Pavel Nedved - Biography

Last Editor: hamsterhero14				Pavel Nedved Biography -   Name : Pavel Nedved Date of Birth : August 30, 1972 Place of Birth : Cheb, Czech Republic Nationality : Czech Height : 177 cm Weight : 70 kg Profession : Soccer Player Club : Juventus FC Position : Attacking Midfielder [L, C]

Pavel Nedved Trivia -

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Pavel Nedved Detailed Biography -

Pavel Nedvěd NEHD-vyed (help·info) (born August 30, 1972 in Cheb, Czech Republic) is a Czech football player. Nedvěd is a star midfielder for Italian club powerhouse Juventus and for the Czech national team. 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 three with Juve. Nedvěd was part of the Czech national team which went to the final of Euro 96, eventually losing to winners Germany. Nedvěd's performance however did not go unnoticed and he transferred from Sparta Prague to Lazio in the Serie A in 1996. At Lazio Nedvěd won the Coppa Italia in 1997/98 and the final Cup Winners' Cup in 1999 against Real Mallorca. Nedvěd eventually moved to Juventus in 2001 for a fee of 41.2 million euros, as a replacement for Zinédine Zidane who had transferred to Spain's Real Madrid the same summer. He proved more than an adequate replacement for the Frenchman, his tremendous workrate and guile playing an integral part in Juventus' scudetto-winning teams of 2001/02, 2002/03 and 2004/05. 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 McManaman. At the end of the year, he won the European Footballer of the Year award. By the time of his first retirement from international football, 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's 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. He came out of international retirement to play for the Czechs in their World Cup qualifying playoff against Norway in November 2005. The Czechs won both legs 1-0, first in Oslo and then in Prague, to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Since this will be the first World Cup appearance for the Czech team since the partition of Czechoslovakia, it is quite likely that Nedvěd will choose to remain available for selection for the finals in Germany. 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.