David Pavelka (born 18 May 1991) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
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.
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. 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.
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. He signed a contract until the end of the 2017–18 season.
Return to Sparta On 6 October 2020, Pavelka returned to his native country, signing for Sparta Prague in the Czech First League. In one of his first games after returning, he received a red card on 22 November, in a 4–2 home loss against České Budějovice.
On 3 January 2025, it was decided that Pavelka would move to Sparta Prague B, where he would mentor the young players.
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. He was eventually selected to represent the Czech Republic at the final tournament held in France.
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.
Pavelka scored his first national team goal in a friendly match against Brazil on 26 March 2019.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSparta Prague2010–11Czech First League30–––302012–1371–30–101Total101003000131Slovácko (loan)2011–12Czech First League22420––244Slovan Liberec2012–13Czech First League13241––1732013–1429810141–4492014–152036230–2952015–16142109110253Total76151232621011520Kasımpaşa2015–16Süper Lig9000––902016–1725282––3342017–1832020––3402018–1928170––3512019–2010000––1002020–214000––40Total108317200001255Sparta Prague2020–21Czech First League2523050–3722021–22Czech First League28420110–3742022–23Czech First League1813000–2112023–24Czech First League612020–1012024–25Czech First League501030–90Total828110210–1148Sparta Prague II2022–23Czech National Football League10–––102023–24Czech National Football League10–––10Total20–––20Career total300314255021039337
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsCzech Republic201550201690201700201840201941202130Total251
Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pavelka goal.
+ List of international goals scored by David PavelkaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1 26 March 2019 Sinobo Stadium, Prague, Czech Republic 1–0 1–3 Friendly
Honours Sparta Prague Czech First League: 2022–23, 2023–24 Czech Cup: 2023–24
References
External links Player's profile, FAČR (in Czech)