Czechs before the start of the Bundesliga: What are their positions in the teams?

On Friday 5 August, the new season of the German Bundesliga starts with a match between Frankfurt and the champions Bayern. There are a total of seven players from the Czech Republic on the current rosters. What position do they have in their clubs?

Patrik Schick – Leverkusen, forward, 26 years old

Schick is clearly the biggest Czech star in the Bundesliga. Last season he was already the second top scorer in the competition behind the unbeatable Lewandowski. However, both Lewandowski and Haaland are no longer active in Germany.

The Czech striker will therefore be one of the favourites for the top scorer’s trophy. His team will be targeting the cup again. In addition, they have qualified for the Champions League group stage.

Schick’s competitor Lucas Alario left for Frankfurt. He should be the unshakable number one in Leverkusen’s attack, his replacement will be the Iranian international Azmoun, but he can also play under the top.

Adam Hložek – Leverkusen, forward, 20 years old

One of our biggest football talents in recent times left the Czech league in the summer and will be looking to break through abroad. Leverkusen should be the ideal club for Hložek’s footballing growth.

It gives youngsters a chance, plays offensive football and is successful too. Hložek should be in one of the four offensive positions in the 4-2-3-1 formation that Bayer practices most often.

His biggest competitors should be Diaby, Paulinho, Adli and also the currently injured Wirtz. In the first round of the German Cup, Hložek started on the left wing.

Alex Kral – Schalke, midfielder, 24 years old

Schalke offered Alex Král a chance to restart his football career. The newcomer but traditional Bundesliga participant will mainly want to keep the top competition this season.

King plays an important role in Schalke’s plans. His competitors in midfield will be captain Latza, guest from Leipzig Krauss and Flick.

King started in the first round of the cup in the starting line-up and was instrumental in his team’s progression to the next round. However, he only played until the 58th minute when he was the first Schalke player to be substituted.

Pavel Kadeřábek – Hoffenheim, defender, 30 years old

Kadeřábek has been with Hoffenheim since 2015 and has already started 177 games in the Bundesliga. However, in the last two seasons he has played only 20 and 19 games respectively in the top flight.

This is due to increasingly frequent injuries, which caused Kadeřábek to end his national team career.

His biggest competitor will be Kevin Akpoguma, as in recent years. Youngsters Bogarde, John or Bischof are also under consideration. Former coach Hoeness also put the offensive player Skov in this position from time to time.

Jiri Pavlenka – Bremen, goalkeeper, 30 years old

Pavlenka has been with the North German club since 2017 and has almost always been a pretty reliable number one. At one time, he was even linked with European big clubs.

Last year, after his relegation from the Bundesliga and an injury that deprived him of the Euros, he lost his position as first choice goalkeeper to Zetterer. However, he returned between the sticks during the autumn and thanks to him, Bremen also climbed to promotion.

As long as he avoids the occasional slip-up, he should be one of Bremen’s mainstays, as his reflexes and high ball collection are excellent. However, his replacement Zetterer will surely want to take advantage of every chance he gets.

Vladimir Darida – Hertha Berlin, midfielder, 31 years old

Another of the Czech Republic’s loyal souls in Germany. Like Kadeřábek, he has been with Hertha for seven years. He’s had good times with them, but lately mostly bad times. Even now in the summer, he’s not on a bed of roses.

In terms of quantity, Hertha has the centre of midfield fairly well occupied. Lucas Tousart, reinforcement Ivan Šunjić, Suat Serdar or the well-known Kevin Prince Boateng. They can all play in the same position as Darida.

In the first round of the German Cup, Darida only came on in the 72nd minute and played 48 minutes. In the penalty shootout, he stood up right at the first penalty and converted sovereignly.

Tomas Koubek – Augsburg, goalkeeper, 29 years old

Koubek is definitely in the worst position of all Czech players in Germany. He arrived in 2019 from Rennes for €7.5 million. He only played in his first season and after 24 rounds he relinquished his position to the Pole Gikiewicz.

Considering the transfer sum and the poor performances he was giving it was the only logical decision. Moreover, Gikiewicz catches consistently well, reliably, and is not injured or sidelined.

It doesn’t look like Tomas Koubek will be in goal for Augsburg in a Bundesliga game in the new season either. His departure is expected.

Source: Transfermarkt