Matěj Pulkrab

Matěj Pulkrab (born 23 May 1997) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a forward for Mladá Boleslav.[2]

Matěj Pulkrab
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-05-23) 23 May 1997
Place of birth Prague, Czech Republic
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 FK Mladá Boleslav
Number 18
Youth career
Sparta Prague
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2022 Sparta Prague 49 (18)
2016 → Slovan Liberec (loan) 7 (4)
2017–2018 → Slovan Liberec (loan) 26 (10)
2020 → Bohemians 1905 (loan) 8 (5)
2020–2021 → Bohemians 1905 (loan) 20 (5)
2022–2023 SV Sandhausen 11 (0)
2023– Mladá Boleslav 0 (0)
International career
2013 Czech Republic U16 4 (1)
2013–2014 Czech Republic U17 8 (3)
2014 Czech Republic U18 7 (1)
2015–2016 Czech Republic U19 12 (4)
2017–2018 Czech Republic U20 8 (2)
2016–2018 Czech Republic U21 12 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:27, 6 February 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Sparta Prague

Pulkrab is an academy graduate of Sparta Prague and captained the club at U-19 level.[3] In 2015, he was named "Player of the Tournament" in the CEE Cup.[4]

Loan to Slovan Liberec

On 13 January 2016 Pulkrab completed a loan move to Slovan Liberec from parent club Sparta Prague in a deal that saw Josef Šural complete a permanent move in the opposite direction.[5] He made his debut for the club on 12 March, coming on as a 92nd-minute substitute for Marek Bakoš in a 1–0 win over Příbram. Pulkrab scored four goals in the final three games of the season, including one on the final day which earned Liberec a third-place finish in the Czech First League.[5]

Return to Sparta Prague

Pulkrab returned to Sparta Prague for the 2016–17 season and made his debut on 18 August, coming off the bench in a 0–0 Europa League draw with SønderjyskE. He scored his first goal for the club three days later, netting his team's second in a 3–0 Czech Liga win over Jablonec.[6] He made his Cup debut on 12 October and scored in a 2-1 win over České Budějovice. On 20 October, Pulkrab scored his first ever European goal, scoring the only goal of the match in a 1–0 Europa League win over Hapoel Be'er Sheva.[7] He ultimately made 24 appearances for the season, and scored seven goals across all competitions.[3]

Second loan to Slovan Liberec

On 3 July 2017, Pulkrab returned to Slovan Liberec on a season-long loan.[3] He made his second debut for the club on 30 July and marked the occasion by scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win over Zlín.[8] Having not scored again since his opening goal, Pulkrab scored seven goals in five matches across February and March 2018.[9] Included in the run was his fifteenth career goal in the Czech First League; a milestone he reached faster than any other player in the competition, including international counterparts, Milan Baroš and Václav Kadlec.[10] He ultimately scored 10 goals for the season before returning to Sparta Prague upon the expiration of his loan.[11]

Second return to Sparta Prague

Following his loan spell, Pulkrab once again returned to Sparta and played a prominent role during the 2018–19 campaign, where he scored four goals in 18 appearances before being sidelined by an Achilles tendon injury in March 2019.[12]

Mladá Boleslav

On 30 June 2023 Pulkrab signed with Mladá Boleslav a two-year contract.[13]

Personal life

Outside of football, Pulkrab is an avid guitar player and admitted to being self-taught. During his time with Slovan Liberec, he would often play the instrument with teammate Zdeněk Folprecht.[9]

Career statistics

Club
As of 11 June 2022[14][15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Slovan Liberec (loan) 2015–16 Czech First League 74———74
Sparta Prague 2016–17 Czech First League 1442281—247
2018–19 16321——184
2021–22 1972040—257
Total 491863121006718
Slovan Liberec (loan) 2017–18 Czech First League 261045——3015
Bohemians 1905 (loan) 2019–20 Czech First League 85———85
Bohemians 1905 (loan) 2020–21 Czech First League 20510——215
Career total 110381181210013347

    References
    1. "Matěj Pulkrab". Sparta Prague (in Czech). Retrieved 10 June 2016.
    2. "Matej Pulkrab wechselt von Sparta Prag an den Hardtwald". svs1916.de (in German). Retrieved 3 June 2022.
    3. "Pulkrab opustil Spartu, zamířil na roční hostování do Liberce". iDNES (in Czech). 3 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
    4. "CeeCup 2015". www.ceecup.org. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
    5. Miskovsky, Michal (14 May 2016). "Pulkrab trefil Liberci třetí místo: Škoda, že je konec sezony". iDNES (in Czech). Retrieved 10 June 2016.
    6. "V lize mám pět střel a pět gólů. To je celkem vtipný, smál se Pulkrab Zdroj:". iDNES (in Czech). 22 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
    7. Sinai, Allan (20 October 2016. "Disheartening defeat to Prague for host Hapoel Beersheba". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
    8. "Pulkrab: Gól? Nejlepší možný návrat. Snad to tak bude pokračovat". iDNES (in Czech). 31 July 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
    9. "Kytara místo PlayStationu. Pulkrab s Folprechtem hrají Tučného i Red Hoty Zdroj" (in Czech). iDNES. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
    10. "Pulkrab předehnal Lafatu i Baroše" (in Czech). Sport CZ. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
    11. "Jsem zpátky tam, kam patřím, kvituje Pulkrab. Ve Spartě uspěje, věří jeho osudový trenér". Sport.cz (in Czech). 30 June 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
    12. "Spartan Pulkrab negotiates with Bohemians, he should be there in Spring" (in Czech). iDNES. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
    13. Bílek, Jaroslav (30 June 2023). "Podepsáno! Matěj Pulkrab bude řádit v útoku Mladé Boleslavi". Deník (in Czech). Retrieved 2 July 2023.
    14. "Matěj Pulkrab: Club matches". Slovan Liberec. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
    15. "Matěj Pulkrab Career Statistics". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
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