Adam Hložek (born 25 July 2002) is a Czech professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

TSG Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into being in their modern fo ...

and the Czech Republic national team.

Club career

Sparta Prague

Hložek was 12 years old when transferred from his hometown club Ivančice to

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

along with his older brother Daniel, who was 16 at the time. Four years later, on 2 October 2018, he made his first team debut in a

Czech Cup The Czech Cup (), officially known as the MOL Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the major men's football cup competition in the Czech Republic. It is organised by the Czech Football Association. The Czech Cup was first held in 1961. The winner ...

match against as a substitute, scoring the final goal in a 4–1 away win. Hložek made his league debut for Sparta Prague on 10 November 2018 in a 3–1 victory against

Karviná Karviná (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Olza (river), Olza River in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Karviná is known as an industrial city with t ...

at the age of 16 years, three months and 16 days – becoming the youngest Sparta player to appear in a league match. Hložek finished the

2020–21 Czech First League The 2020–21 Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th season of the Czech Republic's top-tier football for professional clubs since its establishment in 1993. Slavia Prague have won their twenty-first ...

as joint top scorer, alongside

Jan Kuchta Jan Kuchta (born 8 January 1997) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a forward for Sparta Prague and the Czech Republic national team. Club career Slavia Prague Kuchta made his Czech First League debut for Slavia Prague on 8 Novem ...

with 15 goals, despite missing four months of the season due to injury. On 30 May 2021, a day after scoring four first-half goals in a 6–1 away victory against

Zbrojovka Brno Zbrojovka Brno, s.r.o is a maker of small arms in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic, wholly owned by Colt CZ Group, Colt-CZ Group. In the past it also made light artillery, cars, motorcycles, tractors and various tools, such as typewriters and early c ...

, Hložek signed a new contract extension until 2024 with Sparta Prague. Hložek finished the 2020–21 league season with 15 goals and seven assists in 19 games.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 2 June 2022, the winger joined Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, signing a five-year contract, and got the number 23 on his jersey.

2022–23: Debut season

On 30 July 2022, Hložek scored a powerful shot outside the box against

Elversberg Spiesen-Elversberg is a municipality in the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately southwest of Neunkirchen, and northeast of Saarbrücken. Sport The district of Elversberg has a popular football team, whi ...

on his debut. On 22 October 2022, against

VFL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

, he provided a critical assist to draw 2-2. On 26 October, Adam would provide a vital assist against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

to make it 2-2 in the

2022-23 Champions League The symbol , known in Unicode as hyphen-minus, is the form of hyphen most commonly used in digital documents. On most keyboards, it is the only character that resembles a minus sign or a dash, so it is also used for these. The name ''hyphen-min ...

. He continued this good form against

Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as Union Berlin (), is a professional Football in Germany, German football club based in Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweide was fo ...

, which he provided another assist and a backheel goal to make it a comfortable 5-0 victory for Leverkusen. Couple matches after, Hložek had another great performance against

Borussia Monchengladbach Borussia is the Latin name for Prussia. It may refer to: ;Sports clubs: Unless stated, each club (multi-sport or not) plays association football * Tennis Borussia Berlin * Borussia Bocholt * Borussia Dortmund, multi-sport * Borussia Düsseldorf ...

where he provides two assists in a 3-2 victory. Another couple matches after; Adam would score the winning header against

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

to make it 3-2 victory. On 20 April 2023, Hložek scored and provided a goal against

Union Saint-Gilloise Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (), also known as Union Saint-Gilloise, Union SG or simply Union, is a Belgian professional football club from Brussels based in Forest. Founded in 1897 in the neighbouring Saint-Gilles, the club has played its home ...

in the 2022-23 Europa League and help Leverkusen to go in the semifinals. On 23 April 2023, Hložek scored a great finish to earn a 2–0 victory for Bayer Leverkusen against

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

2023–24 season

In the first match of the season, Hložek scored twice and provided an assist off the bench during a 8-0 victory against Teutonia 05 in the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

. He scored again against

SV Sandhausen Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a Football in Germany, German association football club that plays in Sandhausen, immediately to the south of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. It is Ger ...

in the next round. On 9 February 2023, Hložek scored almost immediately off the bench in a 5-1 victory against

SV Darmstadt 98 Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German professional association football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was bri ...

. On 5 October, Hložek provided an assist against

Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a association football, football club based in Molde Municipality, Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football league system, Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club w ...

in the

2023–24 UEFA Europa League The 2023–24 UEFA Europa League was the 53rd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 15th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played at Aviva Stadium ...

. He scored a double goal against the Norwegian football club during the second leg which ended in a 5-1 victory for Bayer Leverkusen. On 17 March 2024, Hložek scored an important goal in a 3–2 victory against

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions ...

. After returning from an ankle injury which had him ruled out for a month, he provided a hattrick of assists against

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

in a 5-1 victory on 5 May 2024 and grabbed

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. Hložek played in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League final with a shot outside the box in the last 20 minutes, but could not score and Leverkusen lost their 51-game unbeaten streak after losing 3-0 to

Atalanta BC Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio (), commonly referred to as Atalanta, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy, who compete in Serie A, the top tier of the Italian league system. Founded in 1907, Atalanta holds the record ...

TSG Hoffenheim

On 17 August 2024, Hložek signed a multi-year contract with

club

. On matchday two in the Bundesliga, Hlozek assisted

Andrej Kramarić Andrej Kramarić (; born 19 June 1991) is a Croatian professional association football, footballer, who plays as a Forward (association football), forward or attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, TSG Hoffenheim and the Cr ...

in an unfortunate 3-1 loss against Frankfurt. Adam missed out on the next two games due to thigh problems but right after he scored his first goal for the club on matchday 5 on September 21, 2024 against

but also Hoffenheim lost 4-3. Next match against

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

in the Europa League, Hlozek scored his first brace for the club and which he scored all the goals 2-0. After a tremendous break with the national team, Adam continued that momentum against

and scored another brace in another 4-3 win. On matchday 18, January 18, against

Holstein Kiel Kieler Sportvereinigung Holstein von 1900 e.V., commonly known as Holstein Kiel () or KSV Holstein, is a German association football and sports club based in the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. From the 1900s through the 1960s, the club was o ...

, Hlozek yet again scored a brace with two of them being volleys in a 3-1 win. In the next matchday Hlozek could have scored another brace but was called offside for the first but then he responded with a quickfire assist and a dramatic late volley goal in the 96th minute to secure a 2-2 draw.

International career

On 4 September 2020, Hložek debuted for the Czech senior squad in a

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

match against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. In May 2021, Hložek was called up by the Czech Republic for the rescheduled

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

. He scored his first international goal in October 2021 in the 2–0 World Cup qualification victory against

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hložek goal.''

Honours

Sparta Prague *

: 2019–20 Bayer Leverkusen *

: 2023–24 *

: 2023–24 Individual * Czech Talent of the Year: 2019 *

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

Top Goalscorer:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Forward of the Year:

Player of the Month: September 2020, May 2021 *

Fans' choice Player of the Season: 2019–20, 2021–22

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hlozek, Adam Living people 2002 births People from Ivančice Footballers from the South Moravian Region Czech men's footballers Men's association football forwards AC Sparta Prague players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players Czech First League players Bundesliga players Czech Republic men's under-21 international footballers Czech Republic men's youth international footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2020 players UEFA Euro 2024 players Czech expatriate men's footballers Czech expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany 21st-century Czech sportsmen