Vítězslav Jaroš (born 23 July 2001) 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 club

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, on loan from club

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and the Czech Republic national team.

Club career

Early career

Jaroš started out with his local club

FK Příbram FK Příbram is a Czech Republic, Czech professional football club based in Příbram. The club currently plays in the Bohemian Football League (3rd tier). It is the legal successor to Dukla Prague, a club which won 11 national league titles betw ...

where he played for three years before joining

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 ...

in 2011. He spent six years there before signing for

in 2017, joining the club's

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

set-up and winning the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in his second season with the side. In the summer of 2019, he made his first appearance for the senior side in a pre-season friendly against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

, playing the second half of a 6–0 win. Shortly after that he picked up an injury in training that halted his progress, taking a knock to his elbow from close range that tore a ligament off the bone and a little bit of the bone away, with the injury requiring surgery that caused him to miss several months.

Liverpool

Jaroš first involvement with the

first team squad in a competitive fixture came in February 2020, when he was named on the bench for their

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Fourth Round replay against

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

. He signed a new long-term contract with the club on 9 July 2020. The following season, Jaroš was on the bench again for three Champions League fixtures, at home and away against

and away to

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The refo ...

, although he remained an unused substitute in all three.

Loan to St Patrick's Athletic

On 3 February 2021, it was announced that Jaroš had joined

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

side St Patrick's Athletic on loan for the duration of the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. This made him the second ever player from the Czech Republic to sign for the club, after fellow

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 ...

native Michal Macek. He made his debut for St Pats, and his senior competitive debut, on 19 March 2021, in a 1–1 draw with

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

in the Dublin derby at

Tallaght Stadium Tallaght Stadium () is an List of association football stadiums in the Republic of Ireland, association football stadium in Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers F.C., Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of ...

. Jaroš' debut performance saw him draw high praise from his manager Stephen O'Donnell who stated "He's shown tonight what he's shown all pre-season. For a player so young, 19 years of age, to have such a good mentality and be so composed – if you were coming in and didn't know his age, you’re saying: ‘That’s a seasoned veteran, that’s a real pro’." He kept the first clean sheet of his senior career on 3 April 2021, as his side won 1–0 away to Bohemians in the Dublin City derby at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

to go top of the league. Jaroš went on to keep five clean sheets in six games as his side remained unbeaten after nine games, conceding just four goals. On 12 November 2021, Jaroš was named as the club's Player of the Year, as voted by the club's supporters following a debut season that saw him help his side to a 2nd place finish, their best since the club's 2013 title win. On 28 November 2021, Jaroš made his last appearance for the club in the 2021 FAI Cup Final, beating rivals Bohemians 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in front of a record

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

Final crowd of 37,126 at the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...

. He departed the club at the end of the season, waiting for guidance from

Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German football executive and former Manager (association football), manager and Football player, player. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the world. Klopp has been ...

on where his next move would be, with the Liverpool manager stating ''"Vit was brilliant in Ireland"'', while Pat's manager Stephen O'Donnell stated he was the best 20-year-old goalkeeper he had ever seen, including

Kasper Schmeichel Kasper Peter Schmeichel (born 5 November 1986) is a Danish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Celtic F.C., Celtic and the Denmark national footb ...

who was a teammate of his at

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

at the same age. On 26 January 2022, it was announced that Jaroš had been named SWI Goalkeeper of the Year as voted by Irish journalists.

Loan to Notts County

On 27 January 2022, Jaroš moved to

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

side

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for the club on 1 March 2022 in a 3–1 loss away to Chesterfield. His first clean sheet for the club came on his fifth appearance for the club, in a 2–0 win over

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane is a football (soccer), football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County F.C., Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 201 ...

on 19 February 2022. He made a total of 15 appearances for the club during his loan spell, as they missed out on promotion to

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

in the playoffs.

Loan to Stockport County

On 4 July 2022, Jaroš signed for

club

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

on a season-long loan. Jaroš made his debut for the club on 9 August 2022 in an

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

tie away to Harrogate Town in which he kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 win. He followed that up by keeping another clean sheet in a 1–0 win four days later in a victory at home to

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

in his league debut for the club. On 23 August 2022, Jaroš kept a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw with

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 ...

side

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in an

tie, also saving a penalty from

James Maddison James Daniel Maddison (born 23 November 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team. Maddison began his career with Coventry City before joining ...

in the shootout as his side were defeated 3–1 on penalties. He made 13 appearances for the club in all competitions during his loan spell.

Loan to Sturm Graz

On 9 January 2024, Jaroš signed a new contract with Liverpool and joined

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

club

Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian professional association football club, based in Graz, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austr ...

on loan. He made the first European appearance of his career on 15 February 2024 in a 4–1 win over Slovan Bratislava in the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

. On 1 May 2024, he was part of the side that won the 2023–24 Austrian Cup after 2–1 victory over

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English, is an Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the f ...

in the final. He made 21 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell which concluded with winning the 2023–24 Austrian Bundesliga to complete the double and end Red Bull Salzburg's 10-year-long title-winning streak.

Return to Liverpool

On 5 October 2024, Jaroš made his Liverpool and Premier League debut, replacing Alisson in the 79th minute of a 1–0 away victory over

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

. He made his full debut for the club on 30 October 2024, starting in a 3–2 away win against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

in the

, earning praise for a fingertip save onto the post from a

Simon Adingra Simon Kofi Adingra (born 1 January 2002) is an Ivorian professional association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger for club Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., Brighton & Hove Albion and the Ivory Coast national ...

header in the 50th minute. Jaroš received a Premier League medal for Liverpool on 25 May 2025 for his efforts during the season. He became the first Czech to win the league since

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and current ice hockey player who plays as a goaltender for Oxford City Stars. He has ...

with Chelsea in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Loan to Ajax

On 18 June 2025, Jaroš signed a new contract with

and joined Eredivise club

on a season long loan, taking the number 1 shirt.

International career

Jaroš has represented the Czech Republic at various youth levels, with first call-up to the Czech Republic U21 team coming in September 2021. He debuted for the youth team in a 3–0 victory against Andorra U21 on 29 March 2022. Jaroš was called up to the senior

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 ...

squad for the first time for the March 2024 friendly matches against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. In May 2024, he was named in the squad for

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 ...

. Jaroš made his senior international debut on 7 June 2024 in a 7–1 friendly victory against

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Grödig Grödig is a market town of Salzburg-Umgebung District in the state of Salzburg in Austria. Geography Grödig is located south of the Salzburg city limits in the historic ''Flachgau'' region, near the border with Bavaria, Germany. The market t ...

, Austria, coming as a substitute for

Matěj Kovář Matěj Kovář (born 17 May 2000) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Czech Republic national team. Kovář joined the Manchester United youth system in 2018, from Czech cl ...

at half-time.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Liverpool *

: 2024–25 Liverpool Youth *

: 2018–19 St Patrick's Athletic *

: 2021 Sturm Graz *

: 2023–24 *

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for a record 27th time. Wo ...

: 2023–24 Individual * St Patrick's Athletic Player of the Year:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaroš, Vítězslav 2001 births Living people Footballers from Příbram Czech men's footballers Czech expatriate men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Czech Republic men's under-21 international footballers Czech Republic men's youth international footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2024 players SK Slavia Prague players Liverpool F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players SK Sturm Graz players League of Ireland players National League (English football) players English Football League players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Czech expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Czech expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Czech expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Premier League players 21st-century Czech sportsmen AFC Ajax players Czech expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands