Jindřich Staněk (born 27 April 1996) 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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

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 ...

side

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Club career

Early career and time in England

Staněk started his career with

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 ...

, appearing on the bench for the first team on three occasions in 2013. On 31 January 2014, he joined

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club Everton on a -year deal for an undisclosed fee. On 29 September 2015, Staněk joined

Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England, formed in 1919. The team's strip is red shirts and black shorts and their home ground is the 4,250 capacity Ewen Fields. Hyde United's record ...

on a one-month loan deal, going on to make five appearances for the club. In June 2016, having made just two appearances on the bench for Everton, he was released by the club.

Return to the Czech Republic

In September 2016, Staněk returned to the Czech Republic and signed for

Dynamo České Budějovice "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos employed electromagnets for self-starting by using residual magnetic field left in the iron cores ...

, later being sent on loan with

Třebíč Třebíč (; ) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 35,000 inhabitants. The beginnings of the town's history are connected with the establishment of a Benedictines, Benedictine monastery, where the castle is loca ...

in 2017. He made his

Czech National Football League The Czech National Football League (, ''FNL''), known as Chance Národní Liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the second level professional association football league in the Czech Republic. Before 2013 it was known as 2. liga or Druhá liga. The ...

debut for České Budějovice on 24 September 2017 against

FK Baník Sokolov FK Baník Sokolov is a Czech football club based in Sokolov. The club plays in Division B, which is the fourth tier of Czech football. Historical names * 1948 – ''SK HDB Falknov nad Ohří'' * 1948 – ''ZTS Sokol HDB Sokolov'' * 1 ...

. Staněk joined

Viktoria Plzeň Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victor ...

on loan in January 2020, making his league debut in a goalless draw against

Baník Ostrava ''Baník'' is a Slovak word meaning "miner". Since the 1950s it has been part of the name of various sports clubs in Czechoslovakia associated mostly with coal mining regions. In Poland, the same practice was conducted with the name ''górnik''. ...

on 5 July. He signed for the club permanently on 3 January 2021, playing the entire

2020–21 Czech Cup The 2020–21 Czech Cup, known as the MOL Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th season of the annual knockout football tournament of the Czech Republic. It began with the first round on 11 August 2020 and ended with the final on 20 May 2021. ...

final against

on 20 May, which Plzeň lost 1–0. At the end of the season, Staněk was shortlisted for the Best Player Award together with Adam Hložek and Tomáš Holeš, which Holeš went on to win. In July 2022, Staněk extended his contract with Viktoria Plzeň until 2025. On 5 January 2024, Staněk signed a contract with

until 2027 as part of a swap transfer with midfielders Lukáš Červ and Matěj Valenta. Staněk made his league debut for the club in a goalless draw against

on 3 March 2024.

International career

Staněk represented

at every youth international level from under-16 to under-21. Staněk debuted for the Czech senior squad on 5 September 2021 in a 2022 World Cup qualification against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, ending in a 0–3 away loss. He entered the game in the 12th minute for the injured

Tomáš Vaclík Tomáš Vaclík (; born 29 March 1989) is a Czech professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Portuguese Primeira Liga club Boavista F.C., Boavista and the Czech Republic nationa ...

, with the Czech Republic already down 0–1. Staněk made his first start in the 1–1 draw against

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

three days later. On 29 May 2024, Staněk was included in the final Czech squad for the

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

Personal life

Outside football, Staněk also creates rap songs under the stage name Ejaytime.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Sparta Prague

: 2013–14 *

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 ...

: 2013-14

Dynamo Ceske Budejovice

: 2018–19

Viktoria Plzen

: 2021–22

Slavia Prague

: 2024–25

Individual

Most cleansheets: 2021–22 *

Goalkeeper of the Year: 2021–22

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanek, Jindrich Living people 1996 births Sportspeople from Strakonice Men's association football goalkeepers Czech men's footballers Czech Republic men's youth international footballers Czech Republic men's under-21 international footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2024 players Czech First League players Czech National Football League players AC Sparta Prague players Everton F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players SK Dynamo České Budějovice players FC Viktoria Plzeň players SK Slavia Prague players Czech expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Czech expatriate sportspeople in England Footballers from the South Bohemian Region 21st-century Czech sportsmen