŠK Žilina sails through the three qualifying rounds, successively defeating FC Dila (6-3 aggr.), Apollon Limassol FC (5-3 aggr.), and FC Tobol (6-0 aggr.), before bowing out in the play-off round against FK Jablonec (8-1 aggr.).
2023 / In the Conference League, MŠK Žilina defeats FC Levadia Tallinn in the first qualifying round (4-2 aggr.), before being trounced by KAA Gent in the second qualifier (10-3 aggr.).
2024 / After eight seasons, the artificial turf on the main pitch at Štadión pod Dubňom is replaced by a grass surface.

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-6 = non-matchday visit, August 2007 / pictures 7-19 = match visit, August 2024. Below all photos, a YouTube video can be found of the match I attended at the Štadión pod Dubňom.