Nemeth the jewel in Slovakia's crown

The 2004 UEFA European Championship in Portugal could prove the perfect stage for gifted Middlesbrough FC striker Szilárd Nemeth to showcase his goalscoring skills.

Leading scorer
The 24-year-old, who idolised Dutch ace Marco van Basten as a youngster, has yet to make his mark on an unsuspecting English FA Premiership but if his form over the last few years is anything to go by it will not take him long. In Slovakia 'Szili', as he is affectionately nicknamed by fans in his home nation, netted 85 goals in 154 appearances and in his last two seasons before moving to the Riverside stadium he finished as the leading scorer in the Slovakian Superliga with AŠK Inter Bratislava.

Jewel in the crown
Nemeth is certainly the jewel in Slovakia's striking crown heading into the EURO 2004™ qualifiers. At international level he has already earned 29 caps and has helped himself to ten goals, much to the admiration of teammates and pundits alike. "Szili is currently one of the best Slovak football players and there is no wonder he now plays in the English Premier League,'' said Slovak international Dusan Tittel.

An 'unstoppable goalscorer'
This sentiment was echoed by Michael Prevan, chief sports writer of Pravda Daily newspaper. "Goalscoring is a science,'' he said. "The players who can do it have the highest strike rate, and he is one of them. If he does not lose that ability to be an unstoppable goalscorer then he won't need to worry about his career in the future. In his short career he has experienced ups and downs. He had seasons where he did not play very well due to injury. He wasn't sure he would be able to play at all. Szili came through all this and I think it has straightened him much more."

Triple title wins
Nemeth began his career with Komarno before being snapped up almost immediately by ŠK Slovan Bratislava in 1992. He helped them to win the 1997 championship title before moving on to 1. FC Košice the following season, where he repeated the feat with his new club in 1998. He hit a purple patch when he joined Inter Bratislava in 1999 going on to score 40 goals in two seasons, lifting his third championship title in 2000.

Rocky start
A struggling Middlesbrough side, under the joint leadership of former Manchester United FC and England skipper Bryan Robson and former national team coach Terry Venables, secured his services on a free transfer. A rocky start to the 2001/02 season for Middlesbrough has not been an ideal introduction to English football for Nemeth, but he remains the ace up the sleeve that Slovakians hope will fire them to a major championship and maybe even recreate some of Van Basten's heroics.