Libor Kozák
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Libor Kozák | ||
| Date of birth | 30 May 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Opava, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Aston Villa | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2006 | Opava | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2008 | Opava | 41 | (19) |
| 2008–2013 | Lazio | 58 | (10) |
| 2009–2010 | → Brescia (loan) | 29 | (3) |
| 2013– | Aston Villa | 14 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007–2008 | Czech Republic U19 | 9 | (3) |
| 2009–2011 | Czech Republic U21 | 14 | (3) |
| 2012– | Czech Republic | 6 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:10, 29 December 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Libor Kozák (born 30 May 1989) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a striker for Aston Villa in the Premier League. He is a member of the Czech Republic national football team.
Career
SFC Opava
Kozák started his career in 2001 with Czech club Slezský FC Opava, first playing with its youth teams before being promoted to the first team in 2007. Considered a promising talent, Kozák was a prolific goalscorer in the Czech Second Division with Opava. In October 2007 he scored his first hat-trick, coming in a 5–1 Opava win against FC Zenit Čáslav in the second division.[1]
In January 2008, Kozák went on trial with English Premier League club Portsmouth, however he did not join Pompey.[2] At the end of the season, Italian giants Lazio came calling and Kozák accepted a move to Rome.
Lazio
Kozák joined Lazio in July 2008, signing a five-year contract, with rumours that Lazio club president Claudio Lotito paid a 1.2 million euro (1.8 million dollars) transfer fee.[3]
Kozák made his long-awaited Serie A debut on 2 May 2009, coming on as a substitute for Mauro Zárate in the 84th minute against Inter at the San Siro. Lazio lost the match 0–2.
After a season at Lazio, the club loaned him to Serie B side Brescia for the 2009–10 season, to gain experience and regular playing time. On 26 September 2009, Kozák scored his first goal in Italy against Grosseto.[4]
At the end of his loan spell, he returned to Lazio. He scored his first goal for the Biancocelesti on 18 September 2010, scoring the winner against Fiorentina. He went on to score the winner against Sampdoria on 16 January 2011. Two weeks later he registered his third and fourth goals for Lazio, against Fiorentina once again. He later won the attraction of Michal Bílek, manager of Czech Republic, as the latter made a special trip to Stadio Olimpico to watch his game against Bari.
In the 2012–13 season Kozák, under coach Vladimir Petković, had a two faced season where he failed to score in 19 appearances in Serie A, but finished the season as the leading goal scorer in the Europa League with 8 goals. He scored his first club hat trick vs VFB Stuttgart in Rome on Thursday 14 March 2013, helping his team reach the last eight by an aggregate score of 5–1.[5]
Aston Villa
On 2 September 2013, Kozák signed a four-year deal with English side Aston Villa, being assigned the number 27 shirt.[6] On 14 September 2013, Kozák made his Aston Villa debut at Villa Park, but couldn't prevent the side from losing 2–1 to Newcastle United. On 21 September 2013, Kozák scored his first goal for Villa, seconds after replacing Christian Benteke, against Norwich City which proved to be the winning goal in a 1–0 victory.[7] On 9 November 2013, Kozak scored his second Villa goal with a header in a 2–0 victory against Cardiff City. On 4 December 2013, he scored the second goal in a 3–2 victory over Southampton.
On 2 January 2014 Villa announced that Kozak had broken his right leg in a training ground collision with team-mate Ciaran Clark, and would miss the rest of the 2013–14 season.[8]
International career
Kozák played for the Czech under-21 team, representing the team at the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
Kozák received his first call up for the senior Czech national team on 15 March 2011, when coach Michal Bílek selected him in his squad to take on Spain and Liechtenstein, however Kozák did not make his senior international debut.[9]
International goals
- Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 14 August 2013 | Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest |  Hungary | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2. | 10 September 2013 | Juventus Stadium, Turin |  Italy | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2014 World Cup qualifier |
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Opava | 2006–07 | Czech 2. Liga | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Czech 2. Liga | 26 | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 11 | |||
| Total | 41 | 19 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 41 | 19 | |||
| Lazio | 2008–09 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Serie A | 19 | 6 | 3 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | 22 | 7 | ||
| 2011–12 | Serie A | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | 24 | 5 | ||
| 2012–13 | Serie A | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 11 | 10 | 31 | 10 | ||
| Total | 58 | 10 | 4 | 1 | – | 18 | 11 | 80 | 22 | |||
| Brescia (loan) | 2009–10 | Serie B | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | |
| Total | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | |||
| Aston Villa | 2013–14 | Premier League | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 15 | 4 | |
| Total | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 142 | 36 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 11 | 165 | 48 | ||
Honours
- Lazio
- Coppa Italia: 2008–09, 2012–13
Individual
- UEFA Europa League Topscorer: 2012–13
References
- ↑ "Kozák dal ve druhé lize svůj první hattrick" [Kozák scores his first hat-trick in the second league] (in Czech). idnes.cz. 8 October 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ↑ "Kozak happy with Pompey trial". Sky Sports. 1 March 2008. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ↑ "Lazio sign Libor Kozak". FIFA.com. 5 July 2008.
- ↑ "Grosseto-Brescia 2–1" (in Italian). Brescia Calcio. 26 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
- ↑ "Libor Kozák match log". soccerway.com. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
- ↑ "Villa complete deadline day swoop for striker Kozak". Aston Villa Football Club. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ↑ "Norwich 0–1 Villa". Aston Villa Football Club. 21 September 2013.
- ↑ "Aston Villa striker Libor Kozak breaks leg in training". BBC Sport. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ↑ Bilek names squad for Spain, Liechtenstein.
- ↑ "Libor Kozak". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ↑ "Libor Kozak". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
External links
- Libor Kozák career stats at Soccerbase
- Libor Kozák international stats at the Football Association of the Czech Republic website (Czech)
- Profile on sslazio.it
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