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.

Club career

Early career

Kucka made his Corgoň Liga debut for Ružomberok on 11 March 2007. He played six games in his first season. Overall, Kucka played 49 games and scored eight goals for Ružomberok. Czech manager Michal Bílek, who managed Ružomberok in 2008, recommended Kucka to sign for AC Sparta Prague. The footballer eventually signed a three-year contract for said club in January 2009. Kucka later scored a goal on his league debut against FC Vysočina Jihlava.

Genoa

On 6 January 2011, Kucka signed a four-and-a-half-year contract for €3.55 million transfer fee with Genoa, later extended one more year to 30 June 2016. He made his debut in the Coppa Italia match against Inter Milan on 12 January 2011 before being voted man of the match by Genoa fans after a 1–1 draw against AC Milan on 6 February 2011. Kucka proved immediately to fit fine in the squad, showing a remarkable physical strength and good technical skills, resulting the second best player of Genoa. He scored his first goal for Genoa in a 2–1 away victory against Lazio on 18 September 2011.

AC Milan

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 league debut on 29 August 2015 in a 2–1 home victory against Empoli, and scored his first Milan goal on 9 January 2016 to equalize against AS Roma in a 1–1 draw.

Trabzonspor

On 7 July 2017, Kucka was signed by Trabzonspor on a three-year contract worth €2.25 million a season, for a transfer fee of €5 million.

Parma

Kucka joined Parma upon returning to Italy on 14 January 2019, stating that he intended to score more goals in Parma and improve from where he left off, when he left Italy a year and a half ago. Kucka debuted for Parma in his first opportunity, when he came on as a substitute for Alessandro Deiola in the 73rd minute of a Serie A away fixture against Udinese. Parma won the game 2–1 by goals of Roberto Inglese and Gervinho. In his third appearance for Parma, Kucka got his first two assists with the side. On 2 February, he assisted Barillà in the 64th minute and Ivorian international Gervinho in the 74th minute. Parma had managed to upset Juventus away, who was on top of the league table, by coming back from a two-goal margin twice to tie the game 3–3. Kucka played 86 minutes of the game. Kucka scored his first goal after the return to Italy in his fifth match, on 16 February 2019 against Cagliari after an assist from Massimo Gobbi, setting the score to 1–0 for Parma. However, two second-half goals by Leonardo Pavoletti meant Parma lost the game 2–1.

Watford

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 victory away against Everton.

Slovan Bratislava

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 coached by Vladimír Weiss under whom Kucka debuted in the Slovak national team and participated in 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 23 July 2022, Kucka marked his league debut with his first goal in a 4–0 victory against AS Trenčín. On 26 November 2024, Kucka captained Slovan in the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League game against his former side AC Milan, with Davide Calabria, the only former teammate of his still at the club, as the opposing captain. He received a warm welcome and some chants of homage from the travelling Milan fans.

International career

A former Slovakia under-21 player, Kucka made his senior international debut in a friendly match against Liechtenstein on 19 November 2008, replacing Branislav Obžera in the 53rd minute. He scored his first international against Austria in 2011. Slovakia manager Vladimír Weiss called him up for the 2010 World Cup despite the fact that Kucka had not played in any qualification matches. He played in all three group stage matches against New Zealand, Italy and the Netherlands. Kucka was called up to the Slovakia squads for the Euro 2016, Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 tournaments. In 2023, he played his 100th match during a UEFA Euro 2024 qualification against Portugal which saw the Slovaks losing 0—1.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Sparta Prague AC Milan Individual