Most famous for his years in Italy, Pavel Nedved was undoubtably one of the greatest players of his generation. Born in Czechoslovakia, it was in his nation’s capital where he started his professional footballing career for Sparta Prague and after an extremely set of eye catching performances in Euro 96 he was a hot European property. Nedved had allegedly already verbally pre-agreed to sign for Dutch side PSV when Lazio came in and highjacked the bid.
Nedved’s time at Lazio brought him much success; he won the Coppa Italia as well as the Supercoppa twice, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and the UEFA Super cup along with one Serie A title. Following his 5 years at Lazio he moved for a giant transfer fee to Juventus in 2001. It was at this club where he really flourished as a super star.
A young Nedved celebrates with teammates
He picked up the number 11 jersey at Juventus after his reported £26m move from the Italian capital. Pavel had some big boots to fill upon arrival as the money from his transfer came from the sale of a certain Zinadine Zidane who had just left for Madrid.
Nedved’s ability was clear for all to see, he was seemingly ambidextrous – able to score wonderful goals with both feet, effortlessly. He was a player who gave his whole heart to his team, he would run himself into the ground for his teammates and the fans knew this. Nedved did not disappoint after putting on the bianconero of Juventus, he filled in for Zidane both on and off the pitch. Not to say that the fans did not care that they no longer had the frenchman but Nedved was more than a suitable replacement. He won the Scudetto in his first year and he, along with the club, went from strength to strength. In his time in Turin he won titles and missed out on winning the Champions League after Juventus lost on penalties to Milan and he was suspended for the final so had to painfully watch on as he team lost. It was a shame as the game was flat and dull, a player with his ability would have had the potential to change the entire outcome of the match.
Nedved won the prestigious Pallon d’Or in 2003 after the season where he helped Juventus get to the Champions League final and deservedly so. He beat Theirry Henry and Paolo Maldini who were runners up that year, just to put it into perspective if you are somehow unfamiliar with Nedved and his talents.
After the Calciopoli scandal broke and Juventus were relegated in 2006 many stars of that team jumped ship. Pavel was one of the noble few, he stated that he would not be leaving and would help Juventus return to Serie A. When Mourinho took over at Inter he expressed his desire to have Pavel Nedved in his team at Inter but he was not able to convince the Czech star who said that “his heart would never let him play for Inter.” He was fiercely loyal to the Old Lady and to her fans, the statement he released re Mou’s interest in him just certified exactly how devoted he was to the club. Juventus won promotion back to Serie A the following year despite having started with a points deduction on top the punishment of being relegated. He played for another two seasons before Juventus before announcing that he would retire from the game to spend more time with his family. He retired with the ability to play on for another two years at top level, at least.
Nedved’s last game was the perfect setting to bow out on; the game was at Stadio Degli Alpi against his former club, Lazio. As a mark of respect from the club he was given the captains armband for the final game and was substituted just before the end, he received an emotional standing ovation from both sets of fans. A perfect end for a superb footballer. Below, watch a superb video compilation of his great career and an emphatic exit.
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