Jiří Němec (born 15 May 1966) 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 a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He started his professional career playing football in Czechoslovakia, winning two titles with

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 ...

. He then moved to Germany, where he played until 2002, when he moved back to the Czech Republic and finished his active career. In an 11-year international career Němec was named in his country's squad for one FIFA World Cup and two UEFA European Championships. He scored once and made a combined total of 84 international appearances for the

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

and

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

national teams.

Club career

Němec made his professional club debut with

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

in 1985. He played in the

Czechoslovak First League The Czechoslovak First League (, ) was the premier football (soccer), football league in the Czechoslovakia from 1925 to 1993, with the exception of World War II. Czechoslovakia was occupied by German forces who formed Gauliga Sudetenland and Ga ...

for České Budějovice,

Dukla Prague Dukla Prague () was a Czech football club from the city of Prague. Established in 1948 as ATK Praha, the club won a total of 11 Czechoslovak league titles and eight Czechoslovak Cups, and in the 1966–67 season, reached the semi-finals of the ...

and

until 1993, during which time he won national titles with Sparta in 1990–91 and 1992–93. He moved to German club Schalke 04 in 1993, being an integral part of its defence when it won the 1997 UEFA Cup Final against

Inter Milan 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 Association football, football List of football ...

. In 2001, Němec extended his contract with Schalke 04 until the end of

2001–02 Bundesliga The 2001–02 Bundesliga was the 39th season of the Bundesliga. It began on 28 July 2001 and concluded on 4 May 2002. Teams Eighteen teams competed in the league – the top fifteen teams from the previous season and the three teams promote ...

. Němec returned to the Czech Republic in 2002, signing for

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 ...

side Chmel Blšany, for whom he served as captain. Němec moved to Viktoria Žižkov in January 2004. He retired from professional football at the age of 39 on 4 July 2005, citing lack of motivation.

International career

At international level, Němec played for

and the

, serving as captain of both teams. He made a total of 84 appearances for the two teams, scoring one goal for the latter. His sole international goal came in May 1998, when he scored in a 2–2 friendly game against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. As a footballer of Czechoslovakia, Němec was part of the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

squad that reached quarter finals, but did not play in any match. He went on to play at both the

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

as a Czech international.

Coaching

After ending his football career, Němec became head coach of the third-tier club SK Sokol Brozany in Litoměřice District, having been working with minor breaks since 2011. He is married to his wife Martina with two children: a daughter named Nikola and son named Patrik.

Honours

Sparta Prague *

: 1990–91, 1992–93 *

Czechoslovak Cup The Czechoslovak Cup () was a football cup competition held in Czechoslovakia. It was officially created in 1960 and folded in 1993 with the split between Czech Republic and Slovakia. The cup was played throughout Czechoslovakia until 1968–69. F ...

: 1989–90, 1991–92 Schalke 04 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

: 2000–01, 2001–02 *

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

: 1996–97 Czech Republic *

UEFA European Football Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

: Runner-up Medal

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Individual * Czech Footballer of the Year: 1997 * Golden Ball (Czech Republic): 1997

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nemec, Jiri 1966 births Living people People from Pacov Czech men's footballers Czechoslovak men's footballers Men's association football midfielders 1990 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1996 players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players UEFA Euro 2000 players Dukla Prague footballers AC Sparta Prague players FK Chmel Blšany players SK Dynamo České Budějovice players FK Viktoria Žižkov players FC Schalke 04 players Czech Republic men's international footballers Czechoslovakia men's international footballers Dual internationalists (men's football) Bundesliga players Czechoslovak First League players Czech First League players Czech expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Czech expatriate sportspeople in Germany UEFA Europa League–winning players Footballers from the Vysočina Region