No Shock, He Expected It. Legendary Czech Striker Opens Up About Patrik Schick's Retirement

Following the international retirement of the legendary towering striker Jan Koller, a key figure in the golden generation of Czech football, the "Lions" struggled for a long time to find a successor to his legacy, or at least someone capable of taking over as their primary attacking spearhead.

Then, ten years ago, the highly promising Patrik Schick emerged. Like Koller, Schick is notable for his imposing height (1.91m). After the Czech Republic's disappointing performance at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, USA, and Mexico, where they finished last in Group A without a single victory, Patrik Schick made a radical decision: he ended his decade-long international career.

After a total of 56 matches and three major tournament appearances (EURO 2020, EURO 2024, and the 2026 World Cup), he decided to draw a line under his international story. Schick, who turned 30 in January, scored 26 goals for the national team during his career, placing him 4th on the all-time scoring list behind Jan Koller (55), Milan Baroš (41), and Vladimír Šmicer (27).

Schick was often compared to Koller, not only for his height but also for his goal-scoring potential and predatory instinct. However, Czech football legend Jan Koller was not at all surprised by Schick's decision.

"For me personally, it wasn't a shock. I somewhat expected it, knowing the situation there and having information about the national team. Patrik hadn't been happy with the national team recently, nor with how the team was performing," Jan Koller told ŠPORT.sk in an exclusive response.

"He didn't have the right space or service from his teammates. Given his personality, as I know him, it was to be expected that he would take such a step because he didn't feel comfortable there. He probably concluded that it would be better to retire and focus solely on his club duties," he added regarding the Bayer Leverkusen forward.

With Patrik Schick's radical decision, the Czech national team has lost a very good and high-quality striker, someone who contributed 26 goals to the national scoring statistics. According to the 53-year-old former striker for the Czech Republic, as well as Sparta Prague, Lokeren, Anderlecht Brussels, Nuremberg, Monaco, and especially Borussia Dortmund, this is a problem for the national team.

"Of course, it's a big loss for us. We don't have many players like him, but on the other hand, if we can't utilize him, it's counterproductive. It's an opportunity for other players, but after this failure, we primarily need to conduct an analysis within the leadership, learn from it, and start completely anew. We must move with modern trends and deliver better performances. I don't think we are in such a bad state that we should be playing this kind of football," added the famous Jan Koller, who holds the Czech national team's scoring record with 55 goals, to ŠPORT.sk.