There is one memory of a football match that we can’t forget. At that time, I saw a man with golden hair receive the ball on the right side, dribble a little to the middle, then shoot hard from outside the penalty box with his left foot. His kick scored the goal to Udinese’s goal post.
After seeing that, it changed my life. Because of that golden haired man, I started to support Juventus. I was then bought a Juventus jersey sponsored by Fastweb. I want to be like that man. Running through the opponent’s wings, using the number 11 , and has a thunderous kick. At that time, the dream of becoming a professional footballer in the future was still burning in the soul. The golden haired man, Pavel Nedved, I made him as a role model.
Before Nedved came in, I didn’t have a special relationship with any team. But after that goal, Nedved did change football in my life. From the 90s to the early 2000s, Pavel Nedved was the world’s top midfielder. His performance that brought the Czech national team to the 1996 European Cup final made the top European league teams glance at him. PSV Eindhoven, who at that time was still a candidate for the Champions Cup (now the Champions League) tried to get it. But in the end, it was Lazio who managed to get his signature.
In the Italian Serie A which at that time was the best league in the world, Nedved increasingly showed his prowess. Together with Nedved, Lazio won the 1999/2000 Serie A along with other trophies such as the Coppa Italia, Super Coppa, Cup Winner’s Cup and UEFA Super Cup. For the Serie A trophy, until now, Lazio has not yet won it.
However, his career skyrocketed after moving to Juventus in 2001. At that time, he was actually being targeted by English teams such as Manchester United. But the Old Lady wanted to bring him more. Moreover, at that time they had just sold one of the best players in the world, Zinedine Zidane, to Real Madrid. Juve also dared to redeem Nedved with a fee of 41 million euros. Lazio fans of course furious over this sale.
Using the number 18 at Lazio, Nedved chose the number 11 at Juventus. He is placed on the left side of the attack. The captain of the Czech national team at the 2004 European Cup also had a gledek kick that could make the goalkeeper nervous to stop him. He can release his hard kicks using either his left or right foot.
If at that time wingers were still very traditional, mostly functioned as feeders, Nedved was quite different. Besides he can be placed as an attacking midfielder, his movement and hard kick in the front area of the penalty box is his trademark.
Another characteristic of Nedved is that he is calm off the pitch, but fierce on the pitch. Off the pitch, he doesn’t talk much. He is far from the sparkling nightlife because he prefers to spend time with his family. He doesn’t like noise. Therefore he prefers to engage in golf in his spare time.
But on the pitch, Nedved is a wild man. For 90 minutes on the gridiron, he will desperately defend his greatness uniforms such as Sparta Prague, Lazio, Juventus, let alone the Czech Republic as the country of his birth. He is a man who tirelessly runs. Together with Gianluca Zambrotta, the left side of Juventus is quite safe because Nedved is not lazy to defend. On the contrary, he can also be a ball grabber.
Nedved’s seriousness on the field is often exaggerated. He sometimes does not hesitate to make dangerous tackles on opponents. The red card is quite familiar with his career. But that’s just a proof that the player who was born on August 30, 1972, always shows his best in every game.
Juventus are lucky to get him. Apart from his undoubted quality, his loyalty to the Old Lady is also a story in itself. He proved his loyalty and love for Juventus when Juve had to be relegated to Serie B. When other star players such as Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram, Patrick Vieira, Emerson, to Zlatan Ibrahimovic chose to leave Juve, Nedved, along with Gianluigi Buffon, Mauro Camoranesi, Alessandro Del Piero , and David Trezeguet chose to stay.
Nedved’s age at that time was already 34 years old, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other teams interested in him. He could also return to his country, coming home after he became the Czech Republic’s best player would certainly make him welcome like a hero. However, the 2003 European Footballer of the Year winner chose to spend his career with Juventus.
Simultaneously, after the 2006 World Cup, Nedved decided to retire from the Czech Republic national team. But in 2008, after Juventus returned to Serie A, he received a call back from the Czech national team for the 2008 European Cup, although he refused. The reason is again related to Juventus. At that time, Nedved was just recovering from injury and he was committed to focusing solely on Juventus.
However, one year later, he met the end of his career as a footballer. Initially he was still trying to get the Champions League with Juventus. But with Juventus’ situation not getting better as he got older, Nedved finally decided to retire in 2009. “I think that’s enough. I’m 35 years old. Physical, of course, as seen (started to decline). But what I feel the most is a matter of mentality,” Nedved said as quoted by fotbal.idnes.cz.
Finally, May 31, 2009 became his last day as a player. Uniquely, in his last match he faced his first team outside the Czech Republic, Lazio. In the match that Juventus won with a score of 2-0, he received special respect from the audience present. Not surprising, because a total of 327 appearances have he made with Juventus.
Nedved is a legend. It seems that the club left by Nedved has not found a replacement commensurate with the player nicknamed the Czech Cannon. Lazio have yet to taste the Serie A title after being left by Nedved. Juventus do not have a left winger as great as Nedved. The Czech national team no longer has a leader who can be relied on in defense or attack like Nedved.
Therefore, even though Nedved is still part of Juventus management, Lazio, which is his rival, will still respect Nedved. Especially Czech and Sparta Prague. Not only in my memory, Nedved will always be in their memories, as a midfielder who once took them on the ladder of success.
ASL
