David Hovorka

David Hovorka (born 7 August 1993) is a retired professional Czech football defender. He played for four clubs in the Czech First League.

Club career Hovorka spent most of his youth career in Sparta Prague, arriving from SK Kročehlavy in 2002 at nine years old. He entered the first team squad in 2012, but failed to make a league appearance for the club.

Loan moves to Hradec Králové and Viktoria Žižkov In January 2014, Hovorka moved to Czech National Football League team Hradec Králové on loan with an option to buy. He made his professional league debut on 21 March 2013 in a 1–1 away draw against České Budějovice. Hovorka appeared in only seven league matches, returning to Sparta at the end of the season.

In the 2014–15 season, he moved on another loan to fellow second-tier club, Viktoria Žižkov, for one year. He appeared in 29 league matches, scoring no goals.

Slovan Liberec In summer 2015, Hovorka signed a three-year contract with the Czech First League side Liberec. He made his First League debut for them on 27 July in a 4–2 home win against Mladá Boleslav. He scored his first professional league goals on 11 May 2016 in a 4–3 home win against Zlín. With Liberec, he played in the Europa League group stage in two consecutive years.

Prague clubs and retirement On 2 February 2017, it was announced that despite being seriously injured at the time, Hovorka rejoined his former club Sparta Prague. In 2018, he was sent on loan to Jablonec for one year.

In summer 2019, Hovorka moved to cross-city rivals SK Slavia Prague and was a starter in the UEFA Champions League match against Inter. He retired from professional football on 31 March 2023 due to lingering injury, having played his last match in May 2022.

International career Despite not playing for any youth national teams, Hovorka was called up to the Czech senior squad in August 2017 to face Germany and Northern Ireland in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. He debuted on 7 October 2020 in a friendly match against Cyprus.

Post-playing career Since January 2024, Hovorka has worked as a mental health coach in the Sparta Prague youth academy.

Career statistics Club

Honours SK Slavia Prague Czech First League: 2019–20