"VAN" (Sports Desk - 08.10.2026) :: Forward Patrik Schick has won the Golden Ball (Zlatý míč) media poll for the best Czech footballer of the 2025/26 season for the second time in his career. The 30-year-old Leverkusen striker erased his deficit to autumn winner Pavel Šulc during the spring voting round, ultimately edging out the defending champion by 19 points. National team captain Ladislav Krejčí finished in third place. The Czech Sports Journalists’ Association (KSN) officially announced the results of this jubilee 30th edition on Monday at MERCEDES SAGA PRAHA in Chodov, Prague.
Second Golden Ball. Schick added to his maiden victory from the 2021/22 season. He claimed overall top honours this year despite not winning either individual half of the poll, finishing runner-up in both the autumn and spring ballots. Defending champion Šulc won the first half, while national team captain Krejčí topped the second.
Another prolific season. Schick enjoyed another stellar goalscoring campaign at the club level. He netted 16 Bundesliga goals for Leverkusen, finishing fourth in the league's top scorer charts. In Bayer's colours, he added four goals in the UEFA Champions League and two in the domestic cup. For the national team, he found the net twice during the season.
Spring turnaround. Following the autumn round, Schick trailed Šulc by 19 points from second place. In the spring, however, journalists awarded him 38 more points than the Lyon attacking midfielder. Leverkusen's goalscorer did not need to rue finishing three points behind Krejčí in the spring half, as Krejčí had trailed the leading duo by a significant margin after the opening round.
First-place votes. Schick received the most first-place votes overall (27), while Šulc topped the ballots 24 times and Krejčí 10 times. Last year's winner collected the most second-place votes (18), but even that was not enough to defend his title. Krejčí appeared most frequently in third place.
Changes in the top eleven. Compared to last year, the top eleven saw six changes. Defender Tomáš Holeš, midfielders Václav Černý and Lukáš Červ, and forwards Tomáš Chorý, Jan Kliment, and Adam Hložek dropped out. Conversely, goalkeepers Matěj Kovář, Lukáš Horníček, and Jindřich Staněk, full-back Vladimír Coufal, and midfielders Vladimír Darida and Adam Karabec broke into the elite tier. Only three players in the top eleven represented the Czech top flight during the 2025/26 season, with Staněk having already departed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hazem. The highest-ranked domestic league player is fourth-placed Slavia midfielder Lukáš Provod.
How the voting works. Football journalists cast their votes in a two-round system following the autumn and spring segments of the season, with the overall champion determined by aggregate points. A total of 53 players scored at least one point this year, with 42 journalists participating in the voting. Tiebreaks were decided by a higher number of higher-placed finishes. Legendary goalkeeper Petr Čech holds the all-time poll record with 12 triumphs; Schick, with two wins, now sits in sole fourth place behind Pavel Nedvěd and Tomáš Souček.
Cr-AIPS
Responses
Leave your comment