Aston Villa: Libor Kozak’s story a sad tale
By Phil Newman
Libor Kozák confirmed on his Instagram page that he is indeed leaving Aston Villa Football Club. The Czech striker never found steady health following a horrific leg break in January 2014.
There was once upon a time when Libor Kozák led the Europa League in scoring.
Kozák, then at S.S. Lazio, scored eight goals in European competition in the 2012-2013 season. Among those that followed him in scoring? Edinson Cavani, Salomon Rondon, Rodrigo Palacio, and Fernando Torres.
His form followed him to Aston Villa that following summer. In Kozák’s fifteen appearances during the fall of 2013, the Czech Republic international scored four goals (many of which came from the bench). At the time, all other forwards in the squad were playing second fiddle to Christian Benteke.
On Monday, of 2017, Kozák announced we would be leaving at the expiry of his contract. (Rather Steve Bruce and company released him early so he could find a new club).
What happened in between is a sullen reminder of the harshness revolving around the sport.
A terrible training ground accident involving Ciaran Clark and Libor Kozák left the lumbering striker with a right leg break. One that cause Libor to miss a total of fifteen months away from the game. That was January 2nd, 2014. Since then, Kozák made a total of seven further appearances in three years under three separate managers: Sherwood, Garde, and Di Matteo.
Every single rehab stint just brought another setback. An ankle surgery in February ruled out Kozák for the remainder of this season. Ironically enough, Libor is exactly the type of striker Aston Villa could use in the summer. A big, powerful target forward comfortable playing from the bench.
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With Jonathan Kodjia, Scott Hogan, and a pair of talented youngsters, what Villa need is someone strong enough to link-play and bag a few goals from set pieces.
All in all, best of luck to Libor Kozák in the future. He was talented pre-injury and could really improve a club on a free transfer, given he’s healthy. He may return to Italy or back home to the Czech Republic.