Rastislav Kostka

Rastislav Kostka (born 11 September 1972) is a Slovak former footballer who played as a defender. He is most known for his time with Spartak Trnava, playing 197 league games.

During his career, Kostka played for Spartak Trnava, Ozeta Dukla Trenčín, 1. FC Synot Staré Město, Artmédia Petržalka and DAC Dunajská Streda. He represented the Slovak national team in five matches.

Early life Kostka was born on 11 September 1972 in Bošany. He started playing football at the age of nine in Bošany, originally as a striker. As a teenager, he played in the youth league for Spartak Bánovce nad Bebravou. He scored his first goal the following season in a 3–2 loss against Slavia Prague. After military service in Trenčín, he returned to Trnava in the summer of 1994, where he was a regular in the starting eleven. In 1998, he won the Cup after beating 1. FC Košice 2–0 in the final. He scored 2 goals in the Intertoto Cup against Čukarički Belehrad and Daugava Riga. He played 4 matches in the UEFA Cup. He played his last duel in the spring of 2001 against Košice, where his team won 2–1. He played a total of 197 league matches for Spartak and netted 34 goals.

International career In June 1995, Kostka received his first international call-up to the Slovakia national team ahead of a game against Poland. He played in a 1–0 win against Israel in the Euro 1996 qualifying rounds, coming on as a substitute in the 89th minute for Igor Bališ.