Groundhopping24

One of  Košice's many fountains. In many ways, Czech and Slovak football are incredibly similar, perhaps unsurprisingly given the joint history of both nations. One reason I point this out, however, is that until very recently, neither second city had a club in the top flight, or at least neither city had a stable, prolonged presence in the top flight. Zbrojovka Brno have famously yo-yo'ed between the two, where FC Košice have technically only existed since 2018. From a legal point of view, FC Košice are a new club, though they are the unofficial follow up of VSS Košice, founded in 1903 and dissolved in 2017, at least as far as the fans are concerned. As a result, promotion to the First League in 2023 meant that Košice finally had a team in the top flight for the first time in almost a decade. It goes without saying that the new iteration of Košice don't have a lot of history, but to summarise it briefly, their first season saw them get promoted immediately from...

  Let's rewind to 1st May 2024, and not just because it was my last day as a 28 year old on God's sweet Earth. No, in fact we must head east to Kosice, where Ruzomberok and Spartak Trnava will fight for the 2024 Slovak Cup. For Ružomberok, it was the chance to end an eighteen year wait for a Cup, whereas for Trnava, it was a chance to hold onto the trophy they'd beaten fierce rivals Slovan Bratislava to in the final for the last two seasons. Ružomberok did come close in 2020, with an Alen Ozbolt penalty stopping them from getting their hands on the trophy, instead giving it to Slovan Bratislava. But perhaps in 2024, things would finally be different for Ružomberok, who were relative underdogs in terms of league position and standing, as well as other factors like town and club size. The only top flight side they'd seen off en route to the final was DAC Dunajska Streda, whereas Spartak needed to see of Košice, Michalovce, and Podbrezova.  That said, Ružombero...