Zdeněk Grygera (; born 14 May 1980) 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 defender. He spent his early professional football career in the Czech Republic before moving abroad to play for

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

in the Netherlands,

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in Italy and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

in England. Grygera also represented the Czech Republic national football team at two UEFA European Championships (2004 and 2008) as well as the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

Club career

Early club career

Grygera began his career at Petra Drnovice before moving to Sparta Prague. Oslavy Ajaxu

In July 2003, Grygera was signed by Dutch club

for an undisclosed fee, estimated to be around €3.5 million. His first goal came for the club came in September 2004, a 5–0 thrashing away at

Den Bosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

. He soon became a fan favorite, especially after scoring against bitter rivals

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

in the April '' Klassieker''. On 10 January 2007, Ajax Technical Director Martin van Geel announced that Grygera left

on a Bosman transfer when his contract with Ajax expired in June 2007. He was supposed to transfer after the

, but the '' Calciopoli'' scandal prevented him from doing so. On 18 April 2019, Grygera scored a last-gasp equalizer in the club's Derby d'Italia fixture against rivals Internazionale on 18 April 2009.

Fulham

In summer 2011, Grygera still had one year left to run on his contract at Juventus, but it was rescinded by mutual consent the same year on 30 August. The following day, he joined

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

. He received the number 26 jersey and made his Fulham debut on 15 September 2011 in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

against Twente. Grygera suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture during a league match against Tottenham Hotspur on 6 November 2011, which kept him out for the rest of the season. Grygera's contract with Fulham was up for renewal at the end of the 2011–12 season. Manager

Martin Jol Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol (born 16 January 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. He played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany and England, as well as earning three caps wi ...

said: "Hopefully he can prove himself before the end of August. If he proves he's, fit I would like to keep him." On 6 December 2012, Jol confirmed that Grygera had decided to retire from football to concentrate instead on returning to full fitness.

International career

Grygera was part of the which won the UEFA U-21 Championships in 2002. In 2001, he debuted for the senior squad during 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 ...

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 ...

. At the

, Grygera's run and cross set up the opening goal for

Jan Koller Jan Koller (; born 30 March 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was noted for his height, strong physique and heading ability. He began his career at Sparta Prague, then moved to Belgium, where he beca ...

in the Czechs' first match against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, which they 3–0. At

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

Grygera was involved in a rough challenge with

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

striker Alexander Frei during the first half of the tournament's opening game, which tore Frei's knee ligaments and forced the person out for the rest of the tournament.

Style of play

Grygera was known for his work-rate, competitiveness, and versatility, and usually played as a full-back, wing-back, or winger along right flank, although he was also capable of playing on the left, or as a

centre-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 ...

; while being solid defensively, he was also known for his ability to get forward and for his all-round good quality of play.

Honours

Sparta Prague *

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 ...

: 2000–01, 2002–03 Ajax *

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

: 2003–04 *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 2005–06, 2006–07 * Johan Cruijff Shield:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

References

External links

* *
Premier League profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grygera, Zdenek 1980 births Living people People from Přílepy (Kroměříž District) 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 Men's association football defenders FC Zlín players AC Sparta Prague players AFC Ajax players Juventus FC players Fulham F.C. players Czech First League players Eredivisie players Serie A players Premier League players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players Czech expatriate men's footballers Czech expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Czech expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Czech expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 1. FK Drnovice players Footballers from the Zlín Region 21st-century Czech sportsmen