Václav Drobný (9 September 1980 – 28 December 2012) 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 notably played for Sparta Prague having spent time in their youth team as well as spells at Czech, Slovak,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

sides. Drobný played twice 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 ...

and was most known in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for his short stint on loan at

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

Career

Club career

Drobný played for

FK Jablonec nad Nisou 97 FK Jablonec () is a Czech professional football club based in Jablonec nad Nisou. The club has played in the top league of Czech football, Czech First League, since 1994. History Jablonec played its first season of top league football in the 1 ...

(on loan from Sparta) during the first half of the 2005–06 season,

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace (commonly known as RC Strasbourg, Racing Straßburg, RCSA, RCS, or simply Strasbourg; Alsatian: ''Füeßbàllmànnschàft Vu Stroßburri'') is a French association football club founded in 1906, based in the c ...

, Chmel Blšany and Sparta Prague. He also spent the 2004–05 season on loan at English team

, in the

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 Foo ...

. The move was not a success for the defender however, who left having failed to make a single first team appearance for the claret and blue. Drobný left

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in 2005 to join Sparta Prague, before having spells at Jablonec 97,

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

and

FC Spartak Trnava FC Spartak Trnava () is a Slovak professional Association football, football club based in Trnava. Historically, it is one of the most successful clubs in the country, having won the Czechoslovak First League five times and the Czechoslovak Cup ...

. He was released by the latter in 2009. However, the following year Drobný signed for Bohemians Praha. The defender made his debut for the club in a 3–2 victory away at

Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles and the domesti ...

on 20 March 2010. He played eighty minutes for his new club before being replaced by

Martin Horacek Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

International career

Drobný was part of the Czech side which won the UEFA U-21 Championships in 2002, and debuted for the senior team against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

– though he failed to secure a spot in Euro 2004. The defender won two international caps.

Death

Drobný died while bobsleighing at the ski resort Špindlerův Mlýn. He skidded off-

piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

and crashed into a tree.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drobny, Vaclav 1980 births 2012 deaths Accidental deaths in the Czech Republic Czech expatriate footballers Czech footballers Czech Republic youth international footballers Czech Republic under-21 international footballers Czech Republic international footballers Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in England Czech First League players Ligue 1 players 2. Bundesliga players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Aston Villa F.C. players FK Chmel Blšany players FK Jablonec players AC Sparta Prague players FC Augsburg players Association football defenders People from Mělník Sportspeople from the Central Bohemian Region