Igor Bališ

Igor Bališ (born 5 January 1970) is a Slovak former footballer. He played for West Bromwich Albion in England. Bališ played club football in Slovakia for Spartak Trnava and Slovan Bratislava, making a combined 257 appearances, as well as the Slovakia national team at international level.

Igor Bališ

Personal information
Date of birth	(1970-01-05) 5 January 1970 (age 55)
Place of birth	Križovany nad Dudváhom, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Right back, right winger
Youth career
	Spartak Trnava
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1988–1999	Spartak Trnava	242	(11)
1999–2000	Slovan Bratislava	15	(0)
2000–2003	West Bromwich Albion	69	(4)
2003	DAC Dunajská Streda	0	(0)
Total		326	(15)
International career
1995–2001	Slovakia	41	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Bališ made a combined total of 257 appearances for Slovak sides Spartak Trnava and Slovan Bratislava between 1988 and 2000.^[1] In 1997 he finished fifth in voting for footballer of the year at the Slovak Footballer of the Year Awards behind winner Dušan Tittel.^[2] In February 2000 Bališ scored his only international goal, scoring from a left-footed shot in the 5th minute of a 2–0 away victory against Chile in the Copa Ciudad de Valparaíso [es].^[3]

Bališ joined West Bromwich Albion in November 2000 for a fee of £150,000. He made his Albion debut on 23 December 2000, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–0 victory against Nottingham Forest. Bališ converted a dramatic stoppage time penalty against Bradford City in the penultimate game of the 2001–02 season, which put Albion on the brink of promotion to the Premier League.^[4][5]

After completing a season in the Premiership with Albion, Bališ quit the club and returned to Slovakia due to a recurrence of tinnitus.^[6] He signed for DAC Dunajská Streda but left the club without making an appearance, subsequently moving to Austria, where he played in the lower leagues.^[7]