Michael Lüftner (born 14 March 1994) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

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

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

Club career

Teplice

He has spent his early career in the

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 ...

club

Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

. He broke into the first team squad early in the 2012–13 season, making his league debut in an 0–2 loss against

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

in October 2012. He scored his first league goal in November 2012 against defending champions Slovan Liberec, helping his team to a 3–0 victory. He became an integral part of Teplice's first team in the 2013–14 season, playing 8 whole league matches in a row before being sent off after 28 minutes in the 9th round against

Příbram Příbram (; or ''Przibram'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It is known for its mining history, and more recently, its new venture into economic restructuring. The town is the t ...

Slavia Prague

In December 2016, he signed for

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 ...

on a contract until 2020 for an undisclosed fee reported to be over €500,000. He made his debut for Slavia in their next competitive match - a 2–0

home win against

Jihlava Jihlava (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava (river), Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihla ...

on 19 February 2017.

Copenhagen

On 11 May 2017, Slavia Prague officials announced that

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

triggered the release clause on Lüftner's contract by a bid of €1,5 million. The move was confirmed four days later.

Omonia Nicosia

On 20 June 2019,

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

club

Omonia Nicosia Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia (; ''Athlitikós Sýllogos Omónoia Lefkosías''), commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia (also transliterated as Omonoia), is a Cypriot professional multi-sport club, established on 4 June 1948 in Nico ...

announced that Lüftner will join the club as a loan from FC Copenhagen. He made his debut on 24 August 2019 against Doxa Katokopias in the 2019-20 season premiere. He scored his first goal (6/2/20) in the 52nd minute in the Cyprus Cup against Doxa Katokopias. His first goal in the

(7/12/20) was against APOEL in the 38th minute.

Fehérvár

On 3 June 2021 it was confirmed, that Lüftner had joined

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

club

Fehérvár FC Fehérvár Football Club (commonly known as ''Fehérvár'', ''Vidi'', or ''MOL Fehérvár Football Club'' for sponsorship reasons), is a Hungarian professional football club based in Székesfehérvár, which plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II ...

from Copenhagen with immediate effect. On 31 August 2022, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

International career

He represented his country on UEFA U17 Championship in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. He was first called up to the senior Czech national team in August 2017 to face

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in the World Cup qualifiers, but failed to make an appearance. He was again called up in September to face

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

in the same competition, making his debut against San Marino on 8 October.

Career statistics

Honours

Copenhagen *

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

: 2018–19 Omonia *

: 2020–21

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luftner, Michael 1994 births Living people Czech men's footballers Czech expatriate men's footballers Czech Republic men's youth international footballers Czech people of German descent Czech Republic men's international footballers Czech Republic men's under-21 international footballers People from Chabařovice Men's association football defenders Czech First League players Danish Superliga players Cypriot First Division players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players FK Teplice players SK Slavia Prague players F.C. Copenhagen players AC Omonia players Fehérvár FC players Czech expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Czech expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Czech expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Hungary Footballers from the Ústí nad Labem Region 21st-century Czech sportsmen