![]() ![]() “I was certain they would praise me,” Schick recalled. What some doubted was whether he had the work rate.Īfter Schick scored twice for Sparta’s Under-18s against Jablonec he was summoned to talk to Jaroslav Hrebik, the sporting director, and the coach Martin Hasek. “When I saw his technique and speed, it was clear that he is destined to play somewhere abroad,” he said. “I thought that I want to do this – never get a normal job, and earn a living like him.”ĭavid Holoubek, Schick’s coach in Sparta’s academy, said there was never a doubt the striker had the talent to make it. “He was running on the pitch in front of me,” Schick said. He would take the ball out of the net, bring it to the centre circle and say: “Fine, let’s play again.” When he missed a big chance, he would cry and had to be substituted.Īn inspiration has been Wayne Rooney, whom an eight-year-old Schick watched play for Manchester United at Sparta Prague. Playing for Vestec, a village near Prague, Schick wouldn’t get too excited after a goal. “I would always stand out because I scored a lot,” he told Reporter magazine. Schick’s gifts as a goalscorer were evident from a young age. If he can do the same thing as Baros, that would be great.” Schick’s penalty against Croatia was converted with blood flowing from his nose after a bang from Dejan Lovren’s elbow. "A terrible mistake, an experienced player like this can't do that," Jaroslav Silhavy fumed after Schick's first-ever red (function() ) “I believe we will get further at this tournament and Patrik will lead us with his goals,” the Czech Republic head coach, Jaroslav Silhavy, said. ![]() The Bayer Leverkusen striker got sent off after hitting Wales's Tyler Roberts clumsily in the face as the Czechs lost a World Cup qualifier 1-0. PRAGUE: Less than three months ago, the sound of Patrik Schick's name made the Czech national team coach wince. "I've been a hundred times lucky and I sometimes tell myself it's an incredible history. Schick, who is married and has a daughter named Victoria, relishes his career despite several injuries that have slowed down his progress at times. I just thought, well, I guess he's a decent footballer now," said Schick's mother, proud of her son as well as her daughter who is a successful model. Having moved through the ranks at Sparta Prague, Schick moved to Sampdoria aged 20 and scored 11 league goals in his first season, mostly as a substitute.Ī year later, he signed with Roma for some 40 million euros as Italy's most wanted player. "I always stood out, I scored lots of goals, but when I wasted a few chances, I really started crying so hard that the coaches had to sub me," said Schick, who had a dozen David Beckham shirts as a child. His father laughed it off and stopped nagging. Schick's father, a Prague confectioner, was his fiercest critic - until, as a boy, the frustrated future star showed him the middle finger during a game. "He wasn't interested in anything else as a boy," she said. Schick's mother Iveta said in a recent interview for DNES he was born for football. But it will be a lot," said Schick, who scored nine goals in 29 Bundesliga games last season. "It's hard to tell how many former teammates I'll meet at the Euro. His recent hot spell comes on the back of his move to Leverkusen on a five-year contract for 26.5 million euros ($31 million) last autumn, following previous stints at Sampdoria, Roma and RB Leipzig. It was also Schick's eighth goal in the last 11 internationals. UEFA said it was the longest distance ever for a Euro goal at 49.7 metres. "Ohhhhhhhhhh Schick! I guess we already have the goal of the tournament," tweeted ex-Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil. "You score a goal like this once in a lifetime, let alone at the Euro," beamed former Liverpool midfielder Vladimir Smicer, Schick's compatriot. "That goal was Schick," tweeted former England striker Gary Lineker. The 25-year-old Schick has scored 13 goals in 27 international games so far, but none as remarkable as the second against Scotland. On a scale from one (best) to five (worst), fans reading the Czech newspaper DNES marked Schick a flattering 1.16 for the Scotland game, a massive change from the 4.01 he got for the Wales qualifier. ![]() "The second goal is something out of this world, we haven't seen a goal like that in a long time." "We know he is a genius, he knows how to finish and that's why he is there," Silhavy said after the game. The curling ball flew over the sprinting Marshall into the net, followed by the hapless goalkeeper, and the Czechs won 2-0. Schick ran onto a rebound just inside the Scotland half, saw goalkeeper David Marshall way out off his line and let fly. In the Euro 2020 opener against Scotland, he opened the scoring with a first-half header before producing what his teammates labelled as "a touch of genius". Three games and three goals later, Schick is collecting praise from left, right and centre. ![]()
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