Text: Juraj Červenka – Ballesterer
The FC Lokomotíva Košice will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year. Over the decades, the club has lifted domestic cups, pushed AC Milan to the brink of elimination, suffered relegation, lost its home ground—and eventually returned more than twenty years later.
On Sunday, 24 May 1998, a black flag flew above the traditionally blue-and-white supporters’ sector of Lokomotíva Košice, known as Loky. The home side lost 1–2 to Inter Bratislava and was relegated from the Slovak top division.
“We bid farewell in the hope that the sun of football will continue to shine in our blue-and-white colours,” the club wrote in a statement after the match. Tradition, after all, demanded perseverance even in the most difficult moments.
Only a few months later, when the new season of the second division began, Lokomotíva was no longer playing at its stadium in Čermeľ. The ground was taken over by 1. FC Košice.
Proud Railwaymen
From the very beginning, Lokomotíva’s history was inseparably linked to the railway. The club crest bears the founding year 1946 and a winged railway wheel. The founding assembly itself took place in the railway workers’ hall in Košice.
The club enjoyed early success. In 1951, under coach Leopold Šťastný, Dynamo ČSD Košice finished third in the Czechoslovak league, behind Slovan Bratislava. In fact, a title was within reach—had they defeated Dukla Prešov in the final round.
In 1952, amid communist restructuring, the club adopted its current name, as every team was assigned to a specific industrial sector. Relegation followed a year later, and Lokomotíva would wait twelve long years for promotion.
“I was born in the Malá Praha district of Košice, where the railway housing blocks stood. As boys, we were Lokomotíva supporters—just like every family in the neighbourhood,” recalls Peter Neuwirth, born in 1954.
“And Dušan Ujhely, a magnificent striker, played right in our block. We were immensely proud of that.”
A New Home: Čermeľ
In the summer of 1959, the club gained a new home—and the city acquired one of its landmarks: the Čermeľ stadium in the north of Košice, with its distinctive floodlight towers.
“The Lokomotíva stadium was largely built by volunteers, including my father and our neighbours. That’s why we always considered it our home,” says Neuwirth.
With the exception of one season, Lokomotíva played in the top Czechoslovak league until 1986. The most famous player to wear the shirt stayed only one year: Adolf Scherer, a world champion from the 1962 World Cup in Chile, who scored his 100th league goal for Lokomotíva on 13 October 1965—against his former club Slovan Bratislava.
The club’s most successful era came in the second half of the 1970s. In March 1976, Lokomotíva crushed LIAZ Jablonec 10–1. In a wild encounter, Ladislav Jozsa scored four goals, while Ujhely completed a lightning-fast hat-trick in the 76th, 78th and 79th minutes.
“Back then, we didn’t run around the pitch after goals, didn’t dance in front of the crowd, didn’t jump over advertising boards,” Ujhely recalls.
Cup Glory and AC Milan
Lokomotíva won the Czechoslovak Cup in 1977 and 1979. Among the standout figures of that era were goalkeeper and Olympic champion Stanislav Seman, midfielders Gejza Farkaš, Peter Fecko and Ján Kozák, European champion Jozef Móder, striker Peter Jacko, and three-time top scorer Ladislav Jozsa, famed for his devastating free kicks.
“His shots were unforgettable. Goalkeepers couldn’t stop them—not even in training,” says Ujhely.
“During matches, we often didn’t even look to see if the ball would end up in the net. When Jozsa ran back towards the centre circle, the goal was already certain.”
On 27 September 1978, Lokomotíva played one of the most memorable matches in its history against AC Milan in the UEFA Cup. After 90 minutes, Lokomotíva led 1–0, facing legends such as Franco Baresi and Fabio Capello. When the aggregate score was levelled, the crowd erupted. Officially, 30,000 fans attended—unofficially, many more, with some even climbing the floodlight towers.
However, Jozsa’s goal was disallowed for offside, and Lokomotíva were eventually eliminated on penalties.
“On the one hand, we were lucky that Gianni Rivera, Milan’s biggest star, didn’t play in Čermeľ. On the other, we felt deeply wronged by the disallowed goal,” Ujhely remembers.
Decline, Exile and Return
In 1993, Lokomotíva qualified for the newly formed Slovak top division. When the club was relegated in 1998, it finished bottom of the table, drawing an average attendance of just 1,455—the lowest in the league.
Forced out of its stadium, the club wandered across eastern Slovakia. Grounds in Krompachy, Vyšné Opátske, Krásna and Družstevná pri Hornáde became temporary homes. Yet the fans remained loyal to the blue-and-white colours, always keeping an eye—at least in spirit—on the floodlights of Čermeľ.
In 2022, the circle finally closed. The club, now officially known as FC Lokomotíva Košice, returned to its stadium. The homecoming brought calm and stability; things were once again set on the right path.
Today, Lokomotíva competes in the third division, but the traditional chant of the supporters rings true once more:
“The Blue-and-Whites from Čermeľ”
Author: Juraj Červenka – Ballesterer, 2025
English version: prepared from the original German text
