Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
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 ...
coach and former player.
Club career
Czech Republic
Born in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, Bednář started his career as a youth player at
ÄŒAFC Prague
ČAFC Prague is a Czech Republic, Czech association football, football club located in Prague-Záběhlice. It currently plays in the Prague Championship, which is in the fifth tier of the Czech Republic football league system, Czech football syste ...
before he stepped up to
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 FC Bohemians Praha in 1998. In 2002, after failing to break into the first team at Bohemians, he moved to Czech Second Division side
FK Mladá Boleslav
FK Mladá Boleslav is a Czech professional football club based in the city of Mladá Boleslav. Since 2004, the club has been participating in the Czech First League.
In the Czech First League, Mladá Boleslav were runners up in 2005–06 and o ...
. Bednář finished the 2003–04 season as top scorer with 10 goals as Mladá Boleslav won the Second Division title.
Heart of Midlothian
On 27 July 2005, Hearts announced that they had completed the signing of Bednář on a one-year loan deal from
FBK Kaunas
Kauno futbolo ir beisbolo klubas, commonly known as FBK Kaunas, was a Lithuanian football club from the city of Kaunas.
History
Banga Kaunas (1960–1993)
The roots of the club can be traced back to 1960 when Banga Kaunas was founded and they p ...
. He scored on his debut against
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
, and also in the 3–0 away victory over
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
. Bednář then cemented his place in Hearts folklore by scoring the only goal in the 1–0 victory over
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
at Tynecastle. It was in this game, however, that he suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out for most of the campaign. He made his return on 26 November against
Motherwell
Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
in a 1–1 draw, and played his part in Hearts' successful second-place finish and
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2006–07
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
season in a rich vein of form, scoring three times, twice in the 2–1 victory over
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
at Tynecastle.
Bednář joined Hearts on a permanent deal on 31 August 2006, but exactly a year later he moved to
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
on a season-long loan deal, which later turned into a permanent move.
West Bromwich Albion
Bednář scored his first goals in a West Brom shirt on 15 October 2007, netting twice in a 4–1 win for the Albion reserves against Lincoln City reserves. On 24 October, he scored a hat-trick for the reserves in a 6–1 win over
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
reserves. He made his first team debut for Albion as a substitute in a 3–0 away win against
Watford
Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
on 3 November 2007. In January 2008, Bednář scored the winning penalty in the
shootout
A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...
against
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
Their home ground is ...
in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
third round. He won the Midland Player of the Month award for January 2008. Bednář finished the 2007–08 season with 17 goals from 22 starts.
At the end of his loan spell, West Bromwich Albion exercised an option to purchase him. Bednář signed a three-year contract, with Albion paying Hearts £2.3 million for the player, in addition to the £200,000 loan fee they had paid previously. In the summer of 2008 he underwent a
hernia
A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...
operation.
Bednář was suspended by West Bromwich Albion in May 2009 over allegations that he had purchased drugs. The following month he was cautioned by
West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England.
The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of ...
regarding the incident, for possessing small amounts of
class A drugs
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (c. 38) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It represents action in line with treaty commitments under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the Uni ...
(principally
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
) as well as
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
, a class B drug. The Football Association suspended the player for three months, backdated to the date his club suspended him, and he was allowed to continue his playing career on 17 August 2009. He returned to the side on 26 August in a League Cup tie at
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...
, and three days later he scored both of West Brom's goals in a 2–2 draw away to
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...
. On 17 October 2009, Bednář suffered a back injury (a trapped nerve) in the early stages of Albion's game against
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
. He returned to training after just over a week, and was an unused substitute in the 5–0 victory over
Watford
Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
on 31 October. On 24 November 2010, Bednář joined
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
on loan until January 2011, making his debut in a 1–0 win over
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football.
Founde ...
on 29 November.
West Brom accepted a £1.2 million offer from
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
in January 2011. However, Bednář turned down the move. Bednář subsequently joined Turkish club Ankaragücü on loan for the remainder of the 2010–11 season.
Bednář returned to ''the Baggies'' after his loan spell ended and the club took up the option to extend his contract until the end of 2011–12 season. He was assigned the squad number 43 after his previous squad number 9 had been assigned to new signing
Shane Long
Shane Patrick Long (born 22 January 1987) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Long began his football career at Cork City. He later moved to Reading where, among other achievements, he scored three goals in ten s ...
. Bednář's only appearance during the 2011–12 season was as a substitute in a League Cup win over
AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...
in August 2011. In four and a half years with West Brom, he made a total of 105 appearances, scoring 34 goals.
Blackpool
On 28 January 2012, Bednář joined Blackpool on a free transfer, signing a six-month contract. He made his debut three days later, as a late substitute against
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
, setting up former ''Baggies'' teammate Kevin Phillips for an 87th-minute equalizer in a 2–1 win at
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...
. He scored his first goal for the club in a substitute appearance against
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
on 21 March. However, he was injured and needed to be substituted less than 15 minutes after coming on.
Sivasspor
On 8 August 2012, Bednář signed a two-year contract with Turkish
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
side
Sivasspor
Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...
.
International career
On 16 August 2006, Bednář made his debut for the
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 team in their 3–1 defeat by
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
.. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
Career statistics
International goals
Honours
Heart of Midlothian
*
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2005–06
West Bromwich Albion
*
Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...
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 ...
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 ...