Matěj Vydra

Matěj Vydra (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmacɛj ˈvɪdra], born 1 May 1992) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a striker for Viktoria Plzeň and the Czech Republic national team.[3]

Matěj Vydra
Vydra lining up with the Czech Republic in 2014
Personal information
Full name Matěj Vydra[1]
Date of birth (1992-05-01) 1 May 1992[2]
Place of birth Chotěboř, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Viktoria Plzeň
Number 11
Youth career
1997–2003 FC Chotěboř
2003–2008 Vysočina Jihlava
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Vysočina Jihlava 27 (5)
2010 Baník Ostrava 14 (4)
2010–2015 Udinese 2 (0)
2011–2012 → Club Brugge (loan) 1 (0)
2012–2013 → Watford (loan) 41 (20)
2013–2014 → West Bromwich Albion (loan) 23 (3)
2014–2015 → Watford (loan) 42 (16)
2015–2016 Watford 1 (0)
2015–2016 → Reading (loan) 31 (3)
2016–2018 Derby County 73 (26)
2018–2022 Burnley 82 (8)
2022– Viktoria Plzeň 22 (5)
International career‡
2007–2008 Czech Republic U16 8 (2)
2008–2009 Czech Republic U17 18 (6)
2009 Czech Republic U18 2 (1)
2010–2011 Czech Republic U19 8 (1)
2011–2015 Czech Republic U21 4 (0)
2012– Czech Republic 46 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:10, 9 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:27, 23 November 2021 (UTC)

Vydra previously played for FC Chotěboř, Vysočina Jihlava, Baník Ostrava, Club Brugge, Udinese, Watford, Derby County and Burnley. He spent two loan spells at Watford.

Club career

Vydra joined Baník Ostrava from Vysočina Jihlava in January 2010 at the age of 17 for 20 million CZK (€765,000).[4] He spent six months at Baník Ostrava, where he scored four goals in 14 matches.

Udinese

In June 2010, Vydra moved to Serie A side Udinese and was also voted by sports journalists the Czech Revelation of the Year for his performances at Baník Ostrava in the 2009–10 season.[5] He joined Club Brugge on loan in August 2011 but returned to Udinese having played just two games due to an injury.

Watford (loan)

In July 2012, it was confirmed he had been loaned to Watford for the 2012–13 season.[6] Vydra scored his first goal for Watford when he netted the winner against Crystal Palace on 18 August 2012, in a game which finished 3–2.[7]

He scored a goal against Leeds United on 10 November.[8] Vydra then scored goals in successive matches in a 2–0 win against Nottingham Forest on 22 December 2012 and in a 3–1 away win over Brighton & Hove Albion on 29 December 2012.[9] He scored another brace on 12 January 2013 against Middlesbrough. Vydra carried on his rich vein of form by netting another goal the week after, on 19 January 2013 against Huddersfield and then netted his third goal in as many games a week later, scoring twice on 26 January 2013 in a 3–0 win away to Nottingham Forest. He was in fine form, and netted another goal in his next start against Bolton on 2 February 2013. The match eventually finished 2–1 to Watford, with Vydra assisting Almen Abdi's winning goal. After three matches without a goal, Vydra netted his 20th goal of the campaign in a 2–1 win over Derby County on 23 February 2013.

On 25 March 2013 it was announced that he had won the 2012–13 Championship Player of the Season award in his first season in English football.[10] Vydra won the award ahead of Glenn Murray of Crystal Palace and Blackpool's Thomas Ince. Despite going on a run in which he didn't score in 13 games,[11] he went on to score twice in the semi-final of the end-of-season play-offs in a 3–2 aggregate win over Leicester.[12] Vydra's season at Watford finished in disappointment as his club lost the chance to be promoted to the English top-flight after losing the play-off final against Crystal Palace and he injured his ankle during the match, having to be substituted at half time.[13]

West Bromwich Albion (loan)

Vydra joined Premier League club West Bromwich Albion on a season-long loan deal on 13 August 2013.[14] He scored his first goal for the club on 21 December 2013, equalising for West Brom in a 1–1 Premier League draw against Hull City.[15] On 22 February 2014, Vydra scored his second goal for West Brom, equalising in a 1–1 draw against Fulham.[16] His third goal for the club came in a 3–3 draw against Tottenham, with Vydra scoring the game's first goal after 28 seconds.[17]

Return to Watford

On 26 June 2014, Watford announced they had re-signed Vydra on a season-long loan from Udinese, with a view to a permanent move.[18] Vydra made a scoring return as he netted in Watford's 3–0 opening day win over Bolton Wanderers on 9 August 2014.[19] On 25 April, he came on as a substitute to score as Watford beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2–0 at the Falmer Stadium thus securing Watford's promotion back to the Premier League, thanks to other results going their way,[20] with Vydra scoring 16 goals in the Championship to help earn promotion.[21]

Watford

Watford signed Vydra permanently in July 2015 with the player signing a five-year contract.[22] He started the 2015–16 season behind Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney in the pecking order, on 25 August 2015, he played for Watford in a 1-0 loss against Preston in the League Cup.[23]

Reading (loan)

On 1 September 2015, Reading signed Vydra on a season-long loan for a fee of £2.5 million with an option to sign him permanently for £10 million if promoted to the Premier League in the 2016–17 season.[24] He made his Reading debut on 11 September 2015 in a 5-1 win against Ipswich Town.[25] He scored his first goal for the club on 31 October in a 1-1 draw against Brighton.[26]

On 19 January 2016 in a FA Cup Third round replay, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–2 comeback victory over Huddersfield Town.[27] In total he scored 9 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions for the club, finishing the club's 2nd top scorer (behind Nick Blackman) for the 2015–16 season.[28]

Derby County

On 27 August 2016, Derby County announced that they had signed Watford striker Vydra on a four-year deal, for a fee reported at £8,000,000.[29] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 loss to Blackburn Rovers on 24 September 2016.[30] In his first Derby season he scored 5 goals, making 33 appearances in the EFL Championship with 13 of those coming as a substitute,[31] with Vydra playing in different positions with the likes of Tom Ince, Darren Bent, Johnny Russell and David Nugent all competing for attacking position roles.[32]

Vydra scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 3–0 away win over Middlesbrough on 25 November 2017.[33] After the sale of previous season top scorer Tom Ince[34] and the acquisitions of Strikers Sam Winnall[35] and Cameron Jerome,[36] Vydra found himself playing in his favoured second striker position behind a central striker of either Winnall, Jerome, David Nugent or Chris Martin[37] His goals during the 2017–18 season helped Derby reach the playoff semi finals, where they were knocked out over two legs by Fulham.[38]

In April 2018, he was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year[39] and also in the EFL Championship Team Of The Year.[40] He scored 22 goals in all competitions and received the Sky Bet Championship Golden Boot after scoring 21 goals in the Championship during the 2017–18 season.[37] On 1 May, Vydra won 3 awards at the club's end of season awards ceremony winning the Player Of The Year, Players Player Of The Year and the Jack Stamps Player Of The year awards.[41]

In July 2018, Vydra held talks with fellow EFL Championship side Leeds United over a potential move.[42] However, after weeks of negotiations, the move broke down over personal terms.[43]

Burnley

Burnley signed Vydra for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal from Derby on 7 August 2018.[44] On 30 August 2018, he scored on his debut in a 1–1 draw against Olympiakos in the play-off round of the Europa League.[45] on 22 September, he scored his first goal in the Premier League in a 4–0 victory over AFC Bournemouth.[46]

On 15 February 2020, Vydra netted his first league goal since September 2018 in a 2–1 win against Southampton, that goal was later voted as Premier League Goal of the Month for February.[47][48]

After Burnley’s relegation, Vydra left at the end of his contract and returned to his homeland to sign for Viktoria Plzeň on a free transfer.

International career

Vydra played for five Czech youth national teams between under-16 and under-21 levels. In August 2012 he was called up to the Czech senior team for the first time, for a World Cup qualifying match away to Denmark and a friendly match against Finland.[49] Vydra played the first 73 minutes against Denmark, in a game that finished as a goalless draw.[50] He scored his first goal, a header, for the national team on 26 March 2013 in a World Cup qualifier against Armenia, to open the scoring in a 3–0 victory. Vydra also scored the second goal of the game, robbing an Armenian defender of the ball before slotting past the keeper.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 30 April 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vysočina Jihlava 2008–09[51] Czech 2. Liga 12200——122
2009–10[51] Czech 2. Liga 15321——174
Total 27521——296
Baník Ostrava 2009–10[51] Czech First League 144———144
Udinese 2010–11[51] Serie A 2010——30
2011–12[51] Serie A 0000—0000
2013–14[51] Serie A 0000—1[lower-alpha 3]111
Total 2010—1141
Club Brugge (loan) 2011–12[51] Belgian Pro League 1010—0020
Watford (loan) 2012–13[51] Championship 412010203[lower-alpha 4]24722
West Bromwich Albion (loan) 2013–14[51] Premier League 2331010—253
Watford (loan) 2014–15[51] Championship 42161020—4516
Watford 2015–16[51] Premier League 00—10—10
2016–17[51] Premier League 10—10—20
Total 43161040—4816
Reading (loan) 2015–16[51] Championship 31356——369
Derby County 2016–17[51] Championship 33 5 3 0 0 0 — 36 5
2017–18[51] Championship 40 21 1 0 1 1 2[lower-alpha 4] 0 44 22
Total 73264011208027
Burnley 2018–19[51] Premier League 13120101[lower-alpha 3]1172
2019–20[51] Premier League 1922010—222
2020–21[51] Premier League 2833132—346
2021–22[51] Premier League 2220020—242
Total 8287172119712
Career total 3378523815374382100
  1. Includes Czech Cup, Belgian Cup, Coppa Italia and FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in Championship play-offs

International
As of match played 16 November 2021[52]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Czech Republic 201240
201352
201462
201651
201840
201920
202061
2021141
Total467
As of match played 8 September 2021. Czech Republic score listed first, score column indicates score after each Vydra goal.[52]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 March 2013Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia7 Armenia1–03–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 2–0
3 5 March 2014Eden Arena, Prague, Czech Republic10 Norway2–12–2Friendly
4 21 May 2014Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland11 Finland1–12–2
5 29 March 2016Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden17 Sweden1–11–1
6 11 October 2020Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel28 Israel2–02–12020–21 UEFA Nations League B
7 8 September 2021Doosan Arena, Plzeň, Czech Republic42 Ukraine1–11–1Friendly

Honours

Watford

Individual

References
  1. "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. "Matěj Vydra". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  3. "Vánoce v Plzni. Viktorii posílí Vydra a Květ". sport.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  4. Novák, Jaromír (8 January 2010). "Mladý útočník Vydra jde z Jihlavy do Ostravy za téměř dvacet milionů" (in Czech). iDNES.cz. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  5. Novák, Jaromír (29 September 2010). "Na jaře hrál o titul, teď útočník Vydra sleduje, jak je jeho nový tým poslední" (in Czech). iDNES.cz. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  6. "Official: Hornets delighted with a magnificent seven signings" Archived 2 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Watford Football Club. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  7. "Crystal Palace 2–3 Watford". BBC Sport. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
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