PAVEL NEDVED

TEAMS PLAYED FOR
 
Juventus (Italy): 2001 – 2009
Lazio (Italy): 1996 – 2001
Sparta Praha (Czech Republic): 1992 – 1996
Dukla Praha (Czech Republic): 1991 - 1992

BIO

Pavel Nedved was born on August 30, 1972 in Cheb, Czech Republic.  When Pavel was 7 years old, his parents took him to a soccer school not far from his house.  Throughout his childhood Nedved played for a few local teams.  When he turned 17, his talent was noticed by one of the scouts from the team called “Victoria” from Plzen.  Plzen was located 100 miles away from his home town; therefore it took a while for the scouts to persuade his parents to let him go. His parents were sad that their son left the house and his father, Vatslav, would come to visit his son once a week.  He would always bring two bags with him, one full of food and another one clean clothes.  Unlike other parents who would take their children home for the weekend, Pavel’s father never did that.  Being a handyman, he simply had no money to pay for his son’s ticket.  Thinking about this today, it is hard to believe considering the fact that Pavel made over $100,000 a week in his soccer career. 

CLUB CAREER

At Dukla, Nedved was fast to make an impression and he only needed a single season at their youth club to convince the senior squad's coach that he is worthy for a place with the big boys. Although today Dukla is not the biggest club in Czech league, back in 70’s this was the team to beat.  During that time period, Dukla won numerous trophies and was the most popular team in the country. 
Nedved's time with Dukla was short however, as he only played one season with the club, before being offered by another Czech giant, Sparta Praha. 
Sparta is where Nedved was able to really develop his enthusiastic style of play.  After playing for the team for 4 seasons Pavel Nedved signed a contract with Italian club Lazio.
Despite winning two trophies with his new club, namely the Italian Cup in 1998 and the Cup Winners Cup in 1999, Lazio was still a team that couldn't fight for the league or Champions League, so when Juventus made a 41 million euros offer to Lazio for Nedved, neither the club (who had some financial problems), nor the Czech player could refuse.
Before Nedved came to Juventus, he was considered a quality midfielder, but no one really thought of him as a super star. For most Italians, he was just another foreigner playing for a mid-table team like Lazio was at that time. His move to Juventus and his first seasons there certified the fact that he is indeed a quality player, but even more, the move established him as an international star and leader of the team. 

NATIONAL TEAM CAREER

       

Nedved debuted for Czech Republic team in 1994 in a 3-1 win over the Republic of Ireland.  His big break came during 1996 Euro competition when he was the main driving force behind the Czech’s run to the final.  All together, Pavel played 91 games for his country and scored 18 goals.  He retired from the international soccer after 2006 World Cup.

PERSONAL INFO

Pavel Nedved is married to his long-time girlfriend Ivana and they have two children. Nedved is good at mathematics and holds a geometry diploma.  Catholic, loves going to church.

       

TITLES AND AWARDS

Sparta Prague

Czech League: 1993

Czech Gambrinus Liga: 1994, 1995

Czech Football Cup: 1996

Lazio

Serie A: 2000

Coppa Italia: 1998, 2000

Supercoppa Italiana: 1998, 2000

UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1999

UEFA Super Cup: 1999

Juventus

Serie A: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006

Supercoppa Italiana: 2002, 2003

Serie B: 2007

UEFA Champions League (runner-up): 2003

Coppa Italia (runner-up): 2004

International

UEFA European Championship (runner-up): 1996

UEFA European Championship (third place): 2004

Ballon d’Or: 2003

FIFA 100