Oldřich Nejedlý (26 December 1909 – 11 June 1990) was a Czech

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 le ...

, who spent his entire professional career at Sparta Prague as an

inside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. He is considered to be one of Czechoslovakia's greatest players of all time. He was the top goalscorer of the

1934 World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in ...

Club career

Nejedlý played for Sparta Prague during his entire professional span. He scored 162 league goals in 187 games, winning four

Czechoslovak First League The Czechoslovak First League ( cs, 1. fotbalová liga, sk, 1. futbalová liga) was the premier football league in the Czechoslovakia from 1925 to 1993, with the exception of World War II. Czechoslovakia was occupied by German forces who formed ...

championships in 1932, 1936, 1938 and 1939, adding a

Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hungar ...

in 1935. He also scored 18 goals in 38 games for SK Rakovník (1943, 1944 and 1946), giving him a total of 180 league goals in 225 games. At the end of his career, he wore the shirt of his home club in Zebrak again and finally retired from active football at the age of almost 47 after breaking a leg.

International career

For Czechoslovakia, Nejedlý scored 29 goals in 44 games. He was awarded the Bronze Ball in the

as the third most outstanding player of the tournament and was voted into the All-Star Team of the tournament. He would have gone on to play more games and score more goals for the

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

had he not broken his leg in the

1938 World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beat ...

which effectively ended his International career. Furthermore, he was a participant in two World Cups, in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

in Italy and

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

in France. Nejedlý was the outright top scorer in the 1934 World Cup with five goals. This has been officially recognized by FIFA since November 2006, as he was initially credited with only four, making him joint top scorer with

Angelo Schiavio Angelo Schiavio (; 15 October 1905 – 17 September 1990) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. Schiavio spent his entire career with Bologna, the club of the city where he was born and died; he won four league titles with the club ...

and

Edmund Conen Edmund Conen (10 November 1914 – 5 March 1990) was a German footballer who played as a striker. Career Conen was born in Ürzig, Germany. He played with FV 03 Saarbrücken, Stuttgarter Kickers, Mülhausen 93, HSV Groß Born (Pommern) and a ...

. He also scored two goals in the 1938 World Cup. Nejedlý died in 1990, aged 80, while the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...

was being played, a tournament which, as the 1934 edition, took place in Italy.

Career statistics

International

References

External links

*
Oldřich Nejedlý Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nejedly, Oldrich 1909 births 1990 deaths Czech footballers Czechoslovak footballers 1934 FIFA World Cup players 1938 FIFA World Cup players Czechoslovakia international footballers AC Sparta Prague players Association football forwards People from Beroun District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Sportspeople from the Central Bohemian Region