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
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 ...
.
Club career
Czech Republic
Born in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
, Bednář started his career as a youth player at ČAFC Prague before he stepped up to
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 ...
side FC Bohemians Praha in 1998. In 2002, after failing to break into the first team at Bohemians, he moved to Czech Second Division side
FK Mladá Boleslav
FK Mladá Boleslav is a Czech football club based in the city of Mladá Boleslav . The club currently plays in the Czech First League.
Mladá Boleslav were runners up in the 2005–06 Czech First League and went on to play in the 2006–07 UEF ...
. Bednář finished the 2003–04 season as top scorer with 10 goals as Mladá Boleslav won the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
title.
In the 2004–05 season Bednář started to come to the attention of Lithuanian scouts as his six goals helped Mladá Boleslav consolidate in the Gambrinus Liga. It was in this season that Bednář was voted as the "Revelation of the Season" as his physical strength, aerial ability, positional awareness and ability to create chances for other teammates made him a constant threat for opposition defences.
Heart of Midlothian
On 27 July 2005, Hearts announced that they had completed the signing of Bednář on a one-year loan deal from
FBK Kaunas
Kauno futbolo ir beisbolo klubas, commonly known as FBK Kaunas, was a Lithuanian football club from the city of Kaunas.
History
Banga Kaunas (1960–1993)
Originally the team was founded in 1960 as Banga Kaunas and played its first three years ...
. He scored on his debut against Kilmarnock, and also in the 3–0 away victory over
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
. Bednář then cemented his place in Hearts folklore by scoring the only goal in the 1–0 victory over Rangers at Tynecastle. It was in this game, however, that he suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out for most of the campaign. He made his return on 26 November against Motherwell in a 1–1 draw, and played his part in Hearts' successful second-place finish and
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2006–07 Scottish Premier League season in a rich vein of form, scoring three times, twice in the 2–1 victory over Celtic at Tynecastle.
Bednář joined Hearts on a permanent deal on 31 August 2006, but exactly a year later he moved to
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
on a season-long loan deal, which later turned into a permanent move.
West Bromwich Albion
Bednář scored his first goals in a West Brom shirt on 15 October 2007, netting twice in a 4–1 win for the Albion reserves against Lincoln City reserves. On 24 October, he scored a hat-trick for the reserves in a 6–1 win over
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
reserves. He made his first team debut for Albion as a substitute in a 3–0 away win against
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
on 3 November 2007. In January 2008, Bednář scored the winning penalty in the
shootout
A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...
against
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
third round. He won the Midland Player of the Month award for January 2008. Bednář finished the 2007–08 season with 17 goals from 22 starts.
At the end of his loan spell, West Bromwich Albion exercised an option to purchase him. Bednář signed a three-year contract, with Albion paying Hearts £2.3 million for the player, in addition to the £200,000 loan fee they had paid previously. In the summer of 2008 he underwent a
hernia
A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin herni ...
operation.
Bednář was suspended by West Bromwich Albion in May 2009 over allegations that he had purchased drugs. The following month he was cautioned by
West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.
The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, ...
regarding the incident, for possessing small amounts of
class A drugs
These drugs are known in the UK as ''controlled drugs'', because this is the term by which the act itself refers to them. In more general terms, however, many of these drugs are also controlled by the Medicines Act 1968, there are many other drug ...
(principally
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
) as well as
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
, a class B drug. The Football Association granted permission for Bednář to resume playing, following his suspension, and to report back for training on 17 August 2009. He returned to the side on 26 August in a
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
tie at
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
, and three days later he scored both of West Brom's goals in a 2–2 draw away to
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
. On 17 October 2009, Bednář suffered a back injury (a trapped nerve) in the early stages of Albion's game against
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
. He returned to training after just over a week, and was an unused substitute in the 5–0 victory over
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
on 31 October. On 24 November 2010, Bednář joined
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
on loan until January 2011, making his debut in a 1–0 win over
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
on 29 November.
West Brom accepted a £1.2 million offer from
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
in January 2011. However, Bednář turned down the move. Bednář subsequently joined Turkish club Ankaragücü on loan for the remainder of the 2010–11 season.
Bednář returned to ''the Baggies'' after his loan spell ended and the club took up the option to extend his contract until the end of 2011–12 season. He was assigned the squad number 43 after his previous squad number 9 had been assigned to new signing
Shane Long
Shane Patrick Long (born 22 January 1987) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Reading and the Republic of Ireland national team. He also played hurling for the Tipperary county team in his early ...
. Bednář's only appearance during the 2011–12 season was as a substitute in a League Cup win over AFC Bournemouth in August 2011. In four-and-a-half years with West Brom, he made a total of 105 appearances, scoring 34 goals.
Blackpool
On 28 January 2012, Bednář joined Blackpool on a free transfer, signing a six-month contract. He made his debut three days later, as a late substitute against
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
, setting up former ''Baggies'' teammate Kevin Phillips for an 87th-minute equalizer in a 2–1 win at
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...
. He scored his first goal for the club in a substitute appearance against
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
on 21 March. However, he was injured and needed to be substituted less than 15 minutes after coming on.
Sivasspor
On 8 August 2012, Bednář signed a two-year contract with Turkish
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
side
Sivasspor
Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Demir Grup Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department competes in Süper Lig, as of 201 ...
.
International career
On 16 August 2006, Bednář made his debut for 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 south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
national team in their 3–1 defeat by
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
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 ...
Czech Cup
The Czech Cup ( cs, Pohár FAČR), officially known as the MOL Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the major men's football cup competition in the Czech Republic. It is organised by the Czech Football Association.
The Czech Cup was first held in 19 ...