Jan Riegel (born 3 August 1980) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player, who made over 200 appearances in the

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 ...

. Riegel represented the Czech Republic at under-21 level, making three appearances between 2001 and 2002.

Career

Early career

Riegel started his career at

Příbram Příbram (; german: Freiberg in Böhmen, ''Przibram'', or ''Pribram'', in 1939–1945 ''Pibrans'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 32,000 inhabitants. It is well known for its mining history, and more ...

, making his debut on 30 May 1999 in a

Gambrinus liga 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 ru ...

match against

FC Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles and the domestic ...

. He went on to make 10 appearances for Příbram in the 2000–01 season and 19 more the following season. Riegel joined Drnovice on loan in April 2002. This time was marked by financial instability of Drnovice, which saw nine players sold to Příbram at the same time. At the end of the 2001–02 Gambrinus liga season, Drnovice were relegated and Riegel returned to Příbram. After returning from Drnovice, Riegel established himself in Příbram's first team, making 98 further first team appearances and starting every game in the 2005–06 season.

Mladá Boleslav and Hradec Králové

On 26 July 2006, Riegel made his debut for

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 ind ...

in the qualifying round of the

2006–07 UEFA Champions League The 2006–07 UEFA Champions League was the 15th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since it was rebranded from the European Cup, and the 52nd season overall. The final was contested by Milan ...

against

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

. He made his league debut on 5 August 2006 against 1. FC Slovácko. Riegel made his sixth and ultimately final league appearance for Mladá Boleslav on 1 October 2006. In 2007, Riegel underwent knee

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

on two separate occasions. Riegel joined

Czech 2. Liga The Czech National Football League ( cs, Fotbalová národní liga, ''FNL''), currently known as Fortuna národní liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the second level professional association football league in the Czech Republic. Before 2013 it ...

side

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; german: Königgrätz) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

in January 2008.

České Budějovice

In June 2008, Riegel signed a long-term contract with

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...

. In his first season with the club, Riegel scored three

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

s, more than any other player in the 2008–09 Gambrinus liga. In the 2010–11 season, Riegel made 10 appearances for Budějovice, before sustaining a knee injury in February 2011 in a winter training match against

SK Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in th ...

. Riegel didn't play again that season. In summer 2011, Riegel again underwent knee surgery, thus ruling him out of action for at least six more months.

References

External links

Guardian Football

Jan Riegel at the website of SK Dynamo České Budějovice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riegel, Jan Czech men's footballers 1980 births Living people Czech First League players FK Příbram players 1. FK Drnovice players FK Mladá Boleslav players FC Hradec Králové players SK Dynamo České Budějovice players Czech Republic men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football defenders Footballers from Příbram