.jpg.webp) Král with Spartak Moscow in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alex Král[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 May 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Košice, Slovakia[2] | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder[4] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Union Berlin (on loan from Spartak Moscow) | ||
| Number | 33 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2007 | Moravská Slavia Brno | ||
| 2007–2012 | Zbrojovka Brno | ||
| 2012–2017 | Slavia Prague | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2019 | Teplice | 43 | (1) |
| 2019 | Slavia Prague | 18 | (0) |
| 2019– | Spartak Moscow | 53 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → West Ham United (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | → Schalke 04 (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2023– | → Union Berlin (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2015 | Czech Republic U17 | 18 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | Czech Republic U18 | 13 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Czech Republic U19 | 20 | (1) |
| 2017 | Czech Republic U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Czech Republic U21 | 9 | (1) |
| 2019– | Czech Republic | 36 | (2) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 September 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 June 2023 | |||
Alex Král (born 19 May 1998) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Union Berlin, on loan from Spartak Moscow. He also plays for the Czech Republic national team.
Early life
Born in Slovakia, Král's family moved to Štýřice, Brno in the Czech Republic, when he was a child. He began playing football at SK Moravská Slavia Brno aged six, before joining Zbrojovka Brno aged nine. At 14, he was scouted and recruited by Slavia Prague moving to Prague to continue his development.[5]
Club career
Slavia Prague
In January 2019, he signed a four-year contract with Slavia Prague.[6]
Spartak Moscow
On 1 September 2019, he signed a five-year contract with the Russian Premier League club Spartak Moscow. He has since played for the club for several seasons, which included participation in the UEFA Champions League.[7]
Loan to West Ham United
On 31 August 2021, Král joined English side West Ham United on a season-long loan with an option to make the deal permanent.[5] He made his debut on 22 September in a 1–0 win against Manchester United in the EFL Cup at Old Trafford.[8] His league debut followed when he came on as a substitute in a 4–1 win at Watford on 28 December 2021.[9] Král made one appearance in the Premier League, three times in the Europa League and once in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup before his loan ended.[10]
Contract suspension and Schalke 04
On 1 July 2022, Spartak announced that Král suspended his contract with Spartak Moscow for the 2022–23 season using FIFA's special regulations related to the international response and other fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[11] On 14 July 2022, Schalke 04 announced the signing of Král to a one-year contract, and under FIFA regulations he remains a Spartak player temporarily playing for Schalke 04.[12]
Loan to Union Berlin
On 2 June 2023, Union Berlin announced the signing of Král to a one-year contract, and under FIFA regulations he remains a Spartak player temporarily playing for Union Berlin.[13]
International career
Král made his debut for the Czech Republic national team on 26 March 2019 in a friendly against Brazil, as a 69th-minute substitute for David Pavelka.[14]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Teplice | 2016–17 | Czech First League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Czech First League | 23 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| 2018–19 | Czech First League | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| Total | 43 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 48 | 2 | ||||
| Slavia Prague | 2018–19 | Czech First League | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | — | 21 | 1 | |
| 2019–20 | Czech First League | 6 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Total | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 1 | ||
| Spartak Moscow | 2019–20 | Russian Premier League | 19 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Russian Premier League | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 53 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 60 | 0 | |||
| West Ham United (loan) | 2021–22 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Schalke 04 (loan) | 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| Union Berlin (loan) | 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| Career total | 149 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 183 | 3 | ||
- ↑ Includes Czech Cup, Russian Cup, FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
- 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ↑ Appearance in Czechoslovak Supercup
- ↑ Appearance in EFL Cup
International
- As of match played 20 November 2023.[17]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | 2019 | 9 | 2 |
| 2020 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 39 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 14 October 2019 | Generali Arena, Prague, Czech Republic | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Northern Ireland | 2–3 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 2. | 14 November 2019 | Doosan Arena, Plzeň, Czech Republic |  Kosovo | 1–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
Honours
Slavia Prague
Individual
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2017[19]
References
- ↑ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ↑ Alex Král | Football Talent Scout, footballtalentscout.net
- ↑ "Alex Král". FC Schalke 04. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ↑ Profile on WorldFootball, worldfootball.net
- 1 2 "West Ham United bring in Czech Republic midfielder Alex Král on loan". West Ham United F.C. (Press release). 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ↑ "Návrat Krále. Slavia hlásí posilu do defenzívy". SK Slavia Praha. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ↑ "Vítej, Алекс Крал!" [Welcome, Alex Kral] (Press release) (in Russian). FC Spartak Moscow. 1 September 2019.
{{cite press release}}: Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ "Manchester United 0-1 West Ham United". BBC Sport. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ↑ "Watford 1-4 West Ham". BBC Sport. 28 December 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ↑ "He Thought He'd Play More At West Ham – National Team Boss On Hammers Loanee". Inside Futbol. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- ↑ "Крал приостановил действие контракта со "Спартаком"" (Press release) (in Russian). FC Spartak Moscow. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ↑ "Alex Král joins Schalke 04 for 2022/23". schalke04.de (Press release). FC Schalke 04. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ↑ "Král si polepšil, po sestupu se Schalke míří do Ligy mistrů. Posílil Union". Blesk (in Czech). Czech News Center. Czech News Agency. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ↑ "Czech Republic v Brazil game report". ESPN. 26 March 2019.
- ↑ Alex Král at Soccerway. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ↑ Alex Král at WorldFootball.net
- ↑ "Alex Král". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ↑ "BANÍK OSTRAVA VS. SLAVIA PRAGUE 0 - 2". Soccerway. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ↑ "Technical Report". UEFA.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
External links
- Alex Král at FAČR (in Czech)
- Alex Král – UEFA competition record (archived)
- Alex Král at National-Football-Teams.com
- Alex Král at West Ham United F.C. (archived)
- Alex Král at Soccerbase
- Alex Král at Soccerway
- Alex Král at WorldFootball.net
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