David Pavelka

David Pavelka

Pavelka with the Czech Republic in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth	(1991-05-18) 18 May 1991 (age 34)
Place of birth	Prague, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Sparta Prague
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2013	Sparta Prague	10	(1)
2011–2012	→ Slovácko (loan)	22	(4)
2013–2016	Slovan Liberec	76	(15)
2016–2020	Kasımpaşa	108	(3)
2020–2025	Sparta Prague	82	(8)
2025	Sparta Prague B	11	(0)
International career‡
2012	Czech Republic U21	5	(0)
2015–	Czech Republic	25	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:01, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

David Pavelka (born 18 May 1991) is a Czech former professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Sparta Prague B and the Czech Republic national team. ^[1]

Club career

First spell at Sparta

Pavelka started his career with Sparta Prague, from where he joined 1. FC Slovácko on loan in 2011. Two days after his loan was announced, he scored his first Slovácko goal in a 1–1 draw with Sigma Olomouc. ^[2]

Liberec

At the start of 2013 Pavelka transferred from Sparta Prague to Slovan Liberec, as part of a deal involving Lukáš Vácha moving in the opposite direction. ^[3] After the 2014–15 Czech Cup final finished without a winner on 27 May 2015, Pavelka took Liberec's first penalty in the shoot-out and converted his spot-kick as his club defeated Jablonec 3–1 to win the trophy. ^[4]

Playing abroad

On 19 January 2016, Pavelka moved abroad for the first time, joining Süper Lig football club Kasımpaşa in a transfer worth a reported $1.65 million. ^[5] He signed a contract until the end of the 2017–18 season. ^[5]

Return to Sparta

On 6 October 2020, Pavelka returned to his native country, signing for Sparta Prague in the Czech First League. ^[6] In one of his first games after returning, he received a red card in a November 2020 4–2 home loss against České Budějovice. ^[7]

On 3 January 2025, it was decided that Pavelka will move to Sparta Prague B, where he will mentor the young players. ^[8]

International career

On 3 September 2015, Pavelka debuted as a starter in the Czech senior squad in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying against Kazakhstan, ending in a 2–1 victory for the Czechs. ^[9] He was eventually selected to represent the Czech Republic at the final tournament held in France. ^[10]

With the arrival of Jaroslav Šilhavý to the national team in 2018, Pavelka played all the minutes in the three remaining matches of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League as well as a friendly match against Poland, becoming a key player of the entire team. ^[11]

Pavelka scored his first national team goal in a friendly match against Brazil on 26 March 2019. ^[12]

Career statistics

Club

As of matches played 15 December 2024 ^[13]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sparta Prague	2010–11	Czech First League	3	0	–		–		–		3	0
	2012–13		7	1	–		3 [b]	0	–		10	1
	Total		10	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	13	1
Slovácko (loan)	2011–12	Czech First League	22	4	2	0	–		–		24	4
Slovan Liberec	2012–13	Czech First League	13	2	4	1	–		–		17	3
	2013–14		29	8	1	0	14 [b]	1	–		44	9
	2014–15		20	3	6	2	3 [b]	0	–		29	5
	2015–16		14	2	1	0	9 [b]	1	1 [c]	0	25	3
	Total		76	15	12	3	26	2	1	0	115	20
Kasımpaşa	2015–16	Süper Lig	9	0	0	0	–		–		9	0
	2016–17		25	2	8	2	–		–		33	4
	2017–18		32	0	2	0	–		–		34	0
	2018–19		28	1	7	0	–		–		35	1
	2019–20		10	0	0	0	–		–		10	0
	2020–21		4	0	0	0	–		–		4	0
	Total		108	3	17	2	0	0	0	0	125	5
Sparta Prague	2020–21	Czech First League	25	2	3	0	5 [b]	0	–		37	2
	2021–22	Czech First League	28	4	2	0	11 [d]	0	–		37	4
	2022–23	Czech First League	18	1	3	0	0	0	–		21	1
	2023–24	Czech First League	6	1	2	0	2 [b]	0	–		10	1
	2024–25	Czech First League	5	0	1	0	3 [e]	0	–		9	0
	Total		82	8	11	0	21	0	–		114	8
Sparta Prague II	2022–23	Czech National Football League	1	0	–		–		–		1	0
	2023–24	Czech National Football League	1	0	–		–		–		1	0
	Total		2	0	–		–		–		2	0
Career total			300	31	42	5	50	2	1	0	393	37

1. Includes Czech Cup, Turkish Cup
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance in Czech Supercup
4. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League, one appearance in UEFA Conference League
5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 16 November 2021. ^{[14] [13]}

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Czech Republic
	2015	5	0
	2016	9	0
	2017	0	0
	2018	4	0
	2019	4	1
	2021	3	0
Total		25	1

Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pavelka goal. ^[14]

List of international goals scored by David Pavelka

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 March 2019	Sinobo Stadium, Prague, Czech Republic	Brazil	1–0	1–3	Friendly

Honours

Sparta Prague

• Czech First League: 2022–23, ^[15] 2023–24 ^[16]
• Czech Cup: 2023–24 ^[17]

References

1. "Pavelka už patří Kasimpase, fotbalový reprezentant stál přes 35 milionů". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. 19 January 2016.
2. "Pavelka má za sebou premiéru jako hrom". Deník (in Czech). Vltava Labe Media. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
3. "Pavelka nechtěl ve Spartě sedět: Liberec mě posune dopředu". Aktualne.cz (in Czech). Economia. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
4. "Liberec pip neighbours Jablonec to Czech Cup". UEFA . 27 May 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
5. "Czech Republic midfielder moves to Kasimpasa in Turkey". USA Today . 19 January 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
6. "Do Sparty se vrací David Pavelka". Sparta Prague (in Czech). 6 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
7. "Sparta - České Budějovice 2:4, kolaps nedávného lídra, hosté vyhráli poprvé". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
8. "Changes in the A-team". Sparta Prague. 3 January 2025.
9. Novák, Miloslav (3 September 2015). "Česko 2–1 Kazachstán: Blíž k Euru postrčil vítěze náhradník Škoda". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra.
10. "Czech Republic Euro 2016 squad". The Daily Telegraph . 1 June 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
11. Čihák, Jiří (21 November 2018). "Klíčoví muži nového týmu: Čelůstka a Pavelka, válečníci z Turecka". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra.
12. Čihák, Jiří (27 March 2019). "Pavelka, střelec po 28 letech. Chválil Coutinha a litoval: Můj gól neměl efekt" [Pavelka, shooter after 28 years. He praised Coutinho and regretted: "My goal had no effect"]. Mladá fronta Dnes. Mafra.
13. "David Pavelka". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
14. "David Pavelka". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
15. "Sparta v euforii! Remíza na Slovácku odstartovala mistrovské oslavy". Sport.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Czech News Agency. 23 May 2023.
16. "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.
17. Neumann, Robert (22 May 2024). "Sparta slaví double! Triumf v nervózním finále trefil Birmančevič". Sport.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

External links

• Player's profile, FAČR (in Czech)
• David Pavelka at Soccerway