Pavel Nedvěd
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Pavel Nedvěd (; born 30 August 1972) 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 le ...
who played as a midfielder. He is regarded as one of the most successful players to emerge from the Czech Republic, winning domestic and European accolades with Italian clubs Lazio, including the last Cup Winners' Cup, and
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
, whom he led to the
2003 UEFA Champions League Final The 2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by two Italian teams: Juventus a ...
. Nedvěd was a key member of the Czech team which reached the final of
Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
, during which he attracted international attention. He also captained the national team at UEFA Euro 2004, where they were defeated in the semi-final by eventual champions Greece, and Nedvěd was named as part of the Team of the Tournament. Furthermore, Nedvěd helped his team qualify for 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 the ...
for the first time since the breakup of Czechoslovakia. Due to his performances, as well as his quick and energetic runs during matches, Nedvěd was nicknamed "'" ("Czech Fury") by Italian fans and "The Czech cannon" in English-language media. His nickname in Czech is ''Méďa'' ("Little Bear"), stemming from the similarity between his surname and the Czech word for bear, ''Medvěd''. Winning the Ballon d'Or as European Footballer of the Year in 2003, Nedvěd was the second Czech player to receive the honour and the first since the breakup of Czechoslovakia. During his career Nedvěd received a number of other individual awards, including the second
Golden Foot The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 yea ...
award in 2004,
Czech Footballer of the Year The Czech Footballer of the Year ( cs, Fotbalista roku) is awarded in the 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 ...
(four times) and the
Golden Ball Golden Ball may refer to: Awards * Golden Ball Award, FIFA competition award for best player of tournament ** FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Ball, FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, FIFA World Cup award for best player of tournament ** FIFA U-20 World Cup#A ...
(six times). He was also named by
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...
as one of the FIFA 100, and was placed in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2003, 2004, and 2005. He retired following the 2008–09 season, after a 19-year professional career. Nedvěd played 501 league matches at club level (scoring 110 goals), and was capped 91 times for the Czech Republic (scoring 18 times).


Club career


Skoda Plzen and Dukla Prague loan spell

Born on 30 August 1972 in Cheb and raised in nearby
Skalná Skalná (; until 1950 Vildštejn, german: Wildstein) is a town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Kateřina, Starý Rybník, Vonšov and Zelená are a ...
, Nedvěd began his football career in his native Czechoslovakia. A football fan from an early age, he began playing for his hometown club Tatran Skalná in 1977 at the age of five. Nedvěd moved on to Rudá Hvězda Cheb in 1985, playing one season before spending five years with
Škoda Plzeň Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
. In 1990, Nedvěd was loaned to Dukla Prague, a club run by the Army, as part of his military service. During his first year at Dukla Prague, he played for , a lower division club also operated by the Army. On 28 October 1991, Nedvěd played his first match for Dukla Prague. He played one season for Dukla in 1991 before finishing his military service, thus ending his loan from Plzeň. He then transferred to Sparta Prague in 1992. Plzeň was to receive 30% of the transfer fee should Nedvěd transfer to a foreign club.


Sparta Prague

Early in his career at Sparta, Nedvěd was sent off three times in just six matches. With Sparta, Nedvěd won one Czechoslovak First League title, two
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 ...
titles and a Czech Cup. In 1994, he received his first call up to the Czech Republic national team. His performance at UEFA Euro 1996, including a goal in the group stage against Italy, attracted attention; despite a verbal agreement with PSV, Nedvěd moved from Sparta Prague to Italian Serie A club Lazio. Sparta first sold Nedvěd to Slovak club 1. FC Košice (which had the same owner as Sparta) for a 1.5 million
CZK The koruna, or crown, ( sign: Kč; code: CZK, cs, koruna česká) has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's 9 currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro curre ...
transfer fee, and immediately, Košice sold Nedvěd to Lazio. Thus Sparta paid only a small fraction of the transfer fee to Plzeň. After Plzeň's protest, the Czech football association ordered Sparta to pay Plzeň 35 million CZK in compensation. Nedvěd signed a four-year contract for a fee of 1.2 million.


Lazio

Nedvěd made his league debut for Lazio on 7 September 1996 in a 1–0 away defeat against Bologna. He scored his first league goal for the club against
Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
on 20 October 1996, finishing the 1996–97 season with seven goals. He became an integral part of the side, scoring four goals in three matches early in the 1997–98 season. The club had a 24-match unbeaten streak from November 1997 to April 1998, ending with a league match against
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
in which Nedvěd was sent off. That season, Lazio won the
1997–98 Coppa Italia The 1997–98 Coppa Italia, the 51st Coppa Italia was an Italian Football Federation domestic cup competition won by Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type ...
and reached the final of the
1997–98 UEFA Cup The 1997–98 UEFA Cup was won by Internazionale in an all-Italian final against Lazio. It was their third title in eight years in the competition. It was the first instance of the UEFA Cup final being a one-game contest at a neutral stadium, ha ...
. Nedvěd and Lazio began the 1998–99 season with a victory in the
Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...
, Nedvěd scoring as the club defeated Juventus 2–1. He played a role in Lazio's road to the last-ever Cup Winners' Cup, scoring against Lausanne in the first round and in both legs of Lazio's 7–0 aggregate quarter-final victory over
Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...
. In the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, Nedvěd scored the decisive goal against
Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
for Lazio's 2–1 win. This proved to be the last goal of the tournament, which was later discontinued.uefadirect, Issue 100: August 2010
Page 15 "European Cup Winners' Cup makes its debut".
Nedvěd was one of the ten highest-paid footballers in the Italian league in 1999. He played in the
1999 UEFA Super Cup The 1999 UEFA Super Cup was a football match played on 27 August 1999 between the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League winners, Manchester United, and Lazio, winners of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Against the odds, Lazio won the match 1–0, ...
against
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at the beginning of the season, where Lazio won the match by a single goal. The club went on to win the Serie A title and Coppa Italia, completing a
domestic double The Double, in association football, is the achievement of winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season. The lists in this article examine this definition of a double, while derivative sections examin ...
in 2000 with Nedvěd's help. In 2000, he won the Supercoppa Italiana with Lazio for a second time. With Siniša Mihajlović, Nedvěd was one of two Lazio players sent off in the quarter-final of the 2000 Coppa Italia held in December, where the defending champions lost 5–3 on aggregate to Udinese. Nedvěd played UEFA Champions League football with Lazio, scoring against
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
in a 2–2 draw in the second group stage before the Italian side was eliminated. In Lazio's final Champions League match of the season, Nedvěd was criticised by Leeds United manager David O'Leary for a challenge on
Alan Maybury Alan Paul Maybury (born 8 August 1978) is an Irish professional football coach and former player, who currently manages Scottish League One club Edinburgh. Maybury was a defender, who could play in either full-back position. He played for Le ...
(although the referee did not call a foul), and he received a three-match suspension from European competitions from UEFA. Despite Nedvěd's signing a new four-year contract with Lazio in April 2001, the club tried to sell him and teammate Juan Sebastián Verón that summer, triggering fan protests against club chairman Sergio Cragnotti. The players were ultimately sold to Juventus and Manchester United respectively.


Juventus

After five seasons with Lazio, Nedvěd was speculatively linked to several clubs (including Manchester United and Chelsea) before moving to Juventus in July 2001 for 75  billion  lire (€38.7 million by fixed exchange rate). At Juventus, he replaced
Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...
, who had transferred to Real Madrid that summer. Nedvěd was a regular on Juventus' 2001–02 and 2002–03 ''
Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (Italian language, Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in ...
''-winning teams.. Retrieved 3 June 2013. Although he was a substantial part of the club's championship season in 2003, he was also the subject of controversy. Nedvěd quit the
Italian Footballers' Association The Italian Footballers' Association (Italian language, Italian: ''Associazione Italiana Calciatori''), also referred to by the acronym AIC, is the trade union, association for Association football, footballers in Italy. It was established in 196 ...
in protest of the union's limit on non- European Union (EU) players; his native Czech Republic did not become an EU member until 2004. Although he was instrumental in leading Juventus to the
2003 UEFA Champions League final The 2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by two Italian teams: Juventus a ...
against Milan, he had to sit out the final due to an accumulation of yellow cards after his semi-final booking for a foul on Real Madrid midfielder
Steve McManaman Steven McManaman (born 11 February 1972) is an English former footballer who played as a winger for Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City. McManaman is one of the most decorated English footballers to have played for a club abroad and is ...
. In December 2003, Nedvěd was named World Footballer of the Year by '' World Soccer'' magazine. Later that month, he won the European Footballer of the Year award over Thierry Henry and Paolo Maldini, the second Czech to win the award after
Josef Masopust Josef Masopust (9 February 1931 – 29 June 2015) was a Czech football player and coach. He played as midfielder and was a key player for Czechoslovakia, helping them reach the 1962 FIFA World Cup Final. He was capped 63 times, scoring ten g ...
in 1962. Nedvěd received further recognition in his home country when he won the 2004 Golden Ball, awarded by Czech sportswriters, for the fifth time in seven years. The 2004–05 season was frustrating for the midfielder, who was sidelined for two months by knee and head injuries and first considered retirement in April 2005. Although Juventus won Serie A titles that year and in 2006, the titles were revoked after the ''
Calciopoli ''Calciopoli'' () was a sports scandal in Italy's top professional association football league Serie A and to a lesser extent Serie B. Involving various clubs and numerous executives, both from the same clubs and from the main Italian football b ...
''
match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...
scandal. After the 2005–06 season, which ended with Juventus' relegation from Serie A despite its first-place finish, many stars (such as
Fabio Cannavaro Fabio Cannavaro (; born 13 September 1973) is an Italian professional football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of club Benevento. A centre-back, he spent the majority of his career in Italy. He started his career at Napo ...
and
Lilian Thuram Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began playing football professionally in his homeland with Monaco and played in the top flight in France, Italy and Spai ...
) left the club and the remaining players' future was uncertain. After the 2006 World Cup, Nedvěd dispelled rumours about his departure by reiterating his desire to help Juventus regain promotion to Serie A, citing his family and his commitment to the club as reasons for his decision. He received a five-match ban after a red card against Genoa in December 2006, and repeated his threat to retire. However, he remained with the club until the end of the season and scored 11 league goals in the
2006–07 Serie B The 2006–07 Serie B season is the 75th season since its establishment in 1929. It started on 9 September 2006 and ended on 10 June 2007. The 22 clubs in Serie B each played 42 matches during the regular season. The 2006–07 season marked the ...
. For the 2007–08 season, Juventus again played in Serie A. Nedvěd played frequently for the ''Bianconeri'', contributing as the team's first-choice left winger and scoring two goals that season. He was again controversial: in November 2007, his tackle of Internazionale midfielder Luís Figo broke Figo's fibula. In April 2008, Nedvěd was hospitalised overnight for a concussion sustained in a collision with
Roberto Guana Roberto Guana (born 21 January 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Roberto started his career at Brescia Calcio. He played his first Serie A match on 4 February 2001 against A.S. Bari. In M ...
during a match against
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
. Nedvěd scored Juventus' first league goal of the 2008–09 season in a 1–1 away draw with Fiorentina, and scored twice against Bologna in a 2–1 away win in October. On 26 February 2009, Nedvěd announced he would retire at the end of 2008–09 season to spend more time with his family. On 10 March 2009, he was substituted due to injury after 12 minutes of the Champions League round of 16 second leg match against Chelsea. Due to his impending retirement and his club's 3–2 loss on aggregate, it was his last European match for Juventus. Nedvěd retired at the end of the season, captaining the final match against former team Lazio and setting up Vincenzo Iaquinta's goal for a 2–0 victory.


FK Skalná

On 23 September 2017 it was announced that Nedvěd transferred to FK Skalná, based in the village of
Skalná Skalná (; until 1950 Vildštejn, german: Wildstein) is a town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Kateřina, Starý Rybník, Vonšov and Zelená are a ...
, Nedvěd's native village. The club plays in the 1. B class of in the Karlovy Vary Region (7th level of Czech football hierarchy). Chairman of the club had said: "It was Pavel's dream to play with his son and now it will come true". He further added that it seems likely that his planned fielding on 2 June 2018 in a home fixture against TJ Baník Královské Poříči B is a one-off event, due to Nědved's residency in Italy and employment as vice-president of
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
. Nedvěd was indeed in the starting line-up, but Skalná lost the home fixture 1–4, Nedvěd did not score and neither did his son.


International career

Nedvěd began playing for Czechoslovakia national youth teams in 1988, representing his country in the under-15 age group before progressing to 16, 17 and 18. In 1992, he made his first appearance on the under-21 team, playing seven times between 1992 and 1993. The midfielder debuted for the re-formed Czech Republic national team in June 1994 in a 3–1 win over the Republic of Ireland. His first major tournament was Euro 1996, where he scored his first senior international goal and helped his team reach
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. He was also part of the Czech team which placed third in the
1997 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first Confederations Cup to be organised by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 and 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This edition of the tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia, as with the previ ...
, defeating Uruguay in the third-place match. Nedvěd scored two goals during the tournament, both which came during the Czech Republic's 6–1 win over the United Arab Emirates in their final group match, which allowed them to progress to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by eventual champions Brazil.


Euro 1996

The Czech Republic were not expected to make an impact against the favoured Germany side in their opening match; Nedvěd missed two scoring chances and was one of ten players to receive a yellow card as Germany won 2–0. However, he contributed defensively, clearing a goal-bound shot from Christian Ziege off the
line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...
. Nedvěd scored his first senior international goal in his nation's Group C match against Italy, putting the Czech Republic in the lead 1–0 after four minutes. Although Italy scored an equaliser during the first half, they were reduced to ten men and the Czech Republic scored again before half-time for a 2–1 win. Nedvěd played in the third group match, against Russia, receiving his second yellow card of the tournament as the Czechs tied 3–3 to advance to the knockout stage. Due to a suspension, Nedvěd missed the Czech Republic's quarter-final match against Portugal. The Czechs won in his absence and progressed. In the semi-final against France, Nedvěd was named man of the match as the Czech Republic advanced to the final after a penalty shoot–out, where he scored his nation's second penalty shot. He and the Czech Republic team lost 2–1 in the final to Germany, who scored a golden goal.


Euro 2000

Before Euro 2000, Nedvěd was unable to train normally due to an ankle injury. The Czechs' first match (against the Netherlands) saw him and international teammate Jan Koller hit the woodwork without scoring, before the Dutch scored a controversial penalty to win 1–0. In the second match, against France, he was fouled, where the resultant Czech penalty was converted by
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 ...
to even the score at 1–1. Despite two shots on goal, Nedvěd could not beat French goalkeeper
Fabien Barthez Fabien Alain Barthez (born 28 June 1971) is a French racing driver and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he played football in both France and England with Toulouse, Marseille, AS Monaco, Manchester United ...
and France won the match 2–1. He played in the third group match, against Denmark; despite the Czechs' 2–0 victory, the team was eliminated from the tournament. After Euro 2000, Nedvěd took over the national team captaincy from
Jiří Němec Jiří Němec (born 15 May 1966 in Pacov) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic. He won a total of 84 international caps for the two teams, scoring one go ...
.


Euro 2004

Nedvěd was instrumental in the Euro 2004 group stage match against the Netherlands. Two goals down after 19 minutes, he gave a man of the match performance as the Czechs rebounded to win 3–2. Nine players (including Nedvěd) were rested for the group match against Germany, with the Czechs already qualified for the knockout stage. He received a yellow card, upheld on appeal, in the quarter-final match against Denmark. This meant Nedvěd would miss the final if he received another yellow card in the semi-final against Greece. However, Greece defeated the Czechs and Nedvěd was substituted after a knee injury. After their exit from the tournament, Nedvěd announced his retirement from the national team; he was named to the Team of the Tournament alongside countrymen Petr Čech and Milan Baroš.


2006 World Cup

The midfielder was persuaded by coach
Karel Brückner Karel Brückner (; born 13 November 1939, Olomouc) is a Czech retired football coach. Playing career Brückner played as a forward in the lower leagues for MŽ Olomouc, at levels between the Regional Championship and the Second League. He ma ...
and his teammates to come out of international retirement in time for the 2006 World Cup qualification playoffs against Norway, in which the Czech Republic qualified for the final tournament for the first time since the breakup of Czechoslovakia. Although Nedvěd's World Cup participation was jeopardised by a June knee injury, he was able to play. The Czechs won the first match of 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 ...
with 3–0 against the United States, but key players were injured. They then lost their next two group matches against Ghana and eventual winners Italy, finishing third in their group. Nedvěd's apparent goal at the beginning of the second half in the match against Ghana was ruled offside. His shots on goal against Italy were saved by Juventus teammate Gianluigi Buffon. Nedvěd again announced his retirement from the international scene before the August 2006 friendly match against Serbia, in which he made his 91st (and final) appearance. He refused to reverse his decision before Euro 2008, despite requests from teammates and Brückner. In the 91 appearances he made for his national side, Nedvěd scored 18 goals.


Style of play

A complete, tenacious and consistent two-footed player, Nedvěd frequently played as a left-sided, offensive wide midfielder or as a left- winger throughout his career, due to his crossing ability with his left foot, as well as due to his ability to cut inside and shoot with his right foot, although he was capable of playing anywhere in midfield due to his offensive and defensive work-rate, as well as his versatility, physicality, and tackling ability, which enabled him to start attacking plays after winning back possession. He was also deployed as a central midfielder on occasion, as well as in an
attacking midfield 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 ...
and playmaking role, or as a
supporting striker 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 ...
, where he excelled as an assist-man due to his excellent dribbling ability, passing range and vision. Primarily known for his powerful shots and volleys from distance, as well as his stamina, he was also a dynamic player, who was noted for his speed, acceleration, endurance, technique and goal-scoring ability, which often saw him carry the ball and undertake forward surging runs from midfield. He was also an accurate set-piece and penalty kick taker. Known for his trademark long blonde hair, which made him a highly recognisable player on the pitch, Nedvěd was nicknamed "''Furia Ceca''" ("Czech Fury", or also "
Blind Fury ''Blind Fury'' is a 1989 American action comedy film directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Rutger Hauer, Brandon Call, Terry O'Quinn, Lisa Blount, Randall "Tex" Cobb, and Noble Willingham. The screenplay by Charles Robert Carner is a loosely ba ...
" in Italian) by Italian fans, who noted his skill, consistency and verve, as well as his stamina, pace, power and determination. In the English-language media, he was called "the Czech cannon". His former Lazio boss
Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...
described him as "an atypical midfielder, totally complete". Despite his ability, Nedvěd's tenacious playing style and disciplinary record also led him to be criticised by some in the sport, who accused him of being excessively reckless in his tackles and of going to ground too easily when challenged.


Post-playing career

Nedvěd ran the
Prague Half Marathon The Prague Half Marathon (known as the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place in Spring on the city streets of Prague, Czech Republic, first held in 1999. It ...
in 2010 (his first race at the distance), finishing the course in 1:49:44. He ran the 2012
Prague Marathon The Prague Marathon (also known as Prague International Marathon (PIM) and Volkswagen Prague Marathon) is an annual road marathon held in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic each May. It was founded in 1995 and has grown to become a si ...
in a time of 3:50:02 for the 42-kilometre course. Nedvěd was named International Personality at the 2012
FAI International Football Awards The FAI International Football Awards is an awards evening held to honour the best Republic of Ireland international footballers of the year. Senior International awards Senior International Player of the Year Senior Women's International P ...
in February. In January 2013, he was banned from attending Serie A matches for three weeks after he insulted referee Paolo Valeri during Juventus' match against
Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
.


Directorship

On 12 October 2010,
Exor Exor N.V. is a Dutch holding company incorporated in Netherlands and controlled by the Agnelli family through privately held company ''Giovanni Agnelli B.V.'' In 2021 it recorded revenues of more than $136 billion, with a Net Asset Value (NAV) of ...
(the Agnelli family's investment company) nominated Nedvěd for a seat on the Juventus
board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
; he remains a director as of the 2018–19 season. On 23 October 2015, Nedvěd was appointed vice chairman of the board of directors. On 28 November 2022, the entire Juventus board of directors, including Nedvěd, resigned from their respective roles.


Personal life

The son of Václav and Anna, Nedvěd had lived with his wife Ivana since 1992. The couple have two children, named Ivana and Pavel after their parents. The couple split in 2019 and the ex-footballer started dating an equestrian 23 years his junior. Nedvěd's 2010 autobiography was published in Italian as '. It was translated into Czech as ' and released in the Czech Republic in 2011.


Career statistics


Club

:Sources: League matches, Coppa Italia stats at Juventus, European competition stats


International

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


Honours

Sparta Prague * Czechoslovak First League:
1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...
* Czech Republic Football League: 1993–94, 1994–95 * Czech Cup: 1995–96 Lazio. Retrieved 4 June 2013. * Serie A: 1999–2000 * Coppa Italia: 1997–98, 1999–2000 *
Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...
:
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
,
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1998–99 * UEFA Super Cup:
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
* UEFA Cup runner-up: 1997–98 Juventus * Serie A: 2001–02, 2002–03 *
Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...
:
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
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2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
* Serie B: 2006–07 * UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2002–03 Czech Republic * UEFA European Championship runner-up:
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
Individual *
Golden Ball (Czech Republic) The Golden Ball ( cs, Zlatý míč) is awarded in the Czech Republic by a poll of Czech sport journalists from the Club of Sport Journalists (''Klub sportovních novinářů, KSN''). Eligible are Czech players in the Czech Republic and abroad. Award ...
: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2009 *
Největší Čech ''Největší Čech'' (''The Greatest Czech'') is the Czech spin-off of the BBC ''Greatest Britons'' show; a television poll of the populace to name the greatest Czech in history. The series was broadcast by the national public-service broadcast ...
(''List of Greatest Czechs''): 41st place *
Czech Footballer of the Year The Czech Footballer of the Year ( cs, Fotbalista roku) is awarded in the 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 ...
: 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004 * ESM Team of the Year: 2000–01, 2002–03 *
Sportsperson of the Year (Czech Republic) Sportsperson of the Year ( cs, Sportovec roku) is an award given by the Sport Journalists' Club (, KSN) to the best Sportsperson and the best Sport Team of the given year in the Czech Republic. For the first time it was awarded after the dissolutio ...
: 2003 *
Serie A Footballer of the Year Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...
: 2003 *
Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year The AIC Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year ( it, Migliore calciatore straniero AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) given to the List of foreign Serie A players, non-Italian footballer who was consider ...
: 2003 *
Guerin d'Oro The Guerin d'Oro ''(Golden Guerin)'' was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine ''Guerin Sportivo'' to the best Serie A football player. The first winner of the award was Claudio Sala, while the last was Carlos Tevez. Hist ...
: 2003 * UEFA Club Best Midfielder of the Year: 2002–03 *
World Soccer Awards Player of the Year ''World Soccer'' is an English-language Association football, football magazine, published by Kelsey Media. The magazine was established in 1960 and is the oldest continually published football magazine in the United Kingdom. It specialises in ...
: 2003 * Ballon d'Or:
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
* RSSSF Player of the Year. 2003 * UEFA Team of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2005 *
UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament At the end of each UEFA European Championship tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game. Awards There are currently five post-tournament awards, and o ...
: 2004 *
Golden Foot The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 yea ...
: 2004 * FIFA 100: 2004 *
FAI International Football Awards The FAI International Football Awards is an awards evening held to honour the best Republic of Ireland international footballers of the year. Senior International awards Senior International Player of the Year Senior Women's International P ...
– International Personality: 2012 *
UEFA Ultimate Team of the Year The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...
(substitute; published 2015) * Juventus Greatest XI of All Time: 2017


Bibliography

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References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nedved, Pavel 1972 births Living people People from Cheb Czechoslovak footballers Czech footballers Association football midfielders AC Sparta Prague players Dukla Prague footballers Juventus F.C. players S.S. Lazio players Czech First League players Serie A players Serie B players Ballon d'Or winners World Soccer Magazine World Player of the Year winners FIFA 100 Czechoslovakia under-21 international footballers Czech Republic international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players UEFA Euro 2000 players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Czech expatriate footballers Czech expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Juventus F.C. directors Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Sportspeople from the Karlovy Vary Region