František Rajtoral (12 March 1986 – ca. 23 April 2017) was a Czech professional footballer who played as a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He was best known for his stint at

Viktoria Plzeň Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victoria ...

. He was a member of the Czech Republic national team. He won the

Czech Cup The Czech Cup ( cs, Pohár FAČR), officially known as the MOL Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the major men's football cup competition in the Czech Republic. It is organised by the Czech Football Association. The Czech Cup was first held in 19 ...

with Viktoria Plzeň in 2010. Further trophies he won with the club include the Gambrinus Liga twice and the

Czech Supercup The Czech Supercup () was an annual football match between the winners of the Czech First League and the Czech Cup, organised by the Czech Football Association. It was last sponsored by Synot Tip and was therefore officially known as the Synot Tip ...

. On 29 February 2012, Rajtoral earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for the senior team of his country in the 1–1 draw with

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

. Rajtoral was described as "one of the best attacking right-wingers in the Czech Republic" by journalist Mark Smith.

Club career

Early career

Rajtoral played for Příbram for a season before joining Baník Ostrava, with whom he signed a three-year contract in 2005. He made his debut in European competitions in the

2005–06 UEFA Cup The 2005–06 UEFA Cup, the 35th edition of the UEFA Cup, was won by Sevilla, beating Middlesbrough in the final. It was the first victory for Sevilla in a European competition, and the first appearance by Middlesbrough in a European final. The ...

while playing for Ostrava.

Viktoria Plzeň

He joined

from Ostrava in 2009 in a deal which involved the exchange of striker Adam Varadi in the other direction. Rajtoral played in the inaugural

in 2010 against Sparta Prague, being one of two players to be

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

as his team lost the match. He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season in October 2010 against

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; german: Jungbunzlau) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 42,000 inhabitants. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region and a major centre of the Czech automotive in ...

, but his team lost the game 4–3. Rajtoral played the second half of the 2011 Czech Supercup, a match which Plzeň won on penalties against Mladá Boleslav. He replaced Marián Čišovský in the 46th minute, in a match which finished 1–1.

Hannover 96

In January 2014 Rajtoral joined German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club Hannover 96 on loan for the remainder of the season with an option to make the transfer permanent. Hannover passed on that option though and Rajtoral returned to Plzeň for the start of the new season.

Gaziantepspor and death

Rajtoral joined

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matche ...

in August 2016. He was found dead in his home in Gaziantep, Turkey, on 23 April 2017 after not turning up for a training session with his team in the morning. His neighbors contacted the local authorities in concern when they found his apartment door locked from the inside with no response. Upon investigation local authorities announced that Rajtoral had committed suicide by hanging.

International career

Rajtoral took part in the

2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It was the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. Summary For the first time, a host nation was chosen ahead of the competition – the Neth ...

. He played in all three of his nation's matches at the tournament. He made his senior debut on 29 February 2012 in a

against

, a game which finished 1–1. In May 2012 he was named in his country's 23-man squad for the Euro 2012 tournament.

Personal life

Rajtoral was born in Příbram, where he made his professional breakthrough in

Czech First League The Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically r ...

with Marila Příbram. In 2008 he was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and underwent treatment for several months. His disease recurred again in 2014. On 24 April 2017, he did not participate in training sessions for

. He was found dead in his apartment by police after committing suicide on Sunday. It has been hypothesized that the breakup with his longtime girlfriend in 2016 and the departure of his friend Daniel Kolář in February 2017 may have worsened his psychological situation. Coincidentally, in a month, his death was followed by that of David Bystroň, a former teammate and defensive partner at

, who committed a similar suicide.

Career statistics

Honours

Viktoria Plzeň *

: 2010 * Gambrinus liga:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

: 2011, 2015

References

External links

* *
Guardian Football
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rajtoral, Frantisek 1986 births 2017 suicides Sportspeople from Příbram Czech footballers Czech Republic youth international footballers Czech Republic under-21 international footballers Czech Republic international footballers Czech First League players Bundesliga players Süper Lig players 1. FK Příbram players FC Baník Ostrava players FC Viktoria Plzeň players Hannover 96 players Gaziantepspor footballers UEFA Euro 2012 players Association football defenders Association football midfielders Suicides by hanging in Turkey Czech expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Czech expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Turkey