František Rajtoral (12 March 1986 – ca. 23 April 2017) was a Czech 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 lea ...

who played as a right winger or

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He was best known for his stint at

Viktoria Plzeň Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victor ...

. He was a member of the Czech Republic national team. He won the

Czech Cup The Czech Cup (), 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 1961. The winner ...

with Viktoria Plzeň in 2010. Further trophies he won with the club include the

Gambrinus Liga The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from ...

twice and the Czech Supercup. On 29 February 2012, Rajtoral earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for the senior team of his country in the 1–1 draw with

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

. Rajtoral was described as "one of the best attacking right-wingers in the Czech Republic" by journalist Mark Smith.

Club career

Early career

Rajtoral played for Příbram for a season before joining Baník Ostrava, with whom he signed a three-year contract in 2005. He made his debut in European competitions in the

2005–06 UEFA Cup The 2005–06 UEFA Cup, the 35th edition of the UEFA Cup, was won by Sevilla, beating Middlesbrough in the final. It was the first victory for Sevilla in a European competition, and the first appearance by Middlesbrough in a European final. The ...

while playing for Ostrava.

Viktoria Plzeň

He joined

from Ostrava in 2009 in a deal which involved the exchange of striker Adam Varadi in the other direction. Rajtoral played in the inaugural Czech Supercup in 2010 against Sparta Prague, being one of two players to be sent off as his team lost the match. He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season in October 2010 against

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

, but his team lost the game 4–3. Rajtoral played the second half of the 2011 Czech Supercup, a match which Plzeň won on penalties against Mladá Boleslav. He replaced Marián Čišovský in the 46th minute, in a match which finished 1–1.

Hannover 96

In January 2014 Rajtoral joined German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

on loan for the remainder of the season with an option to make the transfer permanent. Hannover passed on that option though and Rajtoral returned to Plzeň for the start of the new season.

Gaziantepspor and death

Rajtoral joined

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matc ...

in August 2016. He was found dead in his home in Gaziantep, Turkey, on 23 April 2017 after not turning up for a training session with his team in the morning. His neighbors contacted the local authorities in concern when they found his apartment door locked from the inside with no response. Upon investigation local authorities announced that Rajtoral had committed suicide by hanging.

International career

Rajtoral took part in the

2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 to 23 June 2007. It was the 16th staging of UEFA's UEFA European Under-21 Championship, European Under-21 Championship. Summary For the first time, a host nation was chosen ahead of th ...

. He played in all three of his nation's matches at the tournament. He made his senior debut on 29 February 2012 in a

against

, a game which finished 1–1. In May 2012 he was named in his country's 23-man squad for the

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

tournament.

Personal life

Rajtoral was born in

Příbram Příbram (; or ''Przibram'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It is known for its mining history, and more recently, its new venture into economic restructuring. The town is the t ...

, where he made his professional breakthrough in

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

with Marila Příbram. In 2008 he was diagnosed with

chronic fatigue syndrome Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...

and underwent treatment for several months. His disease recurred again in 2014. On 24 April 2017, he did not participate in training sessions for

. He was found dead in his apartment by police after committing

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

on Sunday. It has been hypothesized that the breakup with his longtime girlfriend in 2016 and the departure of his friend Daniel Kolář in February 2017 may have worsened his psychological situation. Coincidentally, in a month, his death was followed by that of David Bystroň, a former teammate and defensive partner at

, who committed a similar suicide.

Career statistics

Honours

Viktoria Plzeň *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Gambrinus liga The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from ...

: 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16 * Czech Supercup: 2011, 2015

References

External links

* *
Guardian Football
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rajtoral, Frantisek 1986 births 2017 suicides 2017 deaths Footballers from Příbram Czech men's footballers Czech Republic men's youth international footballers Czech Republic men's under-21 international footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers Czech First League players Bundesliga players Süper Lig players FK Příbram players FC Baník Ostrava players FC Viktoria Plzeň players Hannover 96 players Gaziantepspor footballers UEFA Euro 2012 players Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Suicides by hanging in Turkey Czech expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Czech expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey 21st-century Czech sportsmen People with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome