Jan Kuchta
Jan Kuchta (born 8 January 1997) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a forward for Czech club Sparta Prague and the Czech Republic national team.
 Kuchta with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 January 1997[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Liberec, Czech Republic | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sparta Prague | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Sparta Prague | |||
| –2016 | Slavia Prague | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2020 | Slavia Prague | 1 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → Bohemians (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Viktoria Žižkov (loan) | 12 | (4) |
| 2018 | → Slovácko (loan) | 14 | (4) |
| 2019 | → Teplice (loan) | 8 | (3) |
| 2019–2020 | → Slovan Liberec (loan) | 13 | (2) |
| 2020 | Slovan Liberec | 10 | (4) |
| 2020–2022 | Slavia Prague | 43 | (24) |
| 2022–2023 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 10 | (3) |
| 2022–2023 | → Sparta Prague (loan) | 29 | (14) |
| 2023– | Sparta Prague | 9 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2015 | Czech Republic U18 | 12 | (3) |
| 2015–2016 | Czech Republic U19 | 9 | (4) |
| 2017–2018 | Czech Republic U20 | 6 | (1) |
| 2018 | Czech Republic U21 | 3 | (2) |
| 2021– | Czech Republic | 14 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 October 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 May 2023 | |||
Club career
Slavia Prague
Kuchta made his Czech First League debut for Slavia Prague on 8 November 2015 in a game against Bohemians.[2]
In January 2019, he joined Teplice on loan until June 2020.[3]
In February 2020, Kuchta signed for Slovan Liberec on a permanent deal, following a loan move at the club. In July 2020, Kuchta re-signed for Slavia Prague.[4] Kuchta finished the 2020–21 Czech First League as joint top scorer, alongside Adam Hložek with 15 goals.[5] In the final match of the season on 29 May 2021, Kuchta scored his side's winning goal against Dynamo České Budějovice which confirmed an undefeated league season for Slavia, the first time a Czech club reached this milestone since rivals Sparta Prague did so in 2009–10.[6]
Lokomotiv Moscow
On 12 January 2022, Kuchta signed a contract with Russian Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow until 2026.[7]
He made his league debut for Lokomotiv on 6 March 2022 against FC Khimki and scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory. However, he never served a disqualification that he received for getting sent off in his last game for Slavia, and, according to FIFA regulations, was not eligible to play, FC Khimki filed a protest.[8] The protest was denied on 10 March 2022, according to Russian Football Union, Kuchta should have been disqualified for the Russian Cup game Lokomotiv played against Yenisey Krasnoyarsk on 3 March and lost 4–0, as Czech regulations extend disqualifications to Cup games, even though Russian regulations do not, so he was technically disqualified for "one league or Cup game" as opposed to "one league game". Lokomotiv did not provide the document detailing the disqualification to the league, the club claimed they did not receive it during the transfer, and he was allowed by the RFU to play in the Cup game. His disqualification is considered served after that game, even though he actually played in it, as per FIFA regulations. Khimki considered lodging an appeal.[9]
Sparta Prague
In June 2022, Kuchta joined Sparta Prague on a one-year long loan with an option for a permanent transfer.[10] In his first match for Sparta Prague in the Czech First League (2–1 home loss against Slovan Liberec) he stepped on Liberec goalkeeper Olivier Vliegen's head and received a yellow card, which the referee changed to a red card after he saw video footage. Kuchta was banned for five league matches by LFA Disciplinary Commission.[11] The club with Kuchta appealed against his ban,[12] but the appeal was rejected by Appeals Committee on 11 August 2022.[13]
Kuchta helped the club to win its first championship title since 2014.[14]
In June 2023, Sparta exercised the option to buy in the loan contract, signing a multi-year contract with Kuchta.[15]
International career
Kuchta made his debut for the Czech Republic national team on 8 October 2021 in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Wales.[16]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 27 May 2023[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Slavia Prague | 2015–16 | Czech First League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Bohemians (loan) | 2016–17 | Czech First League | 17 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 20 | 1 | |
| 2017–18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 24 | 1 | |||
| Viktoria Žižkov (loan) | 2017–18 | Czech National Football League | 12 | 4 | — | — | 12 | 4 | ||
| Slovácko (loan) | 2018–19 | Czech First League | 14 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | 16 | 5 | |
| Teplice (loan) | 2018–19 | Czech First League | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 3 | |
| Slovan Liberec (loan) | 2019–20 | Czech First League | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 15 | 3 | |
| Slovan Liberec | 2019–20 | Czech First League | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 12 | 4 | |
| Slavia Prague | 2020–21 | Czech First League | 27 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 41 | 20 |
| 2021–22 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8[lower-alpha 2] | 3 | 25 | 12 | ||
| Total | 43 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 5 | 66 | 32 | ||
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 11 | 3 | |
| Sparta Prague (loan) | 2022–23 | Czech First League | 29 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 35 | 16 |
| Sparta Prague | 2023–24 | Czech First League | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| Career total | 160 | 58 | 17 | 8 | 26 | 5 | 203 | 71 | ||
- Includes Czech Cup, Russian Cup
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League, five appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 27 March 2023[18]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | 2021 | 4 | 0 |
| 2022 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 14 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kuchta goal.[17]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 June 2022 | Sinobo Stadium, Prague, Czech Republic | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Switzerland | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A |
| 2 | 5 June 2022 | Sinobo Stadium, Prague, Czech Republic |  Spain | 2–1 | 2–2 | |
| 3 | 24 March 2023 | Fortuna Arena, Prague, Czech Republic |  Poland | 3–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
Honours
Slavia Prague
Sparta Prague
Individual
- Czech First League Player of the Month: January 2021
- Czech First League Top goalscorer: 2020–21
References
- UEFA.com. "Jan Kuchta – Czechia – European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- "Game Report by Soccerway". Soccerway. 8 November 2015.
- "ALEX KRÁL PŘESTUPUJE DO SLAVIE, NA HOSTOVÁNÍ PŘICHÁZÍ JAN KUCHTA". FK Teplice. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- "Jan Kuchta re-joins Slavia". SK Slavia Prague. 23 July 2020.
- "Sparta na závěr sezony deklasovala Brno, Slavia porazila Budějovice. Hložek čtyřmi góly dotáhl Kuchtu". iROZHLAS (in Czech). 29 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- "Slavia - Budějovice 2:1. Mistři bez prohry, trefil se i Kuchta". iSport (in Czech). 29 May 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- "ФК "Локомотив" согласовал контракт с Яном Кухтой". FK Lokomotiv Moscow. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ""Химки" подают протест на присуждение поражения "Локо". Все из-за участия в матче Кухты" (in Russian). Sport Express. 6 March 2022.
- "В КДК объяснили, почему не засчитали техническое поражение "Локомотиву"" (in Russian). Championat. 10 March 2022.
- "Jan Kuchta přichází na Spartu" (in Czech). AC Sparta Prague. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- Dosadil, Pavel (4 August 2022). "Surová hra přišla Kuchtu draho. Kolik kol stráví jen na tribuně?" (in Czech). sport.cz. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- "Pět zápasů je moc?! Sparta a Kuchta se odvolali proti trestu" (in Czech). sport.cz. Czech News Agency. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- Dosadil, Pavel (11 August 2022). "Kuchta má smůlu, milost nedostane. Sparťanský útočník s odvoláním neuspěl" (in Czech). sport.cz. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- "Sparta v euforii! Remíza na Slovácku odstartovala mistrovské oslavy". Sport.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- "Kuchta se do Ruska vracet nebude. Sparta ho získala na přestup" [Kuchta Won’t Be Returning to Russia. Sparta Got His Transfer]. ČT sport (in Czech). Czech Television. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- "Czech Republic v Wales game report". FIFA. 8 October 2021.
- Jan Kuchta at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- "Kuchta, Jan". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 May 2023.