Jiří Jarošík (born 27 October 1977) is a Czech football manager and a former player. His playing position was defender and
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 started his club career in his native Czech Republic, winning six league titles in seven years with
Sparta Prague
) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští''
, ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena
, capacity = 19,416
, clubname = Sparta Prague
, image = Sparta Praha logo.png
, image_size = 160px
, fu ...
. He headed abroad to continue his football career, spending eight years playing for various teams including
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...
,
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
,
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
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 ...
. During this time he became the first footballer ever to win league titles in four different countries. He then returned to Sparta, although only for two seasons, after which he headed to Spain to play for
Deportivo Alavés
Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it ...
.
Jarošík played for the Czech national team, making 23 appearances without scoring between 2000 and 2005.
Club career
Early career
Born in
Ústí nad Labem
Ústí nad Labem (, , ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of its eponymous region and district. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway ju ...
Sparta Prague
) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští''
, ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena
, capacity = 19,416
, clubname = Sparta Prague
, image = Sparta Praha logo.png
, image_size = 160px
, fu ...
in his native
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. He had a two-year loan spell at Slovan Liberec before establishing himself in the first team at Sparta. Jarošík's appearances caught the eye of
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...
, who paid a then
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n record of about $3.5 million to acquire him in 2003.
Chelsea
On 6 January 2005, Jarošík was purchased by
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
for an undisclosed fee, thought to be about £3 million. On 27 February, he started the League Cup final, which Chelsea won 3–2 against
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. Chelsea won the 2004–05 Premier League title and Jarošík made enough league appearances (14) to earn a championship medal.
Birmingham City
In August 2005, after Chelsea purchased Michael Essien, Jarošík found himself out of the first team and was loaned to fellow Premier League side
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
for the 2005–06 season. At Birmingham, he was the team's joint-top goalscorer, albeit with just eight goals, becoming better known for his long-range shooting than the defensive responsibilities which gave him his name at Moscow. After finishing a disappointing season for the Midlands side, Birmingham had the option to make the deal permanent when the spell ended, but following their relegation, they did not do so. He finished his loan period at St Andrew's in May 2006, and returned to Chelsea not knowing where his future would lie, due to there being heavy competition for places at the club.
Celtic
On 19 June 2006, Jarošík left Chelsea and signed a three-year deal with Scottish Premier League champions Celtic for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be around the £2 million mark. He scored on his Celtic debut in a 4–1 victory over Kilmarnock at
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...
. Competition from other midfielders such as
Evander Sno
Evander Sno (born 9 April 1987) is a Dutch football coach and former player. He played as a defensive midfielder.
During his active career, Sno played for numerous clubs in his native Netherlands, but also had spells in Scotland with Celtic a ...
Paul Hartley
Paul Hartley (born 19 October 1976) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of Scottish Championship side Cove Rangers.
As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts and ...
meant that first team opportunities were limited for Jarošík, but he still made several notable contributions to Celtic's success, including winning both the free kicks from which
Shunsuke Nakamura
is a Japanese former professional footballer. He is the only person to have been named J.League Most Valuable Player more than once, receiving the award in 2000 and 2013. Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura "could open a tin of beans wi ...
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
matches against Manchester United – the second put Celtic into the last 16. On 6 December 2006, Jarošík also scored Celtic's goal in a 3–1 Champions League group stage loss at
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. On 14 January 2007, he scored the winner in a 2–1 win over Hearts with a stunning long-range strike. Celtic won the 2006–07 league title in Jarošík's first season with the club, meaning that he had won league medals in a record four countries – the Czech Republic, Russia, England and Scotland.
Despite the signings of Massimo Donati and Scott Brown for the 2007–08 season, which made midfield competition even tighter than before, Jarošík remained with Celtic. On 3 October, Jarošík made his first Celtic start in over six months in Celtic's 2–1 Champions League group stage victory over
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...
at Celtic Park. On 28 November, Jarošík scored Celtic's equaliser in another Champions League group stage match – this time against
Shakhtar Donetsk
Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...
– with a spectacular left-footed volley. The match ended 2–1 to Celtic.
Krylia Sovetov
On 31 January 2008, Jarošík signed for Russian club Krylia Sovetov for a reported fee of €1 million.
Real Zaragoza
On 14 January 2010, Jarošík signed for Spanish club
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 a free transfer. He scored his first goal for the club with a header in a 1–1 draw with Atlético Madrid in a league match.
Sparta Prague
On 13 August 2011, Jarošík signed for his former club
Sparta Prague
) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští''
, ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena
, capacity = 19,416
, clubname = Sparta Prague
, image = Sparta Praha logo.png
, image_size = 160px
, fu ...
as a free agent.
Deportivo Alavés
On 26 August 2013, Jarošík signed as a free agent for
Deportivo Alavés
Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it ...
, a club that just promoted to the Spanish Second Division.
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 ...
, the
2006 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 the ...
or
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 Europea ...
.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Sparta Prague
*
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 ...
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
Russian Super Cup
The Russian Super Cup () is a one-match football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is ''OLIMPBET Russian Supercup'' (). The two participating clubs are the Russian Premier League champions and the Russian Cup winners. If the Premie ...
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...