Time to bring this in
Pavel Nedved
Pavel Nedved is an excellent player who has demonstrated leadership and great fighting spirit when on the pitch. A left sided midfield player with tremendous skill, vision and pace packed with a venomous shot, Juventus has bought him for 41.2 million euros from Lazio.
Pavel Nedved surely belongs to the soccer legend category in the Czech Republic as his brillant performances help promote Czech Republic as a footballing nation. In 1996, Czech Republic benefited from his play as they were taken to the Euro 96 England final, only to lose Germany with a scoreline of 1 - 2 on the Golden Goal rule after having taken the lead in the second half. Pavel Nedved enjoys playing for his country and was bitter that Czech Republic didn't make it to the World Cup 1998 and 2002 and managed only the group phase in Euro 2000. His diligent and relentless play finally paid off when Czech Republic has booked a ticket to Portugal in Euro 2004.
At 1st he struggled a bit when playing for Juventus, but as time goes by, Nedved is comfortable with his position, especially with his role in the centre middle assigned by Lippi. This is where all his attributes are showcased. His free kicks and corner kicks r also deadly to watch. However a booking caused a suspension for him in the CL Final in 2002 - 2003. This is where Pavel's presence is really felt. He scored 8 goals in the 2002 - 2003 season, lifted the scedutto and eventually won the 2003 European Footballer Award among fierce competitors. The team continued to do well for the 2nd half of 2003.
For some weird reason, the team crumbled in 2004 due to the aging defence as goals begin to leak everywhere. In between March and April of 2004, Marcello Lippi has announced that he will leave Juventus. This created a deep impact on not only Nedved, but on the team as a whole. This has definitely rubbed salt in Juventus' wounds as Juventus finished 3rd in the Seria A and having no silverware. They lost to Lazio, Nedved's former club, in the Coppa Italia final by a Corradi goal.
The Czech Republic player is also the captain of his country as he plays in the LCM position, where his skills, techniques and leadership are showcased as he led Czech Republic to the semi finals in Euro 2004. Czech Republic has argubly some great players in their team with names like Rosicky, Jankulovski, Poborsky, Cech and the list goes on. Czech Republic was grouped with Netherlands, Germany and Latvia in Group D, earning the nickname "Death Group". He played great in Euro 2004, grabbing important victories against Netherlands (3 - 2) and Latvia (2 - 1), topping their group and advancing to the 2nd round, where Czech Republic demolished Denmark 3 - 0. This has also aided Nedved in earning a spot in the Euro 2004 all star squad.
However he sustained an untimely injury against Greece which not only costed a position in the finals but also wrecked his form. The morale of the entire team hsa dropped drastically as they fight for the game without Nedved. In the end, they lost to a Dellas header amidst confusion in the penalty box after a corner.
This is shown in the 2004 - 2005 season, where injury almost destroyed the player. Moreover he is put in the LD position. This isn't the place where he excelled and his form deteriorates. He had a mix of good and bad games. Despite his dip of form, he runs a lot and help out the defence even though it isn't his day. His free kicks and corner kicks also contribute a significant bit to Juventus 28th scedutto. This is the year in which he announced his retirement from International football to help Juventus with the CL. He has also announced that Juventus will be the place where he will retire.
Up to now Pavel is still a great player and his fighting spirit has lifted the club to newer heights even though some performances were bad. His runs and tackles have definitely contributed to game play a lot. Some people may label him as a diver, but he continues to show his fighting spirit on the pitch and shows how dangerous he can be by playing in the centre despite being at a age of 33. But 1one bad point of Nedved is that he always happen to earn a yellow card when he vents his frustration.
I will really like Juventus to win the CL not only for Pavel, but for the whole Juventus team. Let's hope that Nedved will continue to bring in the goods for many years to come.
Nedved statistics (international)
International appearances: 79
International goals: 17
Juventus
3 scedutto
Personal achievement:
European footballer of the year 2003
4 Czech Footballer of the Year Awards (1998,2000, 2003 and 2004)
More to add
Written by ZhiXin