Karel "Káďa" Pešek (20 September 1895 in

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– 30 September 1970 in

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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 ...

) was a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. He played as midfielder 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 ...

and the Czechoslovak football national team. He played from 1913 to 1933 (interrupted only by military service during World War I), scoring 149 goals in his club career. Pešek was voted by IFFHS ( International Federation of Football History and Statistics) as the 81st greatest European footballer of the 20th century, and the third greatest Czechoslovakian player of the 20th century behind

Josef Bican Josef "Pepi" Bican (25 September 1913 – 12 December 2001) was an Austrians, Austrian-Czechs, Czech professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He is regarded by some to be the ...

and

Josef Masopust Josef Masopust (9 February 1931 – 29 June 2015) was a Czech football player and coach. He played as midfielder and was a key player for Czechoslovakia, helping them reach the 1962 FIFA World Cup Final. He was capped 63 times, scoring ten go ...

Career

With Sparta Prague, Pešek won the Czechoslovakian national title in 1919, 1922, 1926, 1927 and 1932, and also won the inaugural edition of the

Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called Coupe de l'Europe Centrale, Mitteleuropäischer Pokal or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European association football, football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the suc ...

in 1927. Internationally, Pešek played 44 matches over a span of 11 years for the national football team, scoring one goal. He was a participant in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp and 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. Of note, the Czech football team actually made the finals of the 1920 Olympic tournament (presumably guaranteeing them at least a silver medal), but were disqualified from the competition after walking out late in the first half to protest the officiating.

Ice hockey

At the 1920 Olympic Games (before the existence of the dedicated Winter Olympics), Pešek also competed in ice hockey, winning the bronze medal with the Czechoslovak team. Had the Czech football team not disqualified themselves from the gold medal match in 1920, Pešek would have been the first athlete in history to medal in both a Summer and Winter Olympic sport (a feat achieved only six times since the first Olympic Games in 1896)

Style of play

Pešek started his playing career as a left back, but changed to center half, a position he played for most of his career. A midsized footballer, he was not tall but particularly strong, he was an outstanding athlete (as evidenced by him playing two Olympic sports) and was known for his great physical endurance. Pešek was a complete technical footballer, a precise passer, and excellent in both defence and attack. He often increased the pace of his teams' attack and linked well with the forward line. According to Hungarian footballer Alfred Schaffer, "the advantage of his game is the huge calm in his head and legs. While another center half clings to you with a thud, Káda kicks in quite quietly and takes the ball from you".

Life After Sports

Pešek retired completely from sports in 1934, working for the Czechoslovakian Health Ministry until being fired in the early 1950s for not being a member of the Communist Party. He died of cardiac arrest, shortly after his 75th birthday.

References

External links

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dataOlympics profile

arfsh.com article: Karel Pešek-Káďa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pesek, Karel 1895 births 1970 deaths AC Sparta Prague players Men's association football midfielders Czech men's footballers Czechoslovak men's footballers Czechoslovakia men's international footballers FC Zbrojovka Brno players Footballers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1920 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Czechoslovakia Olympic footballers for Czechoslovakia Olympic ice hockey players for Czechoslovakia Olympic medalists in ice hockey People from the Margraviate of Moravia Footballers from Olomouc Czech ice hockey forwards Czechoslovak ice hockey forwards