Pavel Nedvěd (born 30 August 1972) is a Czech retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Described as one of the best footballers of his generation, he is also regarded as one of the most successful players to emerge from the Czech Republic,[1] winning domestic and European accolades with Italian clubs Lazio, including the last Cup Winners' Cup, and Juventus, whom he led to the 2003 UEFA Champions League Final.
Nedvěd was a key member of the Czech team which reached the final of Euro 1996, during which he attracted international attention. He also captained the national team at UEFA Euro 2004, where they were defeated in the semi-final by eventual champions Greece, and Nedvěd was named as part of the Team of the Tournament. Furthermore, Nedvěd helped his team qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since the breakup of Czechoslovakia. Due to his performances, as well as his quick and energetic runs during matches, Nedvěd was nicknamed "Furia Ceca" ("Czech Fury") by Italian fans and "The Czech cannon" in English-language media. His nickname in Czech is Méďa[2] ("Little Bear"), stemming from the similarity between his surname and the Czech word for bear, Medvěd.Winning the Ballon d'Or as European Footballer of the Year in 2003, Nedvěd was the second Czech player to receive the honour and the first since the breakup of Czechoslovakia. During his career Nedvěd received a number of other individual awards, including the second Golden Foot award in 2004, Czech Footballer of the Year (four times) and the Golden Ball (six times). He was also named by Pelé as one of the FIFA 100, and was placed in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2003, 2004, and 2005. He retired following the 2008–09 season, after a 19-year professional career. Nedvěd played 501 league matches at club level (scoring 110 goals), and was capped 91 times for the Czech Republic (scoring 18 times).
After five seasons with Lazio, Nedvěd was speculatively linked to several clubs (including Manchester United and Chelsea)[32][33] before moving to Juventus in July 2001 for 75 billion lire (€38.7 million by fixed exchange rate).[34][35][36] At Juventus, he replaced Zinedine Zidane, who had transferred to Real Madrid that summer.[37] Nedvěd was a regular on Juventus' 2001–02 and 2002–03 Scudetto-winning teams.[38] Although he was a substantial part of the club's championship season in 2003, he was also the subject of controversy. Nedvěd quit the Italian Footballers' Association in protest of the union's limit on non-European Union (EU) players;[39] his native Czech Republic did not become an EU member until 2004.[40] Although he was instrumental in leading Juventus to the 2003 UEFA Champions League final against Milan,[41] he had to sit out the final due to an accumulation of yellow cards after his semi-final booking for a foul on Real Madrid midfielder Steve McManaman.[42]
In December 2003, Nedvěd was named World Footballer of the Year by World Soccer magazine.[43] Later that month, he won the European Footballer of the Year award over Thierry Henry and Paolo Maldini, the second Czech to win the award after Josef Masopust in 1962.[44] Nedvěd received further recognition in his home country when he won the 2004 Golden Ball, awarded by Czech sportswriters, for the fifth time in seven years.[45]
The 2004–05 season was frustrating for the midfielder, who was sidelined for two months by knee and head injuries[46] and first considered retirement in April 2005.[46] Although Juventus won Serie A titles that year and in 2006, the titles were revoked after the Calciopoli match fixing scandal. After the 2005–06 season, which ended with Juventus' relegation from Serie A despite its first-place finish,[47] many stars (such as Fabio Cannavaro and Lilian Thuram) left the club and the remaining players' future was uncertain.[48] After the 2006 World Cup, Nedvěd dispelled rumours about his departure by reiterating his desire to help Juventus regain promotion to Serie A, citing his family and his commitment to the club as reasons for his decision.[41] He received a five-match ban after a red card against Genoa in December 2006,[49] and repeated his threat to retire.[50] However, he remained with the club until the end of the season and scored 11 league goals in the 2006–07 Serie B.[38]
Nedvěd scored Juventus' first league goal of the 2008–09 season in a 1–1 away draw with Fiorentina,[53] and scored twice against Bologna in a 2–1 away win in October.[53] On 26 February 2009, Nedvěd announced he would retire at the end of 2008–09 season[54][55] to spend more time with his family.[56] On 10 March 2009, he was substituted due to injury after 12 minutes of the Champions League round of 16 second leg match against Chelsea.[57] Due to his impending retirement and his club's 3–2 loss on aggregate, it was his last European match for Juventus. Nedvěd retired at the end of the season, captaining the final match against former team Lazio and setting up Vincenzo Iaquinta's goal for a 2–0 victory.
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