BIOGRAPHY
Pavel Nedved born 30 August 1972 in Cheb is a retired Czech former football midfielder. He is one of the most successful Czech players to have played in a top European league, winning numerous accolades with Lazio and Juventus. Widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the modern era, he was the recipient of the prestigious Ballon d'Or, the first Czech player since the break up of Czechoslovakia, in 2003 while at Juventus. He is known for his energy and tireless runs, hence his nickname Furia Ceca ("The Czech Fury", an Italian wordplay with Furia Cieca meaning "Blind Fury" instead) amongst Juve fans, as well as his goal scoring ability.
Nedvěd retired after the 2008–09 season after 19 years as a professional.
Nedvěd debuted for the newly reformed Czech national team in June 1994 in a 3–1 win over the Republic of Ireland. His big break came at the UEFA Euro 1996 tournament, where he was the driving force behind the Czechs' run to the final. He continued to be a regular in midfield and captained the Czech Republic from 2000 onwards. He initially retired from the national team in 2004 following the semifinal defeat to Greece at the Euro 2004 [6] but, after much persuasion from coach Karel Brückner and the team-mates, decided to come out of international retirement just in time for the qualification playoffs against Norway. In Nedvěd and his country's first ever World Cup match since the break-up of Czechoslovakia the Czechs impressively won 3-0 in their opening game against the United States, but suffered injuries to key players and lost their next two group matches against Ghana and eventual winners Italy, finishing third in their group. Nedvěd had several attempts at goal against Italy but they were saved by Juventus team-mate Gianluigi Buffon. Nedvěd announced his retirement permanently after the tournament and refused to reverse his decision despite calls from team-mates and former coach Karel Brückner prior to the Euro 2008.
Nedved married his girlfriend Ivana when he was 21, and the couple have two children who carry their same names: Ivana and Pavel. He holds a qualified surveyor diploma. He was contracted to Uhlsport, but changed his sportswear favourite to Adidas.
Personal information
Date of birth: 30 August 1972 (1972-08-30) (age 38)
Place of birth: Cheb, Czechoslovakia
Height: 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position: Left winger
Attacking: midfielder
Youth career
1977–1985 TJ Skalná
1985–1986 RH Cheb
1986–1990 Škoda Plzeň
1990–1991 VTJ Tábor
Senior career*
1991–1992 Dukla Prague 19 (3 Gol))
1993–1996 Sparta Prague 98 (23)
1996–2001 Lazio 138 (33)
2001–2009 Juventus 244 (51)
Total 502 (110 GOL)
National team‡
1994–2006 Czech Republic 91 (18)
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