Pavel Nedvěd

Pavel Nedvěd in jersey the Czech national

Pavel Nedvěd hear? / I ( born August 30, 1972 in Cheb, Czechoslovakia ) is a former Czech football player.

Nedvěd was used anywhere in the midfield, but mostly he played on the left side. His strengths included his beidfüßiges game, his running strength, his commitment and his aimed shot. One of his weaknesses was his heading ability according to own data.

• 2.1 In the club
• 2.2 In the National Team
• 2.3 Personal Title

Career

In the club

Pavel Nedvěd grew up in the city Skalná on in the Bohemian Vogtland. At age five he began playing football at the local club Tatran. Even in these years his outspoken ambition through additional training sessions became noticeable. Rudá Hvězda Cheb took in 1985 the then 13 -year-old Pavel Nedvěd in their own youth, talent but could not last. After only one year Nedvěd moved on to Pilsen for resident Škoda Plzeň. 1991/92 he spent his military service in Dukla Prague and made his debut in this game year in the first Czechoslovak league. In 19 games, he scored three goals. During this time was the leading club of Czechoslovakia, Sparta Prague, become aware of the midfielder and signed him for the 1992 season / 93.

In Sparta, he did not count right away for starting eleven. He made 18 games, came off the bench 13 times and scored no goals. It was not until 1993/94, he fought his way into the team, 23 games and three goals were at the end of the season to book.

1994/95 he was already considered to be the guide players at Sparta, the third league title secured in a row. Nedvěd made ​​27 games and contributed six goals at. The following game year 1995/96 was one of the best so far in Nedved's career. He became the star of the team and went through 14 goals in 27 games and foreign clubs attracted attention. Interest was mainly PSV Eindhoven, at the Nedvěd a contract signed. During the successful for the Czech team European Championship in England in 1996 and coached the Czech- Italian coach Zdeněk Zeman Lazio showed interest and obliged the midfield maestro. PSV Eindhoven got a severance package. The transfer from Sparta Prague to Lazio was extremely strange: For approximately 1.5 million Czech crowns, he was transferred to the Slovak 1.FC Kosice and from there only for about 7.5 million DM to Lazio. The first FC Košice was as much as Sparta Prague the Slovak entrepreneur recession, who wanted so press a training levy for Nedved's youth club Škoda Plzeň.

Under Zeman Nedvěd came after initial Akklimatisierungsproblemen regularly used. In the following years he developed at Lazio to one of the best attacking midfielder in Europe. He won with the club seven titles, including the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1999 and 2000 the Italian Championship - the first for Lazio since 1974.

In summer 2001 it undertook Juventus for the equivalent of 41.2 million euros as a successor to the Real Madrid migrated Frenchman Zinédine Zidane. In his first season for the Italian giants from the Czech Republic was indeed short of expectations, but still won under coach Marcello Lippi his second Scudetto.

The following season 2002/ 03 went much better, in some ways, but also tragic. A yellow card in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid drew a lock for the final after that in which Juventus AC Milan on penalties subject. In Serie A, Pavel Nedvěd developed to the absolute top performers of the team and fan favorite. With Juve he won this season, his third championship in Italy.

He received in late 2003 as the second Czech Josef Masopust after the award of France Football European Footballer of the Year. In March 2004 he was informed by Pelé on the list of 125 greatest living footballers.

In the years 2005 and 2006 were followed for Nedvěd under Fabio Capello at Juventus the championship title number five and six. Both were revoked because of the involvement of Turin in the Italian football scandal in 2005/2006. In addition, Juve had relegated to Serie B at the end of the 2005/06 season. Although it would have received in spite of his already advanced age of almost 34 years at that time, probably almost every European top club with open arms to Nedvěd decided to stay at Juve, and to go with the club in the B series. Since his contract was only until July 2007, he wore a long time with the idea to end his playing career at the end of the season. He played under new coach Didier Deschamps again an outstanding season, scored many crucial goals and managed with the team, despite nine penalty points, the direct re-emergence. His contract ran out in Turin at the end of the 2008/09 season, after which he ended his active career.

In the National Team

His career as a Czech national team began Pavel Nedvěd on 5 June 1994. In a friendly match at Lansdowne Road in Dublin against Ireland Nedvěd came on in the 84th minute for the game Jiří Němec.

At the European Championships in England in 1996 Nedvěd was already absolute top performer in the middle of the Czechs. He completed five of the six games in the tournament and scored in the second group match, a 2-1 against Italy 1-0. Czech Republic reached during the remaining tournament even the final against Germany, but was defeated by Oliver Beer Hoff's golden goal in extra time with 1:2 and became vice - European champion.

At the European Championships in Portugal in 2004 Pavel Nedvěd led the Czech team as captain to the semifinals, but withdrew in the first half, in the Greek penalty area in a challenge to a knee injury. Without their key player in the Czech Republic was eliminated by a silver goal.

At his own request he was not appointed in the coming months in the national team for his health not exposed to additional stress. Only at the relegation matches for the 2006 World Cup against Norway, for which one finally managed to qualify, coach Karel Brückner nominated him for the country selection.

August 15, 2006 Nedvěd announced that he ended his career in the national team. In a friendly against Serbia on 16 August 2006 in Uherské Hradiště he ran for the last time for the Czech Republic. After 44 minutes he was substituted and passed with great applause. In total, he completed 91 caps and scored 18 goals.

Achievements

In the club

• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1998 /99 ( with Lazio Rome)
• UEFA Super Cup: 1999 ( Lazio Rome)
• Czechoslovak Championship: 1992 /93 ( Sparta Prague)
• Czech champion: 1993/94, 1994/95 ( Sparta Prague)
• Czech Cup: 1996 ( Sparta Prague)
• Italian Championship: 1999/2000 ( with Lazio ) - 2001 / 02, 2002/ 03, 2004 /05 * 2005/ 06 * ( with Juventus )
• Italian Serie B Championship: 2006/ 07 ( with Juventus )
• Coppa Italia: 1997/ 98, 1999/2000 ( with Lazio Rome)
• Italian Super Cup: 1998, 2000 (with Lazio ) - 2002, 2003 ( with Juventus )

* Disallowed under the Italian football scandal 2005/2006

In the National Team

• European runners-up: 1996

Personal Title

• Czech Footballer of the Year: 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004
• R.S.S. Player of the Year: 2003
• Italian Footballer of the Year: 2003
• European Footballer of the Year: 2003
• UEFA Club Football Awards Midfielder of the Year: 2003
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2005
• All- Star team European Championship: 2004

Others

With his wife Ivana Nedvěd has two children, son and daughter Ivana Pavel.

His nicknames include MEDA ( cutesy for Medvěd, dt: Bear) Grande Paolo, Furia Ceca, Stachanovec and Duracell. He was often referred to as the football Blonde Angel With his blond, long hair.

At the Olympic Winter Games in Turin in 2006, he commented on the Hockey Games of the Czech Republic for the Italian television. Nedved's consultant is Zdeněk Nehoda.

Together with his former teammates Vratislav Lokvenc and Tomáš Votava took Nedvěd 27 March 2010 part of the Prague Half Marathon.