Pavel Kuka

Pavel Kuka (born 19 July 1968) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented his national team on 87 occasions, scoring 29 goals. At club level Kuka started in 1987 with Rudá Hvězda Cheb in the Czechoslovak First League before transferring to Slavia Prague two years later. During the 1993–94 season he moved to Germany, where he played in the Bundesliga for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 1. FC Nürnberg and VfB Stuttgart. In 2000 he returned to Slavia, where he spent a further five years before retiring from top-level football in 2005.

Club career Born in Prague, Kuka played for Rudá Hvězda Cheb and Slavia Prague, making a combined total of 149 appearances, scoring 66 goals, in the last six seasons of the Czechoslovak First League (1987–93). He then moved to Germany, playing for 1. FC Kaiserslautern (1994–98), 1. FC Nürnberg (1998–99), and VfB Stuttgart (1999–2000). Following his time in Germany, Kuka returned to Slavia Prague, where he played for five more seasons before retiring at the end of the 2004–05 season. His final game for Slavia took place on 28 May 2005, in a Czech First League match against Baník Ostrava.

International career Kuka scored 29 goals across 87 national team appearances for Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. He was part of the runner-up squad at UEFA Euro 1996 as well as the 2000 tournament.

Personal life Kuka has a son, Tomáš, and a daughter, Aneta, from a past relationship with sports television presenter Renata Dlouhá.

Career statistics Czechoslovakia

Scores and results list Czechoslovakia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kuka goal.

Czech Republic

Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kuka goal. Honours 1. FC Kaiserslautern Bundesliga: 1997–98; runner-up: 1993–94 2. Bundesliga: 1996–97 DFB-Pokal: 1995–96

Czech Republic UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1996 FIFA Confederations Cup Third place: 1997

Individual Czech Footballer of the Year: 1994