Jaroslav Plašil (; born 5 January 1982) is a Czech former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

midfielder 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 ...

. He spent most of his career in France with

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

and

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

, making 411 Ligue 1 appearances. He played 367 total times for the latter, and captained them to victory in the

2012–13 Coupe de France The 2012–13 Coupe de France was the 96th season of the most prestigious cup competition of France. The competition was organized by the French Football Federation (FFF) and open to all clubs in French football, as well as clubs from the overs ...

. He also played two seasons with

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

in Spain and one on loan to Catania in Italy. Plašil earned 103 caps for the Czech Republic from 2004 to 2016. He represented them at four

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

s and the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

Club career

Early career

Plašil, aged 18, was signed by

in 2000, but in his first two-year spell, he only started 8 matches. He was subsequently loaned to Ligue 2 club

Créteil Créteil () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Cr� ...

. After a decent performance, Plašil returned to Monaco at the start of the 2003 season and for the next four years he was a regular in the starting team and even enjoyed his finest moment in the 2003–04 season when the principality side reached the final of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

. In that season, Plašil contributed a goal to Monaco's record-breaking 8–3 defeat of

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is a aerial lift line in Ecatepec de Mo ...

Osasuna

On 25 August 2007, Plašil signed a four-year deal at

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

team

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El S ...

for a fee of €2.25 million, to replace the injured

Javad Nekounam Javad Nekounam ( fa, جواد نکونام; born 7 September 1980) is an Iranian retired professional footballer who played as a central midfielder and is the current manager of Foolad FC. He spent most of his professional career with Pas and S ...

. He made his debut on 16 September, replacing Javier García Portillo for the final 19 minutes of a goalless home draw against

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

. His first goal for the team from

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

came on 2 December, a left-foot volley to open a 2–1 victory at

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – ...

. Three days later he got his first goal in the Reyno de Navarra Stadium, to begin a 1–1 draw against

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA E ...

. He finished the season with four goals from 35 games, the last being the only one in a win over rivals

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...

on 10 February 2008, in first-half added time. On 5 October 2008, Plašil was sent off in the first half of a 1–0 home loss to

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league syst ...

for handball from

Ezequiel Garay Ezequiel Marcelo Garay González (; born 10 October 1986) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He started his career with Newell's Old Boys but moved to Spain at the age of 19, going on to amass La Li ...

's shot, although he missed the

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

. He again totalled four goals in 32 games, concluding on 31 May 2009 with an equaliser in a 2–1 home win over Real Madrid.

Bordeaux

On 9 June 2009, French champions

signed Plašil on a four-year deal for an estimated €3 million. He made his debut for Bordeaux when they won the 2009 Trophée des Champions. On 31 May 2013, Plašil captained Bordeaux in its 3–2 defeat of

Evian Evian ( , ; , stylized as evian) is a French company that bottles and commercialises mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. It produces over 2 billion plastic bottles per year. Today, Evia ...

in the 2013 Coupe de France Final at the Stade de France. On 2 September 2013, Plašil signed on loan for

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club Catania. He played 29 times for the

Sicilians Sicilians or the Sicilian people are a Romance speaking people who are indigenous to the island of Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the largest and most populous of the autonomous regions of Italy. Origin and i ...

, scoring on 29 September to open a 2–0 win over

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

, their first win of the season. On 7 June 2017, Plašil extended his contract for one more year. Six months later, he was one of three ''Girondins'' sent off in a 2–1 loss at fourth-tier

US Granville Union Sportive Granville, commonly referred to as US Granville or simply Granville, is a French football club based in Granville in the Lower Normandy region. History The club was founded in 1918 and currently plays in the Championnat de Fra ...

in the last 64 of the cup; he received a five-match ban for dissent. In July 2019, Plašil retired at the age of 37. He immediately joined the coaching staff at Bordeaux's

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

in the Championnat National 3.

International career

Plašil made his debut for the Czech Republic on 31 March 2004, replacing

Martin Jiránek Martin Jiránek (; born 25 May 1979 in Prague) is a former Czech international footballer. A defender, Jiránek played in the top division of several countries. Jiránek played in a number of international tournaments for his country. In 2002 ...

for the final 21 minutes of a 2–1 friendly loss to the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

. In his next game on 2 June he scored his first goal in a 3–1 friendly win over

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. He was selected for

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

in Portugal where his team reached the semi-finals; his lone appearance was a 2–1 win that eliminated neighbours

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 23 June at the

Estádio José Alvalade Estádio José Alvalade is a football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the older stadium. The stadium is named after José Alvalade (1885–1918), the founder and first club ...

. He started in what

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

called an "under-strength" Czech team, making way for

Karel Poborský Karel Poborský (; born 30 March 1972) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a right winger. He was most noted for his technical ability and pace. He began and finished his club career at Dynamo České Budějovice, where his k ...

with 20 minutes remaining. He started all three of the Czechs' group games at the

in Germany, their first since

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

, where they were eliminated at the expense of eventual champions

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Plašil played 13 times in qualification for

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

, scoring to cap a 3–0 win over Germany in the

Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Fußball Arena München for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterio ...

on 17 October 2007 that qualified his team to the finals in Austria and Switzerland; it was

Joachim Löw Joachim Löw (born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil ...

's first defeat as national manager. In the final tournament, Plašil started each game in Group A and scored to put the Czechs 2–0 up against Turkey in the last game, which they eventually lost 3–2 to be eliminated. Plašil played every minute of the Czech Republic's campaign at

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

in Poland and Ukraine, where they were eliminated 1–0 by Portugal in the quarter-finals. He was called up for his fourth time at the continental championship when he was chosen for

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

in France. On 5 June in a pre-tournament friendly, he won his 100th cap in a 2–1 home friendly loss to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. He started all three group matches at the tournament as the Czech national team exited with two losses and a draw.

Career statistics

Club

Notes

International

:''Scores and results list Czech Republic goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Plašil goal.''

Honours

Monaco *

runner-up: 2003–04 Bordeaux *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. His ...

: 2009 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

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 ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Plasil, Jaroslav Living people 1982 births People from Opočno Czech footballers Association football midfielders Czech Republic international footballers Czech Republic youth international footballers Czech Republic under-21 international footballers FIFA Century Club UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players UEFA Euro 2012 players UEFA Euro 2016 players Czech First League players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players La Liga players Serie A players FC Hradec Králové players AS Monaco FC players US Créteil-Lusitanos players CA Osasuna players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Catania S.S.D. players Czech expatriate footballers Czech expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Expatriate footballers in Monaco Czech expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in France Czech expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain Czech expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Sportspeople from the Hradec Králové Region