Pavel Kadeřábek is coming back home

“Kadeř is a Spartan at heart, returning home after many years. He brings tremendous experience from the Bundesliga, but also a clear understanding of what it means to play for Sparta. We believe he will strengthen both the quality and honesty of our game — in defence as well as going forward. At the same time, he’s another strong personality in the dressing room who will help us both on and off the pitch,” says Tomáš Sivok, interim sporting director of AC Sparta Praha.

The talented 1992 generation included Ladislav Krejčí, Jakub Brabec, Jiří Skalák — and, of course, Pavel Kadeřábek. The grandson of legendary Sparta figure Václav Vrána worked his way through all the youth categories at Strahov before being thrown into the water by coach Jozef Chovanec in August 2010. Kadeřábek made his competitive debut in a Champions League qualifier second leg away at Žilina.

A loan spell at top-flight Viktoria Žižkov followed, as well as a successful U19 European Championship campaign. Representing the Czech Republic, alongside many of his Sparta teammates, Kadeřábek reached the final, where Spain came out on top with a winner in extra time.

From the summer of 2012 onwards, Kadeřábek quickly became Sparta’s first-choice right back. One of his standout seasons came in 2013/14, when Sparta celebrated a domestic double. Kadeřábek made his mark in the ninth round of the Czech Cup final shootout against Plzeň, scoring the decisive penalty. Just two months later, Sparta added another trophy to the cabinet, lifting the Czech Super Cup.

After another impressive season, Pavel didn’t just earn the award for the best right-back — he was also named the league’s best player, making a move to one of Europe’s top leagues the natural next step. It was German side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim who came calling, and Pavel immediately established himself as a regular starter.

Despite interest from other clubs, Kadeřábek remained loyal to Hoffenheim for a full decade. During his time at the club, which plays its home matches in Sinsheim, he worked under now-Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann, who led die Kraichgauer to the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2018/19 season. Pavel even scored away to Lyon, though it wasn’t enough to advance to the knockout rounds.

Over the years, he crossed paths with several notable names — including coach Sebastian Hoeneß, now behind VfB Stuttgart’s rise, Croatian striker Andrej Kramarić, and long-time captain and goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. In his final season, Kadeřábek was joined in Hoffenheim by Adam Hložek and other Czech teammates. In total, he made 289 appearances in blue, scoring 19 goals and providing 35 assists.