Libor Kozák (born 30 May 1989) is a Czech former 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 played as a striker. He started and ended his career in

Opava Opava (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Opava (river), Opava River. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia and was a historical capital of Czech Sile ...

. Among the most notable clubs where he played were

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

and

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 ...

. He also played for the

Czech Republic national football team The Czech Republic national football team (), recognised by FIFA as Czechia, represents the Czech Republic in men's international Association football, football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR). H ...

Club career

SFC Opava

Kozák started his career in 2001 with Czech club Slezský FC Opava, first playing with its youth teams before being promoted to the first team in 2007. Considered a promising talent, Kozák was a prolific goalscorer in the Czech Second Division with Opava. In October 2007, he scored his first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

, coming in a 5–1 Opava win against FC Zenit Čáslav in the second division. In January 2008, Kozák went on trial with English

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

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, however he did not join Pompey.

Lazio

Kozák joined

in July 2008, signing a five-year contract, with rumours that Lazio club president Claudio Lotito paid a €1.2 million ($1.8 million) transfer fee. He later went on loan to

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

side

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

in the

2009–10 Serie B The 2009–10 Serie B season is the seventy-eighth edition since its establishment in 1929. Serie B is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega ...

to gain experience and regular playing time. On 26 September 2009, Kozák scored his first goal in Italy against

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and a ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the province of Grosseto and the main city of the Maremma region. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the ...

. At the end of his loan spell, Kozák returned to Lazio and scored his first goal for the ''Biancocelesti'' on 18 September 2010, which turned out to be the winner against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

. On 16 January 2011, he netted the deciding goal against Sampdoria after coming on as a 77th-minute substitute, before scoring two goals on his full club debut two weeks later, again against Fiorentina. Having achieved four goals in nine starts for Lazio of which four goals came in January, Michal Bílek, manager of 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 ...

, called Kozák up to the national team and announced he would make a special trip to the

Stadio Olimpico Stadio Olimpico (; ), colloquially known as l'Olimpico (The Olympic), is an Italian multi-purpose sports venue located in Rome. Seating over 70,000 spectators, it is the largest sports facility in Rome and the second-largest in Italy, after ...

to watch his game against A.S. Bari. Under coach Vladimir Petković in the 2012–13 Serie A, Kozák experienced a two-faced season by failing to score in 19 appearances in Serie A, but finished the season as the leading goalscorer in the Europa League with eight goals. He scored his first club

against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 14 March 2013, helping his team reach the last eight by an aggregate score of 5–1.

Aston Villa

On 2 September 2013, Kozák signed a four-year contract with English side

for a €6.5 million transfer fee, being assigned the number 27 shirt. On 14 September 2013, he made his Aston Villa debut at Villa Park, but could not prevent the side from losing 2–1 to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. On 21 September 2013, he scored his first goal for Villa, seconds after replacing Christian Benteke, against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

which proved to be the winning goal in a 1–0 victory. The same year on 21 December 2013, he scored the only goal for Villa in a 2–1 loss to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. On 2 January 2014, Villa announced that Kozak had broken his right leg in a training ground collision with teammate

Ciaran Clark Ciaran Clark (born 26 September 1989) is a professional footballer who plays for Baller League club Trebol FC. In eleven-a-side football, he operates as a centre-back, central midfielder or left-back. Clark is a product of the Aston Villa Aca ...

, and would miss the rest of the 2013–14 season. Complications and further injuries saw him miss the entire 2014–15 season too. He eventually made his comeback 15 months after the initial leg break in March 2015 in an under-21 match against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. He made his first team comeback in July 2015 in a 3–1 pre-season defeat to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, scoring for the first time since December 2013. In February 2017, with Kozak's contract running out at the end of season, Aston Villa announced that he would miss the rest of the season undergoing surgery on his ankle. Kozák was released by Aston Villa at the end of the 2016–17 season.

Later career

On 30 August 2017, Kozak joined

team

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

. He signed with

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

on 16 July 2018. On 28 May 2019, Kozák returned to his homeland and signed with

. Kozák joined Hungarian club Puskás Akadémia in

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 ...

in 2021. He then returned to the Czech Republic, signing for

Slovácko Moravian Slovakia, also called Slovácko (, older ''Moravské Slovensko'') is a cultural region in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic. It lies in the historical region of Moravia, on the border with Slovakia (the Slovak region of Záhor ...

on 17 June 2022 before moving to Trinity Zlín on 13 January 2023. On 8 August 2023, Kozák joined

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

in the Italian

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

. He left by mutual consent on 31 January 2024. On 23 July 2024, Kozák signed a one-year contract with

International career

On 14 November 2012, Kozák debuted for the

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against neighbours

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 ...

, coming as a substitute for David Lafata in the 67th minute. He scored his first goal in a 1–1 friendly draw against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

on 14 August 2013.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first.''

Honours

Czech Republic U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

bronze:

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 ...

Individual

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

top scorer: 2012–13

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kozak, Libor 1989 births Living people Footballers from Opava Czech men's footballers Czech Republic men's youth international footballers Czech Republic men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football forwards SFC Opava players SS Lazio players Brescia Calcio players Aston Villa F.C. players SSC Bari players US Livorno 1915 players FC Slovan Liberec players AC Sparta Prague players Serie A players Serie B players Premier League players Czech First League players Czech expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in England Czech Republic men's international footballers Czech expatriate sportspeople in Italy Czech expatriate sportspeople in England Puskás Akadémia FC players Expatriate men's footballers in Hungary Czech expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság I players 1. FC Slovácko players FC Zlín players SS Arezzo players English Football League players Czech National Football League players 21st-century Czech sportsmen