Kristopher David Twardek (born 8 March 1997) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a winger for

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

in the

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

. A former youth international for the Czech Republic, he has been capped by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at full international level.

Early life

Twardek was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and raised in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. His father is Czech and his mother is Canadian.

Club career

Early career

Twardek began playing with West Carleton SC at the age of five. He graduated from the

Ottawa South United Ottawa South United is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Manotick, Ontario, a community in the rural south part of Ottawa that plays in the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec. The club previously competed in League1 Ontario. ...

Academy before signing for English club

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

Millwall

In 2013, Twardek joined the academy of English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

and signed his first professional contract with the club in April 2015. After missing the start of the 2015–16 season, due to a dislocated toe sustained in July, he returned from injury on 8 October 2015, playing in the reserve match against Plymouth Argyle U21. Towards the end of the 2015–16 season, Twardek appeared three times as an unused substitute. Following this, Twardek signed a one–year contract extension with the club. Twardek made his senior debut for Millwall on 30 August 2016, in an

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

game against West Bromwich Albion under-23s, where he set up a goal for

Jimmy Abdou Nadjim "Jimmy" Abdou (born 13 July 1984) is a former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in his hometown club of Martigues, Abdou later went on to play in Ligue 1 with CS Sedan Ardennes, ...

, in a 2–0 win. However, although he made three appearances, his first team place at Millwall became limited, leading him to get loaned out for first team football. By the time he went out on loan, he made three appearances for the side. In the 2017–18 season, Twardek made his league debut for Millwall on 21 November 2017, coming on as a late substitute, in a 0–0 draw against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

. He went on to make two more appearances for the side before being loaned out to Carlisle United. He was released by Millwall at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Loan to Braintree Town

On 5 January 2017, Twardek joined

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

side

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team o ...

on a 28-day loan. He made his Braintree Town debut two days later, where he started the whole game and set up a goal, in a 2–1 loss against

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. His performance at Braintree Town resulted in his loan spell being extended for another month and eventually for the rest of the season. He went on to make 12 appearances for the side, as Braintree Town were relegated from the National League at the end of the season after finishing in the bottom four.

Loan to Carlisle United

Twardek moved on loan to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

on 26 January 2018 for the rest of the season. He made his Carlisle United debut, where he started and earned himself a Man of the Match, in a 1–0 win over

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

on 30 January 2018. Although he made three more starts, Twardek most appearances comes from substitute bench, leading him to make 12 appearances for Carlisle United. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Twardek's loan spell with Carlisle United came to an end.

Sligo Rovers

After being released by Millwall, Twardek joined Irish club

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...

on 3 July 2018. Twardek made his Sligo Rovers debut, where he came on as a substitute for Caolan McAleer in the 69th minute, in a 2–1 loss against

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fánaithe Bhré) are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''B ...

on 8 July 2018. He scored his first goal for the club on 1 March 2019 against

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

in a 2–1 victory. Twardek was acknowledged as the club's Player of the Month in July and August 2019. He left the club at the end of the 2019 season.

Bohemians

In November 2019, Twardek signed for

ahead of the 2020 season. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2-0

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

win over his former side

on 24 April 2020 in

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

. Twardek was named February Player of the Month by the club's fans via an online poll.

Jagiellonia Białystok

On 2 October 2020

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 cl ...

club

Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the Reserve Battalion in Białystok. Jagiellonia play their home g ...

announced they had signed Twardek.

FK Senica

After terminating his contract with Jagiellonia through a mutual agreement, Twardek signed with

FK Senica FK Senica () is a Slovak football team, based in the town of Senica. The club was founded in 1921. History FK Senica was founded in 1921. Newly created partition was rapidly progressed, but the boom dampened dark period World War II. World war ...

of the

Fortuna Liga The Slovak Super Liga is the top level football league in Slovakia, currently known as the Fortuna Liga due to a sponsorship arrangement. It was formed in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The record for most titles is eleven, ...

. He debuted in the league on 1 August 2021 in a

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

fixture against

Spartak Trnava FC Spartak Trnava () is a Slovak professional football club based in Trnava. Historically, it is one of the most successful clubs in the country, having won the Czechoslovak First League five times and the Czechoslovak Cup on four occasions, and ...

, which concluded in a 2–1 victory for Senica.

Return to Bohemians

In December 2021, it was announced that Twardek would return to

club

on a multi-year contract.

International career

Twardek is eligible to play for

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

(through his father and passport) and

(through his mother and his birth country). Having been

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

for the Czech Republic levels from under-17 to under-19 side, he switched his international allegiance to Canada in 2016.

Youth

In October 2013, Twardek was called up by Czech Republic national under-17 side, leading him to make his debut against Israel U17, in a 4–2 win. On 20 February 2014, he scored his first Czech Republic U17 goal, in a 2–2 draw against Wales U17. Twardek went on to make 11 appearances and scoring once, with his last appearance came on 31 March 2014 against Albania U17, with a 2–0 win. In April 2015, Twardek was called up by the under-18 side, making his debut on 20 April 2015, in a 2–1 win over United Arab Emirates U18. He went on to make three more appearances for the under-18 side. The following year, in February 2016, Twardek was called up by under-19. He played in both matches against Greece U19 on 2 February 2016 and 4 February 2016, drawing 1–1 and losing 1–0 respectively. Despite making no appearances since switching to Canada, Twardek was nominated for the Canada Soccer U20 Player of the Year award in 2016. In February 2017, Twardek was named to Canada's roster for the

2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2017 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 5th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (26th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was hosted in Costa Rica between ...

He didn't made his debut for the side until on 17 February 2017, where he started and played the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Honduras U20. He then scored his first goal for the side, in a 2–0 win over Antigua and Barbuda U20 on 23 February 2017. He was named the Canada Soccer U20 Player of the Year in December 2017. In May 2018, Twardek was named to Canada's under-21 squad for the

2018 Toulon Tournament The 2018 Toulon Tournament (officially french: 46ème Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) was the 46th edition of the Toulon Tournament. It was held in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône from 26 May to 9 June 2018. Engl ...

. He made his debut for the side on 28 May 2018, where he was given the captaincy and played 66 minutes before coming off as a substitute, in a 0–0 draw against Portugal U19. Twardek then captained the side on two more occasions. Twardek was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the

2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship The 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the fifteenth and final edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted football tournament organised by CONCACAF to determine which men's ...

on 26 February 2020. He was named to the final squad ahead of the re-scheduled tournament on 10 March 2021, but pulled out due to injury.

Senior

Twardek was called up to the Canadian senior team for a friendly against

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

on 29 September 2017. He made his national team debut against El Salvador, where he came on as a late substitute, in a 1–0 loss.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual

* Canada Soccer U20 Player of the Year: 2017

References

External links