Poborský (right) with Vladimír Šmicer in 2012
|
|||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Karel Poborský | ||||||||
Date of birth | 30 March 1972 | ||||||||
Place of birth | Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia | ||||||||
Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | ||||||||
Playing position | Winger | ||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||
1978–1984 | TJ Třeboň | ||||||||
1984–1987 | České Budějovice | ||||||||
1987–1988 | Jiskra Třeboň | ||||||||
1988–1990 | České Budějovice | ||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||
1991–1994 | České Budějovice | 82 | (15) | ||||||
1994–1995 | Viktoria Žižkov | 28 | (10) | ||||||
1995–1996 | Slavia Prague | 26 | (11) | ||||||
1996–1998 | Manchester United | 32 | (6) | ||||||
1998–2001 | Benfica | 61 | (11) | ||||||
2001–2002 | Lazio | 46 | (5) | ||||||
2002–2005 | Sparta Prague | 87 | (26) | ||||||
2005–2007 | České Budějovice | 26 | (10) | ||||||
Total | 388 | (93) | |||||||
National team | |||||||||
1994–2006 | Czech Republic | 118 | (8) | ||||||
Honours
|
|||||||||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Karel Poborský (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkarɛl ˈpoborskiː]) (born 30 March 1972) is a retired Czech professional footballer who played as a right winger. He was most noted for his technical ability.
He began and finished his club career at České Budějovice, also winning Czech First League titles at the two largest clubs in Prague, Slavia and Sparta. Between these domestic triumphs, he won a Premier League title at Manchester United and also played for Benfica and Lazio.
After Petr Čech, Poborský ranks second in appearances for the Czech national team, with 118 between 1994 and 2006, retiring from international football after playing at the country's first World Cup. He also played in three European Championships, being named in the Team of the Tournament at UEFA Euro 1996 after helping the Czechs to the final.
Poborský began playing professionally with České Budějovice, FK Viktoria Žižkov and SK Slavia Prague (the season Patrik Berger left for Borussia Dortmund).
Poborský was one of a number of the Czech squad at UEFA Euro 1996 who left the Czech Republic to play in another country after the tournament. In July 1996 he signed with Manchester United but, due to David Beckham's rising stardom, Poborský would only manage one-and-a-half seasons at Old Trafford. He did collect a Premier League title winner's medal in the 1996–97 season, however, playing in 22 out of 38 league games and scoring four goals, also helping United reach the Champions League semi-finals.