It has been 25 years since Pavel Nedved led Czech Republic to the final of the European Championship and nobody expected them to end up there at the start of Euro 2020. They haven’t reached there as they crashed out in the quarter-final, losing 2-1 to Denmark. But for a short while, they looked capable of emulating that remarkable run. And it was all courtesy of their star striker Patrick Schick.

To top that the five strikes in Euro 2020, Schick has even managed to score the goal of the tournament so far. His outrageous effort against Scotland was even better than Karel Poborsky’s famous scooped finish against Portugal at Villa Park at Euro 96.

Schick’s effort seemed very David Beckamesque, with fans reminiscing Beckham’s goal against Wimbledon in early Premier League era when they saw the strike from Schick. What a compliment it must have been for lifelong fan of the former Manchester United and Real Madrid legend, to be spoken about in the same sentence as him.

A boy with obvious talent from the start, he joined the Sparta Prague academy at the age of 11, but his attitude was said to be problematic.

He was unable to break into the Sparta line-up by the age of 19, and was sent to Bohemians on loan in 2015.

Schick impressed immensely during his stint at Bohemians and Serie A outfit Sampdoria paid €4 million (£3.4m/$4.7m) for his services in the summer of 2016.

The Czech wonderkid found the net 11 times in his first season in Serie A and the hype around him blew disproportionately. From a Sparta outcast, Schick suddenly became one of the hottest properties in Italy and comparisons were being made with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimović by none other than Czech legend Nedved. 

Schick became the second-most expensive Czech player of all time, after Nedved himself, with Roma paying Sampdoria €42 (£36m/$50m) to take him to the Italian capital in 2017.

By the time RB Leipzig came in to sign him on loan in 2019, he was considered a complete flop in Italy.  Bundesliga came like a fresh start for him.

Schick scored 10 goals for RB Leipzig and then moved to Bayer Leverkusen for €26m (£22m/$31m). He netted 13 times in all competitions in the 2020/21 season.

So if you are wondering where this lad came from and almost carried his team to the semifinal of Euro 2020, now you know.