Samuel Mráz (born 13 May 1997) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a forward for Segunda División club Mirandés, on loan from Spezia. He also represents the Slovakia national team.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | (1997-05-13) 13 May 1997 (age 25) | ||
Place of birth | Malacky, Slovakia | ||
Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team |
Mirandés (on loan from Spezia) | ||
Number | 17 | ||
Youth career | |||
ŠK Malacky | |||
TJ Záhoran Kostolište | |||
2009–2014 | Senica | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014–2016 | Senica | 63 | (5) |
2017–2018 | Žilina | 45 | (23) |
2018–2021 | Empoli | 6 | (1) |
2019 | → Crotone (loan) | 5 | (1) |
2019–2020 | → Brøndby (loan) | 21 | (4) |
2020–2021 | → Zagłębie Lubin (loan) | 27 | (2) |
2021– | Spezia | 2 | (0) |
2021–2022 | → Slovan Bratislava (loan) | 18 | (7) |
2022– | → Mirandés (loan) | 8 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
Slovakia U16 | |||
2013 | Slovakia U17 | 3 | (0) |
2015–2016 | Slovakia U19 | 6 | (1) |
2017–2018 | Slovakia U21 | 6 | (4) |
2018– | Slovakia | 4 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 November 2020 |
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.
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.
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.
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]
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]
On 9 August 2021, after his loan with Zagłębie Lubin ended, Mráz moved to Serie A club Spezia on a permanent deal, signing a three-year contract.[18][19] He made his debut on 13 August in a Coppa Italia match against Pordenone.[20] On 23 August, he made his first league appearance for the club as a substitute in the 69th minute for Emmanuel Gyasi in a 2–2 draw against Cagliari.[21]
On 2 September 2021, Slovan announced the signing of Mráz on a one-year loan with a subsequent option for a permanent transfer. The move occurred less than a month after his signing with Spezia. Slovan had signed him to increase the internal competition ahead of Europa Conference League group stage as well as domestic duties and to allow Mráz to regain the form, which earned his initial transfer to Serie A.[22]
On 1 September 2022, Mráz moved on a season-long loan to Mirandés in Spain.[23]
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.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 7 June 2019 | Anton Malatinský Stadium, Trnava, Slovakia | ![]() | 4–1 | 5–1 | Friendly |
Slovan Bratislava
Gola dla "Miedziowych" zdobył Samuel Mraz, jednak to trafienie Jakuba Świerczoka zdominowało artykuły w regionalnych i krajowych mediach.
CD Mirandés – current squad | |
---|---|
|
Slovak Super Liga top scorers | |
---|---|
|