Pavel Nedvěd’s journey from Czech Republic to Juventus and Turin
Pavel Nedvěd describes the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 as “perfect timing.” The former Juventus FC midfielder was then only 17 and living in Prague. The wall signified a barrier to any kind of meaningful future, even for a footballer of his talents.
“It was the right moment for me, perfect for my career,” quips Nedvěd but there is a good dose of truth in his words. Before then, players in his native Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia) needed to be over 32 and play a consistent number of games with the national team before they could move abroad. Very few, in fact, were able to do so.
Only days after the wall’s demolition, Nedvěd remembers how Czechs took to the streets for non-violent demonstrations, which eventually led to the first democratic elections in the country. “We went with our keys in our hands, shook them to make noise so that (the regime) would understand that it was time for them to go,” says Nedvěd. “We fought for liberty and freedom of expression, which are now granted but before were not allowed,” he adds.
Czechoslovakia was dissolved and a few years later, in 1996, Nedvěd and his wife, Ivana, left their years under a communist regime behind them to move to Italy, where they have stayed.
“Back then I considered the Italian field too tough. I was 23 and had never been abroad. Italy’s championship was too hard . . . it seemed too much for me,” he recalls. The Czech football coach, Zdeněk Zeman, who then managed Lazio in Rome, soon convinced the hesitant young footballer to take the risk and brought him into his team.
Moving to Italy was far from easy and his first experience of Rome, a very loud and bustling city, was “a real shock”. The language barrier posed a huge problem initially and every step seemed an insurmountable obstacle.
Nedvěd remembers all the bureaucracy and the endless documents needed for non-EU citizens to acquire their residency in Rome. Another vivid memory of their first months were the unintelligible doctor’s appointments for his wife, pregnant with their first daughter.
“I thought: ‘Where have we ended up?’” he says, recalling the confusion he felt and the cultural gulf between Italy and the country in which they had grown up. But Italians always offered a helping hand and were always “friendly and smiling”. Nedvěd was very struck by how different the Italians were to the Czechs. He finds his compatriots “closed and timid by nature,” where the Italians are “sunny by nature”.
In 2001, after several years in Rome, Nedvěd was invited to play for Juventus, so he moved with his family — now four in number — to Turin, in the northwest of Italy. He found the city more tranquil and better suited to his personality, and the people somehow closer in temperament to the Czechs.
Moving to Turin was much easier: his Italian was much better, and there were fewer doctor appointments to navigate.
From his home just outside the city, in the lush park of La Mandria and overlooking a golf course, Nedvěd can see the snow-capped peaks of the Alps.
Nedved has always sought out homes immersed in nature — he says it takes him back to the woods and fruit groves just outside Skalná where he grew up and used to run around and steal fruit with his best friend Tomáŝ.
“Living in the woods is part of my origins, it’s like when I was a kid,” he says.
His love of nature laid the foundation for a key friendship in his life. During his first months in Turin, he received a call from a shocked Ivana, telling him that a man had come through the back door, introduced himself and was sitting at the kitchen table. After Ivana described him to Pavel, he told his wife to welcome the stranger and make him a coffee.
The “intruder” was Umberto Agnelli, the industrialist, former chief executive of Fiat and chairman of Juventus, who lived close by. Over the years, Agnelli became an important figure in Nedvěd’s life, on a personal and professional level.
“He loved walking in the woods around here and popped in any moment after his walks. He considered us part of his family, he helped me a lot, especially in our first years here,” he remembers.
Nedvěd admits that his life is far from that of the typical footballer — he frequently stays at home and shuns the spotlight. He talks a lot about his need for a “simple and normal life” and being “anchored.” He devotes most of his time to the family, his children and their school, and to the gym and playing golf.
He says his feet are firmly on the ground, thanks to his wife Ivana, whom he describes as a real pillar of strength.
His face lights up the most when he talks about his two children. Born and raised in Italy, Ivana and Pavel (named after their parents) feel Italian and go to an Italian school — though are forced by Nedvěd to sit the Czech school system exams. The bond of the family — “a true refuge” — is as important to Nedvěd as his work ethic — “working hard and sacrifices are natural in order to improve and obtain any sort of success, whether it’s football or a normal job”.
And football? “In no other country is football lived like it is in Italy, almost to the point of overkill. There is too much football on TV and in the papers, there is always talk about football during the week.”
In December 2003 he was named World Soccer player of the year and also won the Ballon d’Or as the European Footballer of the Year. He retired from football in August 2009 and is now a member of the Juventus board, chaired by Andrea Agnelli (Umberto’s son) who he defines as “a friend above all”.
“In Italy I have learnt a lot, I have matured both as a man and as a player. I have lived the best years of my career here,” he explains.
He says his last day in Italy may not be too far off but his future will be determined by his children’s education.
When looking back at his years in the country, Nedvěd says: “I will never find people like the Italians . . . there is this spontaneity, this living life with a smile, to its fullest,” he adds. To many Italians he is still “the Czech”, but maybe the reserved, self-disciplined man from Skalná is more Italian than he admits.
Inside Knowledge
Pros
● The discretion of the people of Turin
● Many green areas and parks
● Perfect place to bring up children
Cons
● An airport with few connections
● Too much bureaucracy in the country
● Italians talk too much about football
Favourite places
● A cup of coffee at Caval’d Brôns or Stratta, two historical cafés in the centre of Turin
● Running and golf at Royal Park I Roveri
● A visit to the Royal Palace of Venaria and Juventus’s stadium
● A city stroll, stopping in Piazza San Carlo
● Dinner at Argentine restaurant Volver
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/62be7a66-1c14-11e5-a130-2e7db721f996.html
Pavel Nedvěd describes the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 as “perfect timing.” The former Juventus FC midfielder was then only 17 and living in Prague. The wall signified a barrier to any kind of meaningful future, even for a footballer of his talents.
“It was the right moment for me, perfect for my career,” quips Nedvěd but there is a good dose of truth in his words. Before then, players in his native Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia) needed to be over 32 and play a consistent number of games with the national team before they could move abroad. Very few, in fact, were able to do so.
Only days after the wall’s demolition, Nedvěd remembers how Czechs took to the streets for non-violent demonstrations, which eventually led to the first democratic elections in the country. “We went with our keys in our hands, shook them to make noise so that (the regime) would understand that it was time for them to go,” says Nedvěd. “We fought for liberty and freedom of expression, which are now granted but before were not allowed,” he adds.
Czechoslovakia was dissolved and a few years later, in 1996, Nedvěd and his wife, Ivana, left their years under a communist regime behind them to move to Italy, where they have stayed.
“Back then I considered the Italian field too tough. I was 23 and had never been abroad. Italy’s championship was too hard . . . it seemed too much for me,” he recalls. The Czech football coach, Zdeněk Zeman, who then managed Lazio in Rome, soon convinced the hesitant young footballer to take the risk and brought him into his team.
Moving to Italy was far from easy and his first experience of Rome, a very loud and bustling city, was “a real shock”. The language barrier posed a huge problem initially and every step seemed an insurmountable obstacle.
Nedvěd remembers all the bureaucracy and the endless documents needed for non-EU citizens to acquire their residency in Rome. Another vivid memory of their first months were the unintelligible doctor’s appointments for his wife, pregnant with their first daughter.
“I thought: ‘Where have we ended up?’” he says, recalling the confusion he felt and the cultural gulf between Italy and the country in which they had grown up. But Italians always offered a helping hand and were always “friendly and smiling”. Nedvěd was very struck by how different the Italians were to the Czechs. He finds his compatriots “closed and timid by nature,” where the Italians are “sunny by nature”.
In 2001, after several years in Rome, Nedvěd was invited to play for Juventus, so he moved with his family — now four in number — to Turin, in the northwest of Italy. He found the city more tranquil and better suited to his personality, and the people somehow closer in temperament to the Czechs.
Moving to Turin was much easier: his Italian was much better, and there were fewer doctor appointments to navigate.
From his home just outside the city, in the lush park of La Mandria and overlooking a golf course, Nedvěd can see the snow-capped peaks of the Alps.
Nedved has always sought out homes immersed in nature — he says it takes him back to the woods and fruit groves just outside Skalná where he grew up and used to run around and steal fruit with his best friend Tomáŝ.
“Living in the woods is part of my origins, it’s like when I was a kid,” he says.
His love of nature laid the foundation for a key friendship in his life. During his first months in Turin, he received a call from a shocked Ivana, telling him that a man had come through the back door, introduced himself and was sitting at the kitchen table. After Ivana described him to Pavel, he told his wife to welcome the stranger and make him a coffee.
The “intruder” was Umberto Agnelli, the industrialist, former chief executive of Fiat and chairman of Juventus, who lived close by. Over the years, Agnelli became an important figure in Nedvěd’s life, on a personal and professional level.
“He loved walking in the woods around here and popped in any moment after his walks. He considered us part of his family, he helped me a lot, especially in our first years here,” he remembers.
Nedvěd admits that his life is far from that of the typical footballer — he frequently stays at home and shuns the spotlight. He talks a lot about his need for a “simple and normal life” and being “anchored.” He devotes most of his time to the family, his children and their school, and to the gym and playing golf.
He says his feet are firmly on the ground, thanks to his wife Ivana, whom he describes as a real pillar of strength.
His face lights up the most when he talks about his two children. Born and raised in Italy, Ivana and Pavel (named after their parents) feel Italian and go to an Italian school — though are forced by Nedvěd to sit the Czech school system exams. The bond of the family — “a true refuge” — is as important to Nedvěd as his work ethic — “working hard and sacrifices are natural in order to improve and obtain any sort of success, whether it’s football or a normal job”.
And football? “In no other country is football lived like it is in Italy, almost to the point of overkill. There is too much football on TV and in the papers, there is always talk about football during the week.”
In December 2003 he was named World Soccer player of the year and also won the Ballon d’Or as the European Footballer of the Year. He retired from football in August 2009 and is now a member of the Juventus board, chaired by Andrea Agnelli (Umberto’s son) who he defines as “a friend above all”.
“In Italy I have learnt a lot, I have matured both as a man and as a player. I have lived the best years of my career here,” he explains.
He says his last day in Italy may not be too far off but his future will be determined by his children’s education.
When looking back at his years in the country, Nedvěd says: “I will never find people like the Italians . . . there is this spontaneity, this living life with a smile, to its fullest,” he adds. To many Italians he is still “the Czech”, but maybe the reserved, self-disciplined man from Skalná is more Italian than he admits.
Inside Knowledge
Pros
● The discretion of the people of Turin
● Many green areas and parks
● Perfect place to bring up children
Cons
● An airport with few connections
● Too much bureaucracy in the country
● Italians talk too much about football
Favourite places
● A cup of coffee at Caval’d Brôns or Stratta, two historical cafés in the centre of Turin
● Running and golf at Royal Park I Roveri
● A visit to the Royal Palace of Venaria and Juventus’s stadium
● A city stroll, stopping in Piazza San Carlo
● Dinner at Argentine restaurant Volver
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/62be7a66-1c14-11e5-a130-2e7db721f996.html
Buy on AliExpress.com
