The Bison is hungry

It was a passage of play with symbolic character. Adam Hložek received the ball on the left flank, saw the space and darted into it. He played a one-two with Andrej Kramarić, struck a powerful, low finish – and then celebrated scoring his second goal of the evening. The striker, who won the double with Bayer 04 Leverkusen last summer and made the move to TSG Hoffenheim prior to this season, had already scored his first goal against Bremen on Sunday and now had double cause for celebration. In short, he is proving his extraordinary talent.

The striker's talent was recognised early on when he made his debut for the Sparta Prague first team aged 16. Hložek received attention early on, with this striking physique earning him the nickname Bison in his teenage years. "When I was 18, my former team-mate and friend Ondrej Celustka called me that because I reminded him of a strong animal with my very robust physique. Only he called me that at the beginning and then the entire team followed suit, and then at some point I was simply Bison to many fans," the Czech told the Leverkusen club magazine 'Werkself' about his nickname, adding: "I love the animals and I'm happy with this nickname."

After scoring many goals for his hometown club, a move to the Bundesliga followed two years later and he joined Bayer 04 Leverkusen. He ultimately could not establish himself as a first-team regular, although his record of 14 goals and 11 assists across 80 appearances – during which his average playing time was 37 minutes – was a testament to his quality. Beforehand, he had already finished the Czech league as the top scorer at the age of only 18 years old.

The 22-year-old has not been a particularly vocal character thus far, instead preferring to do his talking on the pitch. "I hope that I will continue to score many goals," were his level-headed words following the brace against Dynamo Kyiv. But that will suffice. After all, no TSG fan will have any objections to the Bison scoring more goals.

Match facts and statistics »