Karel Poborský facts for kids
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Poborský in 2012
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Karel Poborský | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 30 March 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | 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) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Benfica | 88 | (17) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Lazio | 46 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2005 | Sparta Prague | 86 | (25) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | České Budějovice | 26 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 414 | (98) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–2006 | Czech Republic | 118 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Karel Poborský (born March 30, 1972) is a famous Czech former professional football player. He was known for being a very skilled winger, a player who plays on the sides of the field. Poborský was especially good at controlling the ball and running fast.
He started and ended his club career at Dynamo České Budějovice. To honor him, his jersey number 8 was retired by the club. He also won the Czech First League titles with Slavia Prague and Sparta Prague. These are the two biggest football clubs in Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic.
Between playing for these Czech clubs, he won a Premier League title with Manchester United in England. 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 the Czech Republic's first-ever appearance at the FIFA World Cup. He also played in three European Championships. He was even named in the "Team of the Tournament" at UEFA Euro 1996 when he helped the Czech team reach the final.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out in Czech Football
Karel Poborský began his professional football journey with Dynamo České Budějovice in the 1991–92 season. In 1994, he moved to Viktoria Žižkov, another club in Prague. A year later, in 1995, he joined Slavia Prague, a big rival of Viktoria Žižkov.
During the 1995–96 season, Poborský helped Slavia Prague win the Czech First League title. He also played a key role in their journey to the semi-finals of the 1995–96 UEFA Cup, a major European competition.
Playing for Manchester United
After his great performance at UEFA Euro 1996, many players from the Czech national team moved to clubs outside the Czech Republic. Poborský had offers from big clubs like Liverpool and Lazio. However, in June 1996, he chose to join Manchester United in England for about £3.5 million.
He played his first game for Manchester United in the 1996 FA Charity Shield against Newcastle United. He came in as a substitute and helped his team win 4–0. In the 1996–97 season, Poborský won a Premier League title with Manchester United. He played in 22 league games and scored three goals. He also helped United reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, Europe's top club competition.
However, another talented player, David Beckham, became very popular at Manchester United. This meant Poborský played less often. In December 1997, after about a year and a half, Poborský left Manchester United.
Time in Portugal and Italy
In December 1997, Poborský moved to Benfica, a famous club in Portugal. He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract. He played for Benfica for three years. He left the club in early 2001.
In February 2001, Poborský joined the Italian club SS Lazio. He signed an 18-month contract. He scored his first goal for Lazio in a 5–3 win against Verona. On the last day of the 2001–02 season, Poborský scored two goals as Lazio beat Inter Milan 4–2. This result meant that Juventus won the league title instead of Inter Milan. Poborský left Lazio when his contract ended at the close of that season.
Back to the Czech Republic
In July 2002, Poborský returned to the Czech Republic. He joined Sparta Prague as a free agent, meaning no transfer fee was paid. He became the highest-paid footballer playing in the country at that time.
During his time at Sparta, the club 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 in a 4–0 victory. He officially retired from playing football on May 28, 2007. His last game was a 2–1 loss at home against Slavia Prague, another of his former 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 February 23, 1994. This was also the very first match for the Czech Republic's national team after Czechoslovakia split into two countries.
UEFA Euro 1996
Poborský played for the Czech Republic at UEFA Euro 1996. He was one of the best players in the whole tournament. After losing their first group match to Germany, Poborský made a great pass that led to a goal for his teammate Pavel Nedvěd in a 2–1 win against Italy.
In the knockout rounds, Poborský scored his first goal for the national team. He famously chipped the ball over the Portugal goalkeeper Vítor Baía. This amazing goal won the game 1–0 for the Czech Republic. This type of shot became known as his "trademark" move. In 2008, this 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 player fouled Poborský, leading to a penalty for the Czechs. Patrik Berger scored the penalty. However, Germany won the match 2–1 with a "golden goal" in extra time. The Czech Republic finished as runners-up. Poborský was given the "Man of the Match" award for his performance.
UEFA Euro 2000
Poborský was also part of the Czech team at UEFA Euro 2000. He scored his country's first goal of the tournament from a penalty kick against France. However, the Czech Republic lost that game 2–1 and was eliminated from the championship. In their final group game against Denmark, Poborský provided the pass that led to the first goal, and the Czechs won 2–0.
UEFA Euro 2004
Poborský played in UEFA Euro 2004 and was the top player for assists in the tournament, with four. In the opening match against Latvia, he helped set up Milan Baroš for the equalizing goal, and the Czech Republic won 2–1.
In their second group match against the Netherlands, the Dutch team took a 2–0 lead. But Poborský assisted the winning goal for the Czechs, scored by Vladimír Šmicer. The Czech Republic had already made it to the next round. 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 meant Germany was out of the competition.
In the quarter-finals, Poborský made two more assists as the Czech team beat Denmark 3–0. All the goals came in the second half. In the semi-finals, the Czech Republic 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.
Other International Games
Poborský was also part of the Czech national team for the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA 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 country, which was a record at the time.
Life After Playing Football
After he stopped playing, Poborský became the technical director for the Czech national team. He held this job 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 stepped down from this role in June 2013 because he was also busy as the chairman of his old club, Dynamo České Budějovice.
Personal Life
Karel Poborský has three children. In 2013, he moved to Prague. In 2016, Poborský had a serious brain infection. It made his face muscles paralyzed and made him very sensitive to light. He was in the hospital for three weeks but made a full recovery. He later said that if he had gone to the hospital one day later, he might not have survived. Poborský's nickname is Steve, named after a Canadian skier called Steve Podborski.
Honours
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
- 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
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
