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Jan Šimák (born 13 October 1978) 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 lea ...
who played as an
attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
. He spent most of his career in Germany while making one appearance for the Czech Republic national team. As a player, he was well known for his powerful shot and goalscoring from midfield.


Career


Early career

Born in
Tábor Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...
, Šimák began his professional career at Chmel Blšany. In 2000, Šimák left the Czech Republic joining 2. Bundesliga 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 ...
. In his second season there, he contributed 18 goals to the club's promotion to the
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 ...
. In the summer of 2002, Šimák joined
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
on a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Hannover was reported as €6 million. Signed as a replacement for
Michael Ballack Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He was selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He won the German Footballer of ...
, he could not prevail at the Rhineland-side and returned the following year on loan to Hannover 96. After the sixth matchday he dropped out because of alcohol problems and a related depression fatigue syndrome. In July 2004, he dissolved his contract in Leverkusen.


Return to the Czech Republic

A short time later, Šimák returned to his native Czech Republic to play for
Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...
. On 28 August 2004, he made his debut coming off the bench early in the second half for Rastislav Michalík in a 3–1 win against Chmel Blšany and scored the team's second goal for 2–1. In the following months, however, he was unable to repeat his performance of his first period at Hannover 96 and underwent therapy. He finished his first seasons with five appearances and as many appearances in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
, where Sparta was eliminated in the group stage. On 19 November 2005, he celebrated his return, being substituted on for Martin Hašek in a 4–2 win on matchday 13 of the 2005–06 season. That season, he made nine starts in the league and two in the Champions League. In the 2006–07 season, his third and final one for Sparta Prague, he made 18 appearances scoring 1 goal, playing ten times in the league and five times in the UEFA Cup. His fight against his alcoholism and arguments with coaches in his three years in Prague cost him sympathies. Having publicly voiced his intentions to leave the club, he was not allowed to attend the training shortly before his departure. Overall, he was limited to a total of 51 matches and 3 goals.


Second spell in Germany

In July 2007, Šimák changed again to Germany and signed a two-year contract with Carl Zeiss Jena who at the time were competing in the 2. Bundesliga. In summer 2008 he moved to
VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...
, making his competitive debut in a 1–0 loss against Saturn Ramenskoye in the third round of the Intertoto Cup. On 19 January 2010, Šimák moved to
Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...
. After one season with Mainz, he returned to Carl Zeiss Jena, but left in 2012 after the club were relegated from the
3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...


Later career

In summer 2012 he returned to his hometown signing a six-month contract with newly formed FC MAS Táborsko competing in the 2. Liga hoping to move abroad again in January. In August 2014, he left Táborsko by mutual consent following health and personal issues.


Honours

*
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 ...
: 2005, 2007


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simak, Jan 1978 births Living people Sportspeople from Tábor Men's association football midfielders 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 Olympic footballers for the Czech Republic FK Chmel Blšany players Hannover 96 players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players AC Sparta Prague players FC Carl Zeiss Jena players VfB Stuttgart players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players FC Silon Táborsko players FK Bohemians Prague (Střížkov) players SK Dynamo České Budějovice players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Czech First League players 3. Liga players Czech expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Footballers from the South Bohemian Region 21st-century Czech sportsmen