Pavel Nedved
|
|
Pavel Nedvěd Template:Audio (born August 30, 1972 in Cheb, Czech Republic) is a Czech football player. Nedvěd is a star midfielder for Italian club power Juventus and, until recently, for the Czech national team.
Nedvěd helped lead Juventus into the 2003 Champions League final against AC Milan, but was forced to sit out the final because of accumulated yellow cards after being booked in the semifinal for tackling Real Madrid Midfielder Steve McMannaman. At the end of the year, he won the European Footballer of the Year award. Before joining Juventus, Nedvěd played for Dukla Prague (1991-92), Sparta Prague (1992-96), and Lazio (1996-2001). He won one scudetto with Lazio and two with Juve.
By the end of his international career, Nedvěd was captain of the Czech national team. In the Euro 2004 semi-final against Greece, Nedvěd was injured when he slammed his knee into a Greek player while jumping for the ball. Though he played for a time after, he was eventually replaced by Vladimír Šmicer. Some observers of the match considered Nedvěd injury to be a key factor in the Czechs' loss. The injury also led him to retire from the national team in September 2004. Nedvěd had scored 18 goals in 73 games for the Czechs and played for his country at Euro 96, Euro 2000, and Euro 2004.
Nedvěd is a dedicated, hard-working player. He is typically the heartbeat of any team on which he plays, often taking the leadership in the locker room to inspire his teammates during halftime. He is said to be considering setting up his own football academy in his home country when he retires from football.
He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.