Jan Koller facts for kids
Koller in a charity match, December 2019
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jan Koller | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 30 March 1973 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Prague, Czechoslovakia | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1989 | TJ Smetanova Lhota | |||||||||||||||
| 1989–1994 | ZVVZ Milevsko | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Sparta Prague | 29 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | Lokeren | 97 | (43) | |||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Anderlecht | 65 | (42) | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2006 | Borussia Dortmund | 138 | (59) | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Monaco | 50 | (12) | |||||||||||||
| 2008 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 14 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Krylia Sovetov | 46 | (16) | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Cannes | 44 | (20) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 483 | (199) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Czech Republic U21 | 3 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 1999–2009 | Czech Republic | 91 | (55) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Jan Koller is a famous former footballer from the Czech Republic. He was born on March 30, 1973. Jan Koller played as a striker, which means he was usually trying to score goals.
He was known for being very tall and strong. This helped him be great at heading the ball. Jan Koller started his career in the Czech Republic. Then he moved to Belgium, where he became a top scorer. He won league titles with Anderlecht.
In 2001, he joined Borussia Dortmund in Germany. There, he helped them win the Bundesliga title. He scored many goals for the team. Jan Koller is also the all-time top scorer for the Czech Republic national team. He scored 55 goals in 91 games. He played for his country in three European Championships and one World Cup.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting His Football Journey
Jan Koller actually started playing football as a goalkeeper. But he later became a striker. He began his professional career with Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic. His first game for Sparta was in 1995.
In 1996, a Belgian club called Lokeren noticed him. They signed him for about €102,000.
Success in Belgium with Anderlecht
Jan Koller played well for three years at Lokeren. In his last season there, he was the top scorer in the Belgian First Division. After that, he joined another Belgian club, Anderlecht.
He quickly became a key player for Anderlecht. He formed a strong team with Canadian striker Tomasz Radzinski. In 2000, he won the Belgian Golden Shoe award. This award goes to the best player in the Belgian league. After his time at Anderlecht, he moved to Germany to play for Borussia Dortmund.
Winning Titles with Borussia Dortmund
While Jan Koller was at Dortmund, his team won the 2001–02 Bundesliga title. He scored 11 goals that season, which helped a lot. He also helped Dortmund reach the final of the 2002 UEFA Cup Final. He scored a goal in that game, but his team lost 3–2.
In the 2002–03 season, Jan Koller showed his old goalkeeper skills. In a game against Bayern Munich, Dortmund's goalkeeper got a red card. Since Dortmund had already used all their substitutions, Koller had to become the goalkeeper. He had already scored a goal as a striker in that game. He played as a goalkeeper for the rest of the match and stopped Bayern from scoring. He was even named the top goalkeeper of the week by a sports magazine!
Playing for Monaco and Nürnberg
In 2006, Jan Koller moved to France to play for Monaco. He played there for two seasons. Even though he scored some goals, his time there was not as successful as he hoped.
After Monaco, he returned to Germany to play for 1. FC Nürnberg. He joined other Czech players there. However, the team had a tough season and was moved down to a lower league. Koller scored two goals in 14 games for Nürnberg.
Later Career and Retirement
In 2008, Jan Koller moved to Russia to play for Krylia Sovetov Samara. He played there for a couple of years.
In December 2009, he went back to France to join Cannes. He played for Cannes until June 2011. In August 2011, Jan Koller announced that he was retiring from football. He had faced several injuries, which led to his decision.
International Career for the Czech Republic
Jan Koller played his first game for the Czech Republic on February 9, 1999. It was a friendly match against Belgium, and he scored the only goal.
He became the all-time top scorer for the Czech Republic on June 8, 2005. In a game against Macedonia, he scored four goals in just 11 minutes! This brought his total to 39 goals, making him the record holder.
After the Euro 2008 tournament, Koller said he would retire from the national team. However, in July 2009, he decided to come back to help the team. This was because they were not doing well in the World Cup qualifiers. He played in one more game, but then retired from international football again on September 6, 2009.
How Jan Koller Played
Jan Koller was famous for his height and strength. People often called him a "towering forward" or a "human lighthouse" because he was so tall. He was also very good at heading the ball. Because of his large size, his nickname throughout his career was Dino.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Sparta Prague | 1994–95 | Czech First League | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 1995–96 | Czech First League | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | 30 | 5 | |||
| Total | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 36 | 6 | – | ||
| Lokeren | 1996–97 | Belgian First Division | 31 | 8 | — | — | — | 31 | 8 | ||||
| 1997–98 | Belgian First Division | 33 | 11 | — | — | — | 33 | 11 | |||||
| 1998–99 | Belgian First Division | 33 | 24 | 5 | 3 | — | — | 38 | 27 | ||||
| Total | 97 | 43 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 46 | – | ||
| Anderlecht | 1999–2000 | Belgian First Division | 33 | 20 | 12 | 10 | — | 4 | 3 | 49 | 33 | ||
| 2000–01 | Belgian First Division | 32 | 22 | 5 | 2 | — | 16 | 7 | 53 | 31 | |||
| Total | 65 | 42 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 102 | 64 | – | ||
| Borussia Dortmund | 2001–02 | Bundesliga | 33 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 49 | 17 | |
| 2002–03 | Bundesliga | 34 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 48 | 22 | ||
| 2003–04 | Bundesliga | 32 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 42 | 19 | ||
| 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 30 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 33 | 16 | |||
| 2005–06 | Bundesliga | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | ||
| Total | 138 | 59 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 14 | 182 | 79 | – | ||
| Monaco | 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 4 | |||
| Total | 50 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 12 | – | ||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2007–08 | Bundesliga | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
| Krylia Sovetov Samara | 2008 | Russian Premier League | 18 | 7 | — | — | 18 | 7 | |||||
| 2009 | Russian Premier League | 28 | 9 | — | — | 28 | 9 | ||||||
| Total | 46 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 16 | – | ||||
| Cannes | 2009–10 | Championnat National | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 4 | |||
| 2010–11 | Championnat National | 29 | 16 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 16 | ||||
| Total | 44 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 20 | – | ||
| Career total | 483 | 199 | 33 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 62 | 25 | 586 | 245 | – | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | 1999 | 10 | 9 |
| 2000 | 11 | 6 | |
| 2001 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 9 | 5 | |
| 2003 | 9 | 7 | |
| 2004 | 14 | 6 | |
| 2005 | 6 | 7 | |
| 2006 | 8 | 7 | |
| 2007 | 9 | 4 | |
| 2008 | 7 | 4 | |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 91 | 55 |
Honours and Awards
Sparta Prague
- Czech First League: 1994–95
- Czech Cup: 1995–96
Anderlecht
- Belgian First Division: 1999–2000, 2000–01
- Belgian Supercup: 2000
Borussia Dortmund
- Bundesliga: 2001–02
Individual Awards
- Belgian Pro League top scorer: 1998–99
- Czech Footballer of the Year: 1999
- Belgian Golden Shoe: 2000
See also
In Spanish: Jan Koller para niños
