Czech striker Sigg has scored four goals in this European Championship. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
When you think of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, apart from Franz Kafka and Milan Kundera, what else can you think of? Sausage burgers or pilsners? Football, of course, should not be ignored.
Thomas Rosicki and Antonin Parnianka are two names that evoke memories and excite Prague fans. Rossiki is known as Mozart The Younger, and is deeply loved for his delicate and elegant style, and Parnianka has gone down in history for inventing spoon penalties. In Prague, Leitner and Vrsovice, the former being sparta's base camp, and the latter giving birth to the Bohemian 1905 team, are not far apart. Rosicky was spartan pride, and Parnianka was the bohemian 1905 fan of the 1905s.
Patrick Sieck, who has scored four goals for the Czech Republic at the European Championship, followed in the footsteps of Rošiki and Pyanika, from Prague to the world, and made a name for himself on the big stage of the national team.
From Prague to Italy
He spoke for himself with goals and left foot
Unlike Rosicky and Parnianka, who played for only one team in Prague, Hick played for Sparta and Bohemians in 1905.
At the age of 11, Sigg was recruited by Sparta to cultivate him.
On April 14, 2014, 18 years and 80 days of Age, Sigg's career began. In a Czech Cup match, the then Spartan coach Vitez Slav Ravitska, known for his youthful discovery, arranged for him to play. A few weeks later, Hick made another appearance in spartan and Teplitzer's Czech League, but unfortunately they lost 3-1 in that match. He then made his European debut in the Europa League.
That season, Sparta won the Czech League and the Czech Cup, but because there were so many talented attacking players in the team, Hick only had four appearances and did not score.
Later, Hick was loaned to the Bohemian in 1905. Under the guidance of head coach Romain Pivarnik, the young Sigg began to spread his wings and fly high. Sikh's foot technique conquered Pivarnik, who was born in Košice, Slovakia, and "we decided to choose a potential striker to flesh out our attacking end, so we chose him. ”
In addition to the Bohemians 1905, there is also a team in the Flfsovice neighborhood called Slavia, and Hick chose to join the Bohemians in 1905 mainly because he wanted more playing time. His dream was soon fulfilled and Pivarnik gave him the position of the team's main striker. 'In my original plan, he was on the bench, but his skills and outstanding performance in the game told me that he was important to us and he was ready to play the main player. Pivarnik recalled.
In a match against the Netherlands, Sigg (right) competes with his opponent for the ball. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
The Dolitseck Stadium is the home of the Bohemians in 1905, where you can feel the football enthusiasm of the Prague fans. In addition to the beer and sausages, there is also the shout and support they give to the team.
Walking down the streets of Vrsovice, it's hard not to be impressed by the enthusiasm of the fans of the Kangaroo (bohemian nickname 1905). They used green and white to show their identities and were asked to distinguish them from their supporters of Sparta and Slavia. Some people always wear club gadgets, some people hang club scarves outside the windows, and some people show the team's jerseys in the store.
From Leitner to Vrsovice, Pivarnik had feared that Hick would develop a negative attitude because of the psychological gap, after all, Sparta was a much stronger team than the Bohemians in 1905. Fortunately, this low-key, introverted but well-behaved lad used his performance on the pitch and his left foot to speak for himself. In the bohemian season of 1905, he made 28 appearances in double-line combat and scored seven goals. His performance has also attracted the attention of scouts from many of Europe's top clubs.
In the summer of 2016, although many European teams had interests in Hick, in the end Italy's Sampdoria persuaded Sparta and his agent to take him to the Apennine Peninsula.
From 5 years old to 25 years old
He liked Ibrahimovic but didn't want to be Ibrahimovic
Until the age of 11, Hick had been in the town where he was born.
At the age of 5, he began playing for a "very small" football club in the town. The club trains twice a week, "I love football so much, so I went there and I had a lot of friends. ”
So, who is the one who gave Hick football enlightenment? His answer was his father.
Hick's father didn't play high-level soccer, but every Tuesday and Sunday he played in a tournament called the Weekend League. "When he plays with his teammates, I play on the sidelines. I would shoot with the ball. When I grew up, my father's teammates also started playing with me. I love football so much because my father was the one who took me down the path of football. ”
At the age of 11, Hick felt the need for a change because he loved football so much that he wanted more training to reach a higher level, "I left my town. "After leaving town, he went to Prague and joined Sparta.
The town is actually near Prague, not far from home, which did not bring him any discomfort. "When you're 11, you're still a kid, so, it's not a problem. I feel comfortable, after all, you are surrounded by the same children. ”
Hick broke through with the ball in the game. Figure/IC photo
Perhaps, the independence of the child gave Sigg super adaptability, and after moving from the Czech Republic to Italy, he quickly adapted to the fierce rhythm of the five major leagues. In his first season at Sampdoria, Hick scored 11 goals. Not surprisingly, Serie A giants Juventus have developed a keen interest in big men like Hick. At the time, the vice president of Juventus, czech legend Nedved, believed that in time his strength could be compared with Ibrahimovic.D.'s.
As a child, Hick liked Ibrahimovic very much, but he didn't feel much like Ibrahimovic. 5 years ago, he thought, "Another Ibrahimovic can't exist." ”
In addition to Ibrahimovic, the legendary Czech goalscorer Milan Barosz is also an icon in The sigg football scene. "I don't know why I would like him, but I have one of his shirts. Anyway, among Czech players, my football idol is Milan Barosz. ”
Hick did not follow the path of his idol, because after the "physical examination found suspected heart problems" and did not go to Juventus, he endured several years of suffering in Rome, but soon found himself in the Bundesliga and spread his wings. In the 2019-2020 season, after joining Red Bull Leipzig on loan, Sigg scored 10 goals. In the 2020-2021 season, Hick scored nine goals in the Bayer Leverkusen shirt.
In this European Championship, Sigg became famous with one goal. In the group stage match against Scotland, he directly kicked a kick near the mid-line to break the goal, and his skills were four. The goal is also reminiscent of David Beckham's famous work, and as a child, Hick's bedroom wall is plastered with a poster of David Beckham. Counting the goals against the Netherlands, he has already scored four goals in this European Championship, while the Czech Republic has only scored five goals. In 30 games for the Czech national team, Sigg scored 15 goals and was surprisingly efficient.
Statistics show that the last Czech player to perform so well in the big game was Sigg's Czech football icon Milan Barosz. At Euro 2004, Baros scored five goals.
So, now the question is, after the European Championship, will Bayer Leverkusen still be able to keep Hick?
From crying ghost to manly man
He is low-key and taciturn, loves cats and dogs
For Hick, choosing football seems like a natural thing. From the age of 5 to 25, he was willing to be with football every day.
But you know what? Hick almost gave up football to become a model. His sister Christina Hickova is a model who has developed careers in Los Angeles and New York, and now runs her own brand in Prague.
Off-court Hick is a simple and family-loving person.
Hick and sister. Photo/Social Media
When he first joined Bayer Leverkusen a year ago, he answered a question in an interview with the Bundesliga website: What does home mean to you? "When I'm at home with all my family members, I'm happy."
As a child, Hick was a highly self-respecting kid who cried if the team lost or he didn't score. So, at that time, he didn't want his family to watch him play football from the sidelines. There were reports that on one occasion his father was critical of his technique, Hick was enraged and made indecent gestures to his father.
Hick has always been the pride of her mother, Ivita Hickova. Now he is hot, and in the face of the reporter's interview, she will put some of the trophies that her children have held in the past on the table and tell them about his hardships and hardships along the way.
Hick's daughter, Victoria, was less than a year old. Photo/Social Media
Hick has been in love with his wife, Hannah Bekhonkova, for 6 years and had a wedding last summer. Like Hick, Hannah is the kind of person who doesn't talk much, and on social media, she's more than just sharing family fun and the daily life between the two. The young couple has a daughter, born last winter, named Victoria.
Hick loves pets. In the early years, he had a cat and declared on social media that my cat was the most beautiful cat in the world. Three years ago, when he was still playing football in Rome, he had another dog. On his and Hannah's social media, the puppy has a high rate of appearances.
In fact, compared to her sister Christina, Sigg is definitely not a social media controller. Even if he publishes social media, he will only have a few simple expressions, not a long speech. Last summer, when he and Hannah were married, he released a wedding photo with only a red heart.
Hick and his wife. Photo/Social Media
There are exceptions, of course. On December 31 last year, Hick, who partnered with PS5, posted a long social media message for him explaining why he chose to work with the game. To sum it up, it's pretty simple, because he likes to play games.
It's no secret that players love to play pro evolution soccer, and Hick is no exception. A few years ago, he never chose himself when playing games. Asked why, he said self-deprecatingly, "Because I don't have a good number in the game." ”
After this summer, in the next version, Hick will no doubt confidently tell the world: I chose me.
Beijing News reporter Xiao Wanli
Edited by Xiao Wanli Proofreader Li Lijun