Zdeněk Grygera (; born 14 May 1980) 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 ...

who played as a defender.

Club career

Early career

Grygera began his career at

Petra Drnovice 1. FK Drnovice was a Czech football club based in the Moravian village of Drnovice near Vyškov, founded in 1932. The club played in the top flight of Czech football, the Czech First League, between 1993 and 2002, and again in the 2004/05 season. ...

before moving to

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 ...

Ajax

In July 2003, he was signed by Dutch club

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

for an undisclosed fee, estimated to be around €3.5 million. His first goal came for the club came in September 2004, a 5–0 thrashing away at

Den Bosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

. He soon became a fan favorite, especially after scoring against bitter rivals

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

in the April ''

Klassieker De Klassieker (''The Classic'') is the main football rivalry of the Netherlands, between Ajax (of Amsterdam) and Feyenoord (of Rotterdam). The record attendance was on 9 January 1966, when 65,562 watched in Rotterdam. History Amsterdam vs Rott ...

''.

Juventus

On 10 January 2007, it was confirmed by Ajax Technical Director Martin van Geel that Grygera would be leaving for

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 ...

on a Bosman transfer when his contract with Ajax expired in June 2007. He was supposed to transfer after 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 ...

, but 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 ...

'' scandal prevented him from doing so. He expressed his delight over the possibility of playing with one of his Czech compatriots,

Pavel Nedvěd Pavel Nedvěd (; born 30 August 1972) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is regarded as one of the most successful players to emerge from the Czech Republic, winning domestic and Europe ...

. Due to his versatility, he soon established himself in the Juventus starting lineup. In March, he scored and subsequently set up

David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at the age of eight, progressing through their youth sys ...

's goal in a 2–0 win over

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, and also scored a last-gasp equalizer in the club's

Derby d'Italia The Derby d'Italia ( English: Derby of Italy) is the name of the football derby between Internazionale of Milan and Juventus of Turin. The term was coined back in 1967 by Italian sports journalist Gianni Brera. It is the equivalent of Spain's ...

fixture against rivals

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

on 18 April 2009.

Fulham

In summer 2011, Grygera still had one year left to run on his contract at Juventus, but it was rescinded by mutual consent on 30 August 2011. The following day, he joined English

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 ...

side

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. He received the number 26 jersey and made his Fulham debut on 15 September 2011 in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

against

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germ ...

. Grygera suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture during a league match against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

on 6 November 2011, which kept him out for the rest of the season. Grygera's contract with Fulham was up for renewal at the end of the 2011–12 season. Manager

Martin Jol Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol (born 16 January 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. He played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany, and England, as well as earning three caps wit ...

, said, "Hopefully he can prove himself before the end of August. If he proves he's fit I would like to keep him." On 6 December 2012, Jol confirmed that Grygera had decided to retire from football to concentrate instead on returning to full fitness.

International career

Grygera was part of the Czech side which won the UEFA U-21 Championships in 2002. A former Czech youth international, Grygera played 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 ...

UEFA 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 association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

, the

and

UEFA 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 European ...

. At the 2006 World Cup, Grygera's run and cross set up the opening goal for

Jan Koller Jan Koller (; born 30 March 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was noted for his height, strong physique, and heading ability. He began his career at Sparta Prague, then moved to Belgium, where he becam ...

in the Czechs' first game against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, which they won 3–0. At Euro 2008, Grygera was involved in a rough challenge with

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

striker

Alexander Frei Alexander Frei or Alex Frei (born 15 July 1979) is a Swiss professional football coach and a former player who played as a forward. He is currently the manager of Basel. He began his career at Basel, going on to various other clubs in Switzerla ...

during the first half of the tournament's opening game, which tore Frei's knee ligaments and forced the player out of rest of the tournament. He was a regular during 2010 World Cup qualifying, playing in six of the ten qualifiers, but was not able to help the Czechs qualify for a second consecutive World Cup. Grygera made his 65th and final national appearance in October 2009.

Style of play

Grygera was known for his work-rate, competitiveness, and versatility, and usually played as a full-back, wing-back, or winger along right flank, although he was also capable of playing on the left, or as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

; while being solid defensively, he was also known for his ability to get forward and for his all-round good quality of play.

Honours

Sparta Prague *

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 ...

: 2000–01, 2002–03 Ajax *

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

: 2003–04 *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

: 2005–06, 2006–07 *

Johan Cruijff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

References

External links

* *
Premier League profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grygera, Zdenek 1980 births Living people People from Přílepy (Kroměříž District) Czech footballers Czech Republic youth international footballers Czech Republic under-21 international footballers Czech Republic international footballers Association football defenders FC Fastav Zlín players AC Sparta Prague players AFC Ajax players Juventus F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Czech First League players Eredivisie players Serie A players Premier League players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players Czech expatriate footballers Czech expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Czech expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Czech expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England FK Drnovice players Sportspeople from the Zlín Region