Adam Karabec

Adam Karabec

Personal information
Date of birth	(2003-07-02) 2 July 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth	Prague, Czech Republic
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Hamburger SV (on loan from Sparta Prague)
Youth career
2009–2016	Bohemians 1905
2016–2020	Sparta Prague
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–	Sparta Prague	107	(12)
2022–2023	Sparta Prague B	5	(0)
2024–	→ Hamburger SV (loan)	0	(0)
International career‡
2017–2018	Czech Republic U15	10	(3)
2018–2019	Czech Republic U16	14	(3)
2019–2020	Czech Republic U19	8	(0)
2020–	Czech Republic U21	22	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:26, 30 June 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024

Adam Karabec (born 2 July 2003) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hamburger SV on loan from Sparta Prague. He was included in The Guardian 's "Next Generation" list for 2020. ^[1]

Club career

After a long spell in the youth academy of Bohemians 1905, which he had joined at the age of six, in 2016 Karabec gained a move to fellow Prague-based club Sparta Prague and began making it through the Letenští 's youth squads. By the beginning of the 2019–20 season, Karabec was already a member of Sparta's under-19 squad, despite being only sixteen. In July 2019, he was named "Player of the Tournament" in the CEE Cup. ^[2] By September 2019, he had also begun to play for the reserve team in their regional group of the national third division.

It took less than five months to the midfielder to impress the then head coach Václav Jílek and gain a call-up to join the first team. Karabec subsequently made his professional debut on 23 February 2020, coming on as a replacement for David Moberg Karlsson at the 88th minute of his side's 1–0 loss against Sigma Olomuc. After collecting other three appearances as a substitute and scoring his first goal in a 4–1 win against Karviná, he also made his first start on 10 June 2020, as he featured in Sparta's 2–0 win against Opava and was replaced by Georges Mandjeck at the 76th minute. ^[3]

On 4 July 2024, Karabec joined German 2. Bundesliga club Hamburger SV on a loan with option to make the move permanent. ^[4]

International career

A youth international for Czech Republic at several levels, in September 2020, Karabec got called-up for the first time both by the Under-21 and the senior national teams.

On 2 September 2020, he made his debut for the former squad against San Marino, registering an assist for Václav Drchal's opener (the match ended up in a 6–0 win); exactly one week later, he was featured on the bench in the latter side's UEFA Nations League match against Scotland.

In March 2021, he was selected to take part in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Hungary and Slovenia. ^[5]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 June 2024 ^[6]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Czech Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sparta Prague	2019–20	Czech First League	10	1	0	0	–		10	1
	2020–21		23	3	3	0	5 [lower-alpha 1]	0	31	3
	2021–22		30	2	4	0	8 [lower-alpha 2]	0	42	2
	2022–23		23	2	3	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	28	2
	2023–24		21	4	2	1	7 [lower-alpha 1]	0	30	5
	Total		107	12	12	1	22	0	141	12
Sparta Prague B	2022–23	Czech National Football League	5	0	–		–		5	0
Career total			112	12	12	1	22	0	146	12

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Sparta Prague

• Czech First League: 2022–23, ^[7] 2023–24 ^[8]
• Czech Cup: 2023–24 ^[9]

Individual

• Czech Talent of the Year: 2021 ^[10]

References

1. "Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
2. "AWARDS | CEE Cup 2019 | U19 Football Tournament | 24-30.7.2019". CEE Cup . Retrieved 30 November 2022.
3. Jan Vacek (10 June 2020). "Karabec prvně v základu: Rozkoukával jsem se, ale nervozitu jsem odboural". Blesk .
4. "HSV sign Karabec". Hamburger SV . 4 July 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
5. "Nominace na EURO hráčů do 21 let | Reprezentace". FAČR . Retrieved 16 March 2021.
6. Adam Karabec at Soccerway. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
7. "Sparta v euforii! Remíza na Slovácku odstartovala mistrovské oslavy". Sport.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Czech News Agency. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
8. "SESTŘIH: Boleslav - Sparta 0:5. Titul pro Letenské! Kuchta dal čtyři góly". Blesk (in Czech). Czech News Center. Czech News Agency. 18 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
9. Neumann, Robert (22 May 2024). "Sparta slaví double! Triumf v nervózním finále trefil Birmančevič". Sport.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
10. "Nejlepším fotbalovým starším dorostencem byl zvolen sparťan Karabec". ceskenoviny.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.

External links

• Adam Karabec at Fortunaliga.cz