Filip Twardzik

Filip Twardzik

Twardzik playing for Celtic in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Filip Twardzik [1]
Date of birth	(1993-02-10) 10 February 1993 (age 30)
Place of birth	Třinec, Czech Republic
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	LASK
Number	26
Youth career
	Sachsen Leipzig
2007–2008	Rot-Weiß Erfurt
2008	Hertha BSC
2009–2011	Celtic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2015	Celtic	5	(0)
2015–2016	Bolton Wanderers	5	(1)
2017–2018	Vítkovice	26	(6)
2018–2020	Ružomberok	42	(8)
2020	Karviná	11	(0)
2021	Spartak Trnava	26	(4)
2022–	LASK	5	(0)
2023	→ Spartak Trnava (loan)	12	(3)
International career
2009–2010	Czech Republic U17	14	(5)
2011–2013	Czech Republic U19	11	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 May 2023

Filip Twardzik (born 10 February 1993) ^[2] is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for LASK.

Club career

Celtic

Twardzik and twin brother Patrik started off their careers with Sachsen Leipzig before being signed by Hertha Berlin. ^[3] On 1 February 2009, they were both signed by Celtic, a week before their 16th birthday. ^[4] Filip and Patrik both suspended their education when they moved to Celtic. Their mother also moved to Scotland to help them adjust to their new life. ^[3]

Twardzik made his first-team debut for Celtic on 8 January 2012, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute in a Scottish Cup win against Peterhead. ^[5] He made his second appearance in the next round of the Scottish Cup against Inverness coming on as a late substitute in the 93rd minute. ^[6] His league debut came on 7 April in a 6–0 against victory Kilmarnock, he came on shortly after the start of the second half and assisted the fifth goal with a clever back-heel. ^{[7] [8]}

Bolton Wanderers

On 2 February 2015, Twardzik re-joined his former Celtic manager Neil Lennon at Championship side Bolton Wanderers. He signed a two-year contract at the Macron Stadium and went on to score on his debut in a 4–1 defeat for Wanderers at Derby County. ^[9]

MFK Ružomberok

After one season with Ostrava-based club MFK Vítkovice (second division), he joined Ružomberok. He cited co-operation with his former coach David Holoubek as one of the reasons for the shift to Ružomberok. ^[10] He also said that a 'career restart' was another reason for his spell in Ružomberok, where he had been on a pre-season trial two years earlier. ^[11]

Although in Vítkovice he played as a defensive midfielder, in Ružomberok Holoubek utilised him as a center back again. He debuted in Fortuna liga on the first matchday (21 July 2018) against iClinic Sereď. The game concluded as a goal-less tie. ^[12] In the season he made 19 league appearances (plus 3 in Slovnaft Cup), always in the starting XI. He scored a single goal, on 2 December 2018, in a 3–1 win over struggling reigning champions, Spartak Trnava, from a penalty after a foul on fellow Czech Erik Daniel.

In early March, however, Twardzik suffered an unspecified injury and did not participate in the remaining 12 games of the season, particularly the championship group, during which Ružomberok reclaimed and kept the third position, guaranteeing a spot in next season's Europa League first qualifying round.

After the departure of Holoubek and his assistant Jiří Jarošík from Ružomberok, it was unclear whether Twardzik would remain in the club. ^[13]

After a tenure at Karviná, Twardzik signed a 2+1⁄2-year contract with Spartak Trnava in late January 2021. ^[14]

International career

Twardzik played three times in the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He played 14 times in total for Czech Republic U17s scoring five goals. ^[15] He made his competitive debut for Czech Republic U19s on 21 May 2011, in a 1–0 victory over the Netherlands. ^[2]

Personal life

Twardzik was born in the Czech Republic but raised and educated in Germany as his father played football there.

His twin brother Patrik, a forward, also played for Celtic. His older brother, Dan, plays for VSG Altglienicke as a goalkeeper. His father, René, was also a goalkeeper and played for Sachsen Leipzig. ^[3]

Honours

Spartak Trnava

• Slovak Cup: 2022–23

References

1. "EFL: Retained list: 2015/16" (PDF). English Football League. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
2. "Filip Twardzik career stats". UEFA. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
3. "Czech siblings Filip & Patrik Twardzik hoping to emulate McStay brothers at Celtic". Daily Record. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
4. "Czech twins lured". Scotsman. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
5. "Peterhead 0–3 Celtic". BBC Sport. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
6. "Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Celtic Match facts". theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
7. "Scottish Premier League – Live". BBC Sport. 7 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
8. "How Celtic won the title". STV. 7 April 2012. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
9. Derby County 4 - 1 Bolton Wanderers BBC Sport, 7 February 2015
10. Seznam.cz. "Prošel Celtikem či Hertou. Nabídky měl i z Bayernu. Nyní Twardzik restartuje kariéru na Slovensku". www.sport.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 31 May 2019.
11. "Cez Celtic a Bolton až na dno. Twardzik túži v Ružomberku po reštarte kariéry | ProFutbal.sk". profutbal.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 31 May 2019.
12. "MFK Ružomberok - ŠKF Sereď | 0 - 0". ulk.futbalnet.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 31 May 2019.
13. s.r.o [www.esports.cz, Project: eSports cz; Strouhová, Graphic: Lucie; Šimr, Coding: Roman; Šimr, Programming: Roman. "Trénerské duo Holoubek a Jarošík sa po úspešnom roku v MFK posúva ďalej". MFK Ružomberok (in Slovak). Retrieved 31 May 2019.
14. Redakce. "Filip Twardzik prestupuje do Spartaka". FC Spartak Trnava (in Slovak). Retrieved 29 January 2021.
15. Filip Twardzik at FAČR (in Czech)

External links

• Filip Twardzik at Celtic FC (archived)
• Filip Twardzik at Soccerbase
• Filip Twardzik at Soccerway
• Filip Twardzik at FAČR (also at old FAČR website ) (in Czech)