Ondřej Kúdela (; born 26 March 1987) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He played for Slovácko, Sparta Prague, Mlada Boleslav, Slovan Liberec, and Slavia Prague. Kúdela also had loan spells at Kladno and Kazakh club FC Ordabasy.
Club career Kúdela came up through the youth system at Slovácko and made his debut appearance for the first team in 2005.
In 2009, Kúdela was signed by Mladá Boleslav as a replacement for the outgoing Jan Rajnoch. He remained at the club for eight seasons, except for a half-year loan spell at Kazakh side Ordabasy in 2014. He was part of the Mladá Boleslav team that won the 2010–11 and 2015–16 Czech Cups, coming off as a substitute at the eighth minute of the former final.
In January 2017, Kúdela signed a contract with Slovan Liberec for two-and-a-half years.
In 2018, Kúdela transferred to Slavia Prague along with head coach Jindřich Trpišovský. With the club, he won a total of three league titles and cups each, as well as one Supercup.
In June 2022, Kúdela joined Indonesian Liga 1 side Persija Jakarta. On 23 July 2022, he made his league debut as a starter in a 0–1 loss against Bali United.
On 23 July 2025, Kúdela signed a contract with Viktoria Žižkov.
International career In March 2019, Kúdela debuted for the Czech senior squad during a friendly match against Brazil.
Controversy On 18 March 2021, Kúdela was accused of racial abuse on Glen Kamara during a Europa League Round of 16 match. Kúdela denied the accusation and claimed he was assaulted by Kamara in the tunnel after the match, and Slavia Prague lodged a criminal complaint while criticising Rangers' handling of the situation. On 14 April, he was officially found guilty of racial abuse by UEFA and was banned for ten UEFA matches, ruling him out of playing any game in the upcoming Euro 2020 championship; Kamara meanwhile was handed a three-match ban for assaulting Kúdela in the tunnel after the game.
Kúdela appealed his ban, but the appeal was rejected by UEFA on 26 May 2021. He began the process of appealing the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with a statement being scheduled for April 2022. However, one month before the hearing was due to take place, Kúdela dropped his appeal and formally apologised to Kamara. Kamara's lawyer said that his client was happy that the matter had now been closed.
Style of play Kúdela is normally played as a centre-back, though he has also been used as a defensive midfielder. At the end of the 2021 season, he was voted as the best defender in the Czech league.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSlovácko2004–05Czech First League10———102005–06Czech First League12100——1212006–07Czech First League18000——180Total31100——311Kladno (loan)2007–08Czech First League10100——101Sparta Prague2008–09Czech First League600010—70Mladá Boleslav2008–09Czech First League8100——812009–10Czech First League25100——2512010–11Czech First League15010——1602011–12Czech First League2652020103152012–13Czech First League2413040—3112013–14Czech First League29050——3402014–15Czech First League5010——602015–16Czech First League2916020—3712016–17Czech First League1602020—200Total1779200100102089Ordabasy (loan)2014Kazakhstan Premier League14000——140Slovan Liberec2016–17Czech First League14020——1602017–18Czech First League15020——170Total29040——330Slavia Prague2017–18Czech First League7010——802018–19Czech First League2232090—3332019–20Czech First League3021080104022020–21Czech First League2964090—4262021–22Czech First League1230040—163Total10014803001013914Persija Jakarta2022–23Liga 13120000—3122023–24Liga 12730000—2732024–25Liga 12410000—241Total826000000826Career total449313204102052431
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsCzech Republic200810201930202020202130202210Total100
Honours
SK Slavia Prague Czech First League: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 Czech Cup: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21 Czech Rupublic U-20 FIFA U-20 World Cup runner-up: 2007 Individual Czech First League Defender of the Year: 2020–21 Liga 1 Team of the Season: 2022–23
References
External links