Dominik Holec (born 28 July 1994) is a Slovak professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays for

Karviná Karviná (; pl, Karwina, , german: Karwin) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Olza River in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Karviná is known as an indust ...

as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

Club career

FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce

Holec made his

Fortuna Liga The Slovak Super Liga is the top level football league in Slovakia, currently known as the Fortuna Liga due to a sponsorship arrangement. It was formed in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The record for most titles is eleven, h ...

debut for ViOn Zlaté Moravce in an

away Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a 2016 British film * ''Away'' (2019 film), a 2019 animated silent film * ''Away'' (TV series), a 2020 science fiction drama on Netflix Literature * ''Away'' (play), a 1986 play by M ...

loss on 26 February 2017 in a match against his mother club

Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Sl ...

. Holec conceded four goals in a 4-1 defeat, being beaten by

Miroslav Káčer Miroslav Káčer (born 2 February 1996) is a Slovak professional footballer who currently plays for DAC Dunajská Streda in the Niké Liga. Club career MŠK Žilina Káčer began his football career at his hometown club MŠK Žilina. Aged 16, ...

, future international

Samuel Mráz Samuel Mráz (born 13 May 1997) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot First Division club Anorthosis, on loan from club Spezia. He also represents the Slovakia national team. Club career Senica Mráz started ...

, season's top scorer Filip Hlohovský and

Lukáš Jánošík Lukáš Jánošík (born 5 March 1994) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays for Zemplín Michalovce in the Slovak Fortuna Liga as a winger. Club career MŠK Žilina He made his professional Fortuna Liga debut for Žilina against Ru� ...

MŠK Žilina

Holec was released from

, as the club had entered

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...

, due to a

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

Sparta Prague

On 28 May 2020, it was announced that commencing the following season, Holec would become the goalkeeper of Czech club

Sparta Prague ) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští'' , ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena , capacity = 19,416 , clubname = Sparta Prague , image = Sparta Praha logo.png , image_size = 160px , fu ...

. It was also revealed, that Sparta had previously been interested in Holec, prior to his release from

, and he had signed for the Czech side despite interest from unnamed Belgian and Spanish teams. Holec had cited the approach of club official

Tomáš Rosický Tomáš Rosický (; born 4 October 1980) is a Czech former professional footballer who was the captain of the Czech Republic national team for a ten-year period. He played club football for Sparta Prague, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal. He st ...

as a strong factor in the decision to join the club.

Karviná

On 28 August 2023, Holec signed a contract with

International career

Holec enjoyed his first inclusion in the wider squad of Slovak senior

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

in November 2019, when he was listed as an alternate by

Pavel Hapal Pavel Hapal (born 27 July 1969) is a Czech former football player and current manager of Baník Ostrava. Playing career Hapal's professional career began at SK Sigma Olomouc. After the club's successful season when they reached the quarter-fin ...

for two qualifying

UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2019 to November 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that advanced to the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, played across Europ ...

fixtures against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. Holec actually went on to join the squad, hence being called-up from the alternate position, as

Dominik Greif Dominik Greif (born 6 April 1997) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club RCD Mallorca and the Slovakia national team. Club career Slovan Bratislava Greif made his professional debut for Slovan Bratislav ...

could not be involved fully in preparations ahead of the Azerbaijan fixture. Holec therefore enjoyed his first call-up, but did not manage to make an appearance. Holec was also additionally called up in September 2021, when Dušan Kuciak tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

, but again failed to make an appearance. In March 2022, Holec was nominated for two friendly fixtures against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

. He did not make an appearance on 25 March 2022 in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

fixture against

, which concluded in a 2-0 defeat, following strikes by

Erling Haaland Erling Braut Haaland (; born 21 July 2000) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Manchester City and the Norway national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his speed, stre ...

and

Martin Ødegaard Martin Ødegaard (born 17 December 1998) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal and the Norway national team. Ødegaard began his senior club career at age 15 in 2014, playing for Str ...

. Days late, Holec appeared in the starting line-up in the subsequent match, debuting on 29 March 2022, in a neutral field international friendly against Finland. Following an agreement with goalkeeper's coach

Miroslav Seman Miroslav Seman (born 1 January 1973) is a retired Slovak football goalkeeper, who played during the 1990s and 2000s. He played for a number of clubs in Slovakia, Czech Republic and Cyprus. Career In 2004, he signed for Nea Salamis Famagust ...

, Holec and a fellow debutant, František Plach were to both feature for one half of the game. During the first half, Holec faced two shots from the opposing team. The match concluded in a 2-0 victory, after a first-half strike by Ondrej Duda and a second-half securing goal by

Erik Jirka Erik Jirka (born 19 September 1997) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a winger for Czech club Viktoria Plzeň and the Slovakia national team. Club career Jirka was a FC Spartak Trnava youth graduate. He made his league debut fo ...

. Following the match, Holec and Plach both praised the defensive line commanded by

Milan Škriniar Milan Škriniar (born 11 February 1995) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Inter Milan and captains the Slovakia national team. Club career MŠK Žilina Škriniar began his career in the youth stru ...

, expressed pride over representing their nation and claimed that lack of spectators was the only regret related to their debut.

Personal life

Holec is a Slovak although he was born in present-day

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

, in

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is ...

, to father

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, who played in local

Dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundat ...

at the time, and an ethnic

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

mother. He also has a brother. During his spell in

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. T ...

, he described his family as a Czecho-Slovak mix.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Raków Częstochowa *

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa titl ...

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual *

Slovak Super Liga The Slovak Super Liga is the top level football league in Slovakia, currently known as the Fortuna Liga due to a sponsorship arrangement. It was formed in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The record for most titles is eleven, h ...

Player of the Month: October 2019

References

External links

Eurofotbal profile
* ]
Futbalnet profile
1994 births Living people Sportspeople from České Budějovice Footballers from the South Bohemian Region Slovak men's footballers Slovakia men's youth international footballers Slovakia men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers MŠK Žilina players OFK Teplička nad Váhom players FK Pohronie players FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce players FK Senica players AC Sparta Prague players Raków Częstochowa players Lech Poznań players Lech Poznań II players MFK Karviná players Slovak First Football League players 2. Liga (Slovakia) players Ekstraklasa players II liga players Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Poland Slovak expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic {{Slovakia-footy-goalkeeper-stub