Karel Poborský facts for kids

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Karel Poborský

Poborský in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Karel Poborský
Date of birth	(1972-03-30) 30 March 1972 (age 53)
Place of birth	Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
1978–1984	TJ Třeboň
1984–1987	České Budějovice
1987–1988	Jiskra Třeboň
1988–1990	České Budějovice
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1994	České Budějovice	82	(15)
1994–1995	Viktoria Žižkov	28	(10)
1995–1996	Slavia Prague	26	(11)
1996–1997	Manchester United	32	(5)
1997–2000	Benfica	88	(17)
2001–2002	Lazio	46	(5)
2002–2005	Sparta Prague	86	(25)
2006–2007	České Budějovice	26	(10)
Total		414	(98)
International career
1994–2006	Czech Republic	118	(8)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Czech Republic UEFA European Championship Runner-up 1996 England Bronze 2004 Portugal FIFA Confederations Cup Third 1997 Saudi Arabia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Karel Poborský (born 30 March 1972) is a famous Czech former professional association football player. He played as a winger, which means he played on the sides of the field. People knew him for his amazing skills with the ball and how fast he was.

Poborský started and finished his club career at Dynamo České Budějovice. His jersey number 8 was even retired there to honor him! He also won league titles in the Czech First League with Slavia and Sparta, which are two of the biggest clubs in Prague. In between these wins, he played for Manchester United and won a Premier League title. He also played for Benfica in Portugal and Lazio in Italy.

Karel Poborský is second only to Petr Čech in the number of games played for the Czech national team. He played 118 times for his country between 1994 and 2006. He stopped playing for the national team after their first World Cup appearance. He also played in three European Championships. He was even named in the Team of the Tournament at UEFA Euro 1996 after helping the Czech team reach the final.

Club Career Highlights

Starting Out in Football

Karel Poborský played his first top-level game for Dynamo České Budějovice in the 1991–92 season. In 1994, he moved to Viktoria Žižkov in Prague. A year later, in 1995, he joined their local rivals, Slavia Prague.

During the 1995–96 season, Poborský helped Slavia Prague win the Czech First League title. He also helped them reach the semi-finals of the 1995–96 UEFA Cup, which is a big European competition.

Playing for Manchester United

After his great performance at UEFA Euro 1996, many players from the Czech team moved to play for clubs in other countries. Karel Poborský had offers from big clubs like Liverpool and Lazio. But in June 1996, he decided to join Manchester United in England. The transfer fee was £3.5 million.

He played his first game for Manchester United in the 1996 FA Charity Shield against Newcastle United. He came on as a substitute and helped his team win 4–0. Poborský also won a Premier League title with Manchester United in the 1996–97 season. He played in 22 league games and scored three goals that season. He also helped United reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, another very important European competition.

Karel Poborský stayed at Manchester United for about a year and a half. He left in December 1997 because David Beckham was becoming a huge star and played in the same position. Poborský had only started six games that season. His last game for United was on 26 December, when he came on as a substitute against Everton.

Time with Benfica and Lazio

In December 1997, Poborský moved to the Portuguese team Benfica. He signed a contract for three and a half years. He played for Benfica for three years. He left the club shortly after a new manager, Toni Oliveira, took over in December 2000.

In February 2001, Poborský joined the Italian team SS Lazio. He signed an 18-month contract. He scored his first goal for Lazio in a 5–3 win against Verona on 25 February 2001. On the very last day of the 2001–02 Serie A season, Poborský scored two goals as Lazio beat Inter Milan 4–2. This win meant that Juventus won the league title instead of Inter Milan. He left Lazio when his contract ended at the end of that season.

Coming Back to the Czech Republic

In July 2002, Poborský returned to the Czech Republic. He signed with Sparta Prague as a free agent, meaning they didn't have to pay a transfer fee. He became the highest-paid footballer playing in the country at that time.

While at Sparta, his team won the league championships in the 2002–03 and 2004–05 seasons. They also won the national cup in 2003–04.

In 2005, he went back to his very first club, Dynamo České Budějovice. In his first match back, he scored two goals and helped set up another. His team won 4–0 against Sigma Olomouc B. He officially retired from playing football on 28 May 2007. His final match was a 2–1 loss at home against Slavia Prague, another one of his old teams. Dynamo České Budějovice, where Poborský was also a co-owner, retired his number-8 jersey to honor him.

International Career

Karel Poborský's first game for his country was against Turkey on 23 February 1994. This was also the very first match for the Czech Republic's national team after Czechoslovakia split up.

Euro 96 Success

Poborský played for his country at Euro 96. He was one of the best players in the whole tournament. After losing their first group match against Germany, Poborský made a great cross that led to a goal for his teammate Pavel Nedvěd. This helped them win 2–1 against Italy.

In the knockout stages, Poborský scored his first goal for the national team. He chipped the ball over Portugal's goalkeeper Vítor Baía. This amazing goal won the game for the Czech Republic 1–0. This type of shot became his special move. In 2008, Poborský's 1996 chip goal was voted the best individual goal in a poll on UEFA's official website.

In the semi-final against France, the game ended 0–0. Poborský was one of the players who scored in the penalty shootout, which the Czech Republic won. In the final, a German defender fouled Poborský, and Patrik Berger scored from the penalty kick. Germany ended up winning the match 2–1 with a "golden goal," which meant the game ended immediately. The Czech Republic finished as runners-up. Poborský was given the Man of the Match award for his performance.

Euro 2000 and 2004

Poborský was also part of the Czech team at Euro 2000. He scored his country's first goal of the tournament from a penalty kick against France. However, they lost that game 2–1, which meant the Czech team was out of the championship. In their last group game against Denmark, Poborský passed the ball to Vladimír Šmicer, who scored the first goal in a 2–0 win.

Poborský played at Euro 2004 and gave four assists, which was the most in the tournament. In their first match against Latvia, he helped set up a goal for Milan Baroš to tie the game at 1–1. The Czech Republic then won 2–1. In their second group match against the Netherlands, the Dutch team was leading 2–0. But Poborský assisted the winning goal for the Czechs, scored by Vladimír Šmicer. The Czech Republic had already made it to the next stage. Poborský and eight other players were rested for the final group match against Germany. He came on as a substitute and the Czechs won 2–1, which knocked Germany out of the competition.

In the quarter-finals, Poborský provided two more assists as the Czech team beat Denmark 3–0. All the goals came in the second half. He helped Jan Koller score from a corner kick and then passed to Milan Baroš, who scored twice. In the semi-finals, Czechia played against Greece. This was Poborský's 99th game for his national team. Even though Poborský created chances, the Czech Republic couldn't score and lost the match after Greece scored a "silver goal" in extra time.

Other International Games

Poborský was also on the Czech national team for the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 World Cup. After the 2006 World Cup, he announced he was retiring from international football. He had scored eight goals and played 118 games for his national team, which was a record at the time.

Life After Playing Football

After he stopped playing, Karel Poborský became the technical director for the Czech national team. He worked in this role for almost two years, leaving in April 2009. In 2011, Poborský became the chairman of a new group called the Czech Association of Football Players. He left this role in June 2013 because he was also busy as the chairman of Dynamo České Budějovice.

Personal Life

Karel Poborský has three children, two from his first marriage and another daughter. In 2013, he moved to Prague. In 2016, Poborský had a serious health issue but made a full recovery after spending three weeks in the hospital. His nickname is Steve, which comes from a Canadian skier named Steve Podborski.

Career Statistics

International Goals

List of international goals scored by Karel Poborský

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	23 June 1996	Villa Park, Birmingham	Portugal	1–0	1–0	Euro 1996
2	8 September 1999	Na Stínadlech, Teplice	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3–0	3–0	Euro 2000 qualifying
3	16 June 2000	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges	France	1–1	1–2	Euro 2000
4	2 September 2000	Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Sofia	Bulgaria	1–0	1–0	2002 World Cup qualification
5	16 October 2002	Na Stínadlech, Teplice	Belarus	1–0	2–0	Euro 2004 qualifying
6	10 September 2003	Toyota Arena, Prague	Netherlands	2–0	3–1	Euro 2004 qualifying
7	15 November 2003	Na Stínadlech, Teplice	Canada	3–0	5–1	Friendly
8	1 March 2006	İzmir Atatürk Stadium, İzmir	Turkey	1–0	2–2	Friendly

Awards and Achievements

Slavia Prague

• Czech First League: 1995–96

Manchester United

• Premier League: 1996–97
• FA Charity Shield: 1996

Sparta Prague

• Czech First League: 2002–03, 2004–05
• Czech Cup: 2003–04

Czech Republic National Team

• UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1996
• FIFA Confederations Cup third place: 1997

Individual Awards

• Czech Footballer of the Year: 1996 (shared with Patrik Berger)
• UEFA Team of the Tournament: UEFA Euro 1996
• UEFA European Championship top assist provider: 1996 (3 assists, shared with Youri Djorkaeff), 2004 (4 assists)
• Czech Footballer of the Year personality of the Czech First League: 2003, 2004, 2005

See also

In Spanish: Karel Poborský para niños