Andrej Kvašňák

Kvašňák played domestically in the Czechoslovak First League for Dukla Pardubice, Jednota Košice and Sparta Prague. He scored a total of 83 goals in the league in 251 appearances across his spells with all clubs, and won two league titles, both with Sparta. From 1969 he played for Racing Mechelen in the second tier of Belgium, before leaving in 1972.

Before breaking into the senior team, Kvašňák played nine matches, scoring once, for Czechoslovakia B between 1956 and 1959. He made 47 appearances for Czechoslovakia between 1960 and 1970, scoring 13 times. One of his goals was a penalty against Hungary in a qualifying playoff for the 1970 World Cup. Kvašňák was a participant in the 1960 European Nations' Cup, where Czechoslovakia finished third, the 1962 FIFA World Cup, where Czechoslovakia finished second, and also in the 1970 FIFA World Cup. He retired from international football following the 1970 World Cup, at the age of 34.

Although often listed as a forward, he was in fact normally an attacking left footed midfield schemer with accurate final passes, forging a partnership in the centre of the park with Josef Masopust at international level. Well known for his technique and passing ability, he was also a prolific goalscorer, who was hard to defend, and fine header of the ball. Although he wasn’t a speed player, he was always one step ahead of his oponents. One czechoslovak journalist wrote about Kvašňák, that he is the slowest footballer who’s always first to the ball. Argentine Newspaper La Nación wrote about Kvašňák’s play on the FIFA World 1962 in Chile, that he „didn’t run, just walk. But he was everywhere.“ Thanks to his persona, he was also knokwn as a great and popular showman on the pitch. In a certain term of a word, Kvašňák was some kind of first football celebrity in Czechoslovakia. He was nicknamed as Šéf (translation from czech would be the Boss), because of his playmaking abilites, football intelligence, natural leadership and authority. Polish manager Wladyslaw Giergiel compared Kvašňák’s influence on the team’s play to the legendary Alfredo Di Stéfano or hungarian football icon Nándor Hidekguti.

Kvašňák settled in Prague after his football career, but did not go into coaching. Instead he was a longstanding employee of the Prague Public Transit Company. He was one of the founders of the New Year’s derby, the very popular exhibition match between mainly former footballers of two most famous and successful czech clubs AC Sparta Prague and SK Slavia Prague. The match has always been held on 31 December since 1986. The first matches were held at Čechie Karlín Stadium, because Kvašňák's flat was nearby. Kvašňák died at age 70 in Prague's Bulovka Hospital after contracting lung cancer.