Will Schick Hit fans?
Player had considered a fashion career before football Nose bash not serious & he’s ready for England game
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He’s the 6ft 4ins tall danger man who the Three lions’ defenders will need to keep in Czech in their final group game to make sure they reach the last 16.
Patrik Schick, 25 is already in contention for the tournament’s Golden Boot after scoring three in two games, including a 50-yard wonder goal against Scotland.
Let’s hope our boys don’t end up wishing he’d pursued his alternative teenage dream – of becoming a fashion model
Schick once toyed with the idea of ditching boyhood club Sparta Prague for the catwalk.
He will be cheered on against England by his wife Hana Behounkova, 23, and his older sister Kristyna, 26, herself a well-known model in their homeland.
And he’ll be aiming to emulate his childhood hero David Beckham, also a model and fashion trendsetter, by hitting the net on the Wembley turf for the Czech Republic on Tuesday night.
They have top stars – but maybe they have problems up front CZECH ACE SCHICK ON TUESDAY’S VITAL CLASH
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But it’s not all been plain sailing for the star, who has been compared to international legends Dennis Bergkamp and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
He has had bumps on the road to international fame.
In June 2017 a dream move from Italian side Sampdoria to Juventus was scuppered when medicals revealed a possible heart condition.
Instead, rivals Roma took a chance on him, forking out a club record £37.8million. But he scored just five league goals in two seasons.
He rebuilt his career in Germany with a loan spell at RB Leipzig and is now playing for Bayer Leverkusen.
Schick, whose heart issue has now been discounted, grew up as a Manchester United fan and has been linked with a move to Everton.
Fears he broke his nose in the last game against Croatia have proved unfounded – and he’s now hoping to be dishing out bloody noses himself,
to England. He said: “The good thing is that my nose is not broken, just a little swollen.
“I have a little difficulty breathing.
“We have four points, a very good position for us. We know England have great quality and some top stars, but maybe they have a few problems up front. But it’s always difficult to play against them.”
One area where our players will have no problems is at their new hotel base. After Friday’s 0-0 draw with Scotland, they moved from the St George’s Park Hilton at the FA’s National Football Centre in Staffordshire to Tottenham Hotspur’s Myddelton Lodge in
Another clean sheet and a point closer to qualifying KALVIN PHILLIPS ON THE NIL-NIL SCOTLAND DRAW
North London. The state-ofthe-art complex, purposebuilt for footballers and added on to what was a farmhouse, has specially designed “footless” beds so stars don’t stub their toes.
There’s a cinema and the Lodge’s 40 single rooms have 100% noise cancellation so players can get a good night’s
sleep.
The Lodge’s basement boasts a top-quality gym with an altitude chamber, massage beds and a doctor’s surgery. Mean
while, manager Gareth Southgate has his own private quarters to ponder his selections on the upper floor of the farmhouse, called the Myddelton Suite.
Yesterday, 14 of the squad were filmed training on the site’s pitches – including the second half substitute in the Scotland game Jack Grealish and fit-again defender Harry Maguire. Players remain upbeat about their chances of getting through to the last 16 of the Euros.
England defender and Aston Villa hero Tyrone Mings said the team were “another point closer to our first objective, qualification”. And Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips tweeted: “Another clean sheet and a point closer to qualification. Thank you as
always for your incredible support.”