Pavel Nedved

Pavel Nedved is a former Czech international footballer who features for the Italian giants Juventus. He plays as an attacking midfielder and can also play in the hold just behind the striker. Nedved won the Ballon d'Or in 2003.

Pavel Nedvěd made his professional debut in football in 1992 for Czech giants Sparta Prague and after becoming the hottest property in Czech football in the four years that he played for Sparta, he moved to Italian side Lazio in 1996.

Pavel Nedved quickly developed into the most vital piece in the Lazio jigsaw and in the 1997-1998 season won the Coppa Italia and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999.

In the summer of 2001 Juventus signed the highly rated Czech international midfield playmaker for 41 million euros and played an integral part in Juventus' scudetto winning seasons of 2001/02, 2002/03, 2004/05 and 2005/06.

Nedved also helped Juve reach the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2003 but was suspended for the final which Juve lost on penalties. He was one of the very few players who remained loyal to the Old Lady when they were relegated to the Italian Serie B in the aftermath of the calciopoli scandal of 2006.

Pavel Nedved made his international debut for the Czech Republic way back in 1994 and guided his nation to the semi-finals of Euro 2004 but retired soon afterwards. He however came out of international retirement to help the Czech qualify for the 2006 World Cup and after the competition in Germany he decided to retire for good having scored 18 goals in 91 international matches.

Nedved's top personal honours are:

• European Footballer of the Year 2003
• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year 2003
• UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder