Slovak pair Karol Kisel and Filip Holosko won the Premiership-Championship double during their time at Sydney FC and Slovakia international Robert Mak is looking to follow in the footsteps of his countrymen after joining the Sky Blues.
A champion at Russian powerhouse Zenit, Mak has swapped Europe for Australia’s Isuzu UTE A-League, with the 73-cap international signing a two-year contract in Sydney.
Sydney and Slovakia have a strong history after former attacker Kisel (2009-10) and forward Holosko (2016-17) celebrated memorable doubles with the Sky Blues Down Under.
Only three other players have scored more goals for Slovakia and the 31-year-old winger is eager to replicate the success of Kisel and Holosko as Sydney attempt to bounce back after missing the finals for the first time in six years.
“This is going to be a fantastic challenge for me and it’s a real honour to be signing for Australia’s biggest and most successful club,” Mak – Slovakia’s ninth-most capped player – said.
“I’ve been part of a few Championships and Cup wins in my career, so I know what it takes and want to bring my experience, personality and a few goals and assists to help us this season.
“Going into the new stadium this is going to be a huge season.
“Having spoken to Karol (Kisel) and Filip (Holosko), I am 100% determined to achieve the same success they achieved by also winning the Premiership and Championship double for this great club.”
Mak brings a wealth of experience in European and Champions League football, and silverware to Sydney’s new Allianz Stadium.
Having emerged from Manchester City’s youth team in 2008, Mak moved to German outfit Nurnberg, where he twice received the Peter Dubovsky Award – a title for the best Under-21 Slovak Footballer of the Year – following his exploits in the Bundesliga over four seasons.
A transfer to Greek powerhouse PAOK followed in 2014 and it resulted in 2017-18 Greek Cup success, and 28 goals in 80 appearances.
He also scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory at Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League.
At Zenit, Mak won two Russian Premier Leagues (2018-19 and 2019-2020) and Russian Super Cup (2016 and 2020) before eventually joining Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros in 2020 following a brief stint with Konayspor in Turkey.
In the past two seasons with Ferencvaros, Mak won back-to-back league titles and the Magyar Kupa (Hungarian Cup).
At international, he featured at Euro 2016 and scored at Euro 2020 while winning the 2018 King’s Cup with Slovakia.
Sydney head coach Steve Corica added: “Robert is an excellent player. He has two great feet and can play on either side of the pitch.
“He likes to take on defenders and will create and score goals for us as well.
“To play that many times for your country is no mean feat and I think he will really stand out this season.
“It’s a very good signing for us, we’ve taken our time to get him and there’s more to come.”
