Juraj Kucka (born 26 February 1987), also known by his nickname Kuco, is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Slovak club Slovan Bratislava and the Slovakia national team.
Kucka made his Corgon Liga debut for Ruzomberok on 11 March 2007. He played six games in his first season. Overall, Kucka played 49 games and scored eight goals for Ruzomberok. Czech manager Michal Bilek, coaching Ruzomberok in 2008, recommended Kucka for Sparta Praha. In January 2009, he has signed a three-year contract for Sparta. In 2009–10 season he won the champions.
On 28 August 2015, Kucka was signed by AC Milan for €3 million transfer fee. However, Milan also paid an unknown parties an additional €1 million. He made his debut on 29 August 2015 in a 2–1 home win against Empoli, and scored his first Milan goal on 9 January 2016 to equalize against AS Roma in a 1–1 draw.
On 6 August 2021, it was announced that Kucka had signed for newly promoted Premier League club Watford. Parma confirmed on the same day that the transfer is a season-long loan. On 14 August 2021, he made his Watford debut in their league opener against Aston Villa, where Watford won 3–2. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–2 win away against Everton.
Following Watford's relegation from the Premier League, Kucka signed a two-year contract with reigning Slovak champions of the past four seasons Slovan Bratislava, where he was to be managed by Vladimir Weiss under whom Kucka debuted in the Slovak national team and participated in 2010 FIFA World Cup.
A former Slovakia under-21 player, Kucka made his senior international debut in a friendly match against Liechtenstein on 19 November 2008, replacing Branislav Obzera in the 53rd minute.
Slovakia manager Vladimir Weiss called him up for the 2010 World Cup despite the fact that Kucka had not played in any qualification matches. He played in three games at the World Cup: against New Zealand, Italy and the Netherlands.
Kucka was called up to the Slovakia squads for the Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 tournaments. |
