Samuel Mráz

Samuel Mráz (born 13 May 1997) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ekstraklasa club Zagłębie Lubin, on loan from Empoli. He is also a Slovak international, making his debut in 2018.

Samuel Mráz
Personal information
Full name Samuel Mráz
Date of birth (1997-05-13) 13 May 1997
Place of birth Malacky, Slovakia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Zagłębie Lubin
(on loan from Empoli)
Number 11
Youth career
ŠK Malacky
TJ Záhoran Kostolište
2009–2014 Senica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Senica 63 (5)
2017–2018 Žilina 46 (23)
2018– Empoli 6 (1)
2019 → Crotone (loan) 5 (1)
2019–2020 → Brøndby (loan) 21 (4)
2020– → Zagłębie Lubin (loan) 12 (1)
National team‡
Slovakia U16
2013 Slovakia U17 3 (0)
2015–2016 Slovakia U19 6 (1)
2018– Slovakia U21 6 (4)
2018– Slovakia 4 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 November 2020

Club career

Senica

Mráz started his football career at hometown club ŠK Malacky, before first moving to TJ Záhoran Kostolište and later to the youth academy of Senica. In July 2013, Scottish club Celtic showed their interest in him,[1] but in the end he chose to stay in Senica. In February 2014, he won a poll for Best Athlete in the City of Senica in 2013 in the collective category of under-17s.[2]

Mráz made his professional debut for Senica against AS Trenčín on 12 April 2014 as a starter,[3] before being substituted in the 62nd minute. That year, he was in the starting lineup eight times under head coach Pavel Hapal. On 30 June 2014, he signed a new contract with the team until the end of the 2016–17 season.[4] He scored his first goal for Senica that season in a league match 28 November 2014; a regional derby against Spartak Trnava, which ended in a 1–1 draw. On 25 February 2015, was awarded Best Athlete in the City of 2014 in the under-19 collective category.[5] He made 15 appearances that year.

Empoli

On 19 July 2018, Mráz joined newly promoted Serie A team Empoli.[6] Empoli's coach Aurelio Andreazzoli fielded Mráz for his first league fixture on 26 August 2018, against Genoa in a 2-1 defeat. Mráz came on in 77th minute for Antonino La Gumina. He also became the first Slovak to score in his Serie A debut, when he scored against Federico Marchetti in the 94th minute, after a cross from Giovanni Di Lorenzo.

On 30 September 2018, he was selected in the starting XI of a game in Italy for the first time. He played 60 minutes of the game against Parma, which Empoli lost 0-1.

Loan to Crotone

On 30 January 2019, Mráz joined Serie B club Crotone on loan until 30 June 2019.[7] On 10 February, he made his debut in a home match against Verona while scoring his first goal for I Rossoblu two weeks later in a 3–0 home win over Palermo.

Loan to Brøndby

In August 2019, Mráz moved to Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF on a one-season loan while his new club secured an option to sign him on a permanent basis.[8] On 1 September 2019, he made his Superliga debut for Brøndby as a substitute in a 0–1 loss against FC Midtjylland.[9] Mostly a substitute through the fall of the 2019–20 season, Mráz made two subsequent starts during regular forward Kamil Wilczek's two-match suspension. In the second fixture, a league match against Esbjerg fB, Mráz scored a brace to secure a 2–1 home win and thereby helped consolidate Brøndby's third position in the league table.[10]

After Wilczek left in January 2020, Mráz made more appearances and scored his first goal of the new decade on 23 January in a 2–3 loss to AaB.[11] On 30 June 2020, Mráz and teammate Simon Hedlund tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling them out for at least a week.[12] He left the club at the end of the season with 23 appearances and five goals to his name, as his loan deal expired.[13]

Loan to Zagłębie Lubin

On 13 August 2020, Mráz joined Polish Ekstraklasa club Zagłębie Lubin on a season-long loan with an option to buy.[14][15] He made his debut as a starter on 21 August in 2–1 home win over Lech Poznań, before being substituted in the 67th minute for Rok Sirk.[16] On 7 December, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 home draw against Piast Gliwice.[17]

International career

Mráz has played for every national team youth team from the U15 team through the U21 team.

Mráz was first called up to Slovakia's senior national team on 2 October 2018 by the coach Ján Kozák for matches against Czech Republic (a part of 2018–19 UEFA Nations League) and a friendly against Sweden later in October. However, Mráz was also an alternate for friendly games against the Netherlands, Morocco, Denmark and Slovakia's first UEFA Nations League match against Ukraine. Nonetheless Kozák faced questions from the press and criticism from the fans on social media for not calling Mráz up earlier in the year, especially for May/June fixture, as Mráz became the top scorer in the finishing Fortuna Liga season.

Mráz, however did not debut under Kozák. Slovakia's most successful coach resigned on 14 October 2018 after a 2-1 derby match loss to Czech Republic. Nonetheless, he debuted on 16 October 2018 in a 1–1 draw in Solna against Sweden, in a game managed by caretaker manager Štefan Tarkovič, coming on as a substitute for Adam Nemec in the 71st minute.

International goals
Scores and results list Slovakia's goal tally first.[18]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 June 2019Anton Malatinský Stadium, Trnava, Slovakia Jordan4–15–1Friendly

Honours
Individual

References
  1. "O Samuela Mráza má záujem škótsky Celtic". FK Senica (in Slovak). 28 July 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  2. Ondruš, Milan (21 February 2014). "Najlepšími športovcami mesta i naši futbalisti". FK Senica (in Slovak). Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  3. Samuel Mráz zažil corgoňligový debut 14.04.2014, fksenica.eu
  4. "Traja mladíci podpísali nové kontrakty". FK Senica (in Slovak). 30 June 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  5. "Medzi NAJ športovcami mesta aj futbalisti FK Senica". FK Senica (in Slovak). 27 February 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  6. "Samuel Mraz: I'm yours. Dal migliore vivaio slovacco". Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  7. "UFFICIALE: Crotone, arriva l'attaccante Mraz dall'Empoli" (in Italian). Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  8. "Jakupovic al Domzale; Mraz al Brøndby" (in Italian). Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  9. "MIDTJYLLAND VS. BRØNDBY 1 - 0". soccerway.com. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  10. "Brøndby-reserve sendte Esbjerg til tælling" (in Danish). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  11. "Slår Brøndby i kæmpe drama" (in Danish). Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  12. Wehlast, Mads Glenn (30 June 2020). "To Brøndby-spillere har corona". ekstrabladet.dk. Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  13. "Mraz tager tilbage til Empoli FC". brondby.com. Brøndby IF. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  14. "Samuel Mraz wypożyczony do KGHM Zagłębia". www.zaglebie.com. Zagłębie Lubin. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  15. "Samuel Mraz al Zagłębie Lubin". empolifc.com. Empoli F.C. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  16. "Zagłębie Lubin vs. Lech Poznań - 21 August 2020". int.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  17. "Przegląd prasy po meczu z Piastem". Zagłębie Lubin (in Polish). 7 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020. Gola dla "Miedziowych" zdobył Samuel Mraz, jednak to trafienie Jakuba Świerczoka zdominowało artykuły w regionalnych i krajowych mediach.
  18. "Samuel Mráz". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  19. "Vyhlásili najlepších hráčov sezóny. Anketu ovládol DAC, hviezdou večera kanonier Žiliny" (in Slovak). Pro Futbal. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
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