Vladimír Šmicer

Vladimír Šmicer

Šmicer in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Vladimír Šmicer
Date of birth	(1973-05-24) 24 May 1973 (age 51)[1]
Place of birth	Děčín, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2][1]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1985–1987	Kovostroj Děčín
1987–1992	Slavia Prague
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1996	Slavia Prague	81	(26)
1996–1999	Lens	91	(16)
1999–2005	Liverpool	121	(10)
2005–2007	Bordeaux	28	(3)
2007–2009	Slavia Prague	23	(5)
Total		344	(60)
International career
1993	RCS	1	(0)
1994–2006	Czech Republic	80	(27)
Medal record Representing  Czech Republic UEFA European Championship Runner-up 1996 England 2004 Portugal
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vladimír Šmicer (Czech pronunciation: [ˈʃmɪtsɛr]; born 24 May 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his senior career at Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England where he played for Liverpool, winning multiple honours. He is perhaps best remembered at Liverpool for his long-range goal in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final victory against Milan. At Liverpool he also won an UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup treble in 2001 as well as the 2003 League Cup.

He also notably played for French sides Lens, with whom he won the Ligue 1 title, and Bordeaux.

At international level, Šmicer played once for the Czechoslovak national side and 80 times for the Czech Republic. He retired from professional football in 2009.

Club career

Liverpool

Šmicer joined Liverpool for a fee of £4.2 million, recruited to fill the void left by the departure of Steve McManaman to Real Madrid. Upon arriving at Anfield in 1999, Šmicer was given the number 7 shirt, although he would later switch to number 11 after the arrival of Harry Kewell. When he left Liverpool in 2005, Šmicer said: "Just signing for Liverpool in itself was a dream because I supported them as a kid. It was a dream come true." He made his Liverpool debut in a match against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough Stadium^[3] and scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–2 away victory against Watford.^[4]

Although Šmicer was plagued with injury problems, he scored the last minute winner against Chelsea in 2002,^[5] and a stunning volley against Borussia Dortmund^[6]

Šmicer also scored Liverpool’s second goal during the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final vs AC Milan. The game ended 3-3, with Liverpool coming back from 3-0 to bring it to penalties. Šmicer would then score Liverpool’s fourth and final penalty to win the game.

Slavia Prague

Upon returning to Slavia Prague in 2007, Šmicer won the Personality of the League award at the Czech Footballer of the Year awards in 2008.^[7] He ended his football career after draw 0–0 with Viktoria Plzeň on 9 November 2009, but made his farewell party on 11 May 2010.^[8]

International career

Šmicer began his international career in 1993.^{[citation needed][clarification needed]} At the Euro 1996, he represented the Czech Republic as they made it to the finals. He was the Czech’s only substitute in the final, coming on in the 88th minute against Germany to replace Karel Poborský. At the Euro 2000, he scored both goals in the national team's only tournament victory, 2–0 against Denmark.^[9] Šmicer did not participate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup due to a leg injury.^[10]

Managerial career

Just one day after retiring from football, Šmicer became sports manager of the Czech national team, working alongside head coach Michal Bílek.^[11][12]

Personal life

Šmicer stood for minor Czech party VIZE 2014 in the European Parliament election; his stated priority was to reduce obesity among children.^[13] As a result of Šmicer's playing career, he can speak English and French apart from his native Czech.^[14]

Career statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Czechoslovakia			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
1992–93	Slavia Prague	First League	21	9			-	-	0	0
Czech Republic			League		Czech Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1993–94	Slavia Prague	Gambrinus liga	18	6			-	-	2	0
1994–95			16	3		0	-	-	1	1		3
1995–96			28	9	4	2	-	-	11	1	43	12
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
1996–97	Lens	Division 1	33	5	0	0	3	0	2	1	38	6
1997–98			28	7	5	3	4	0	6	1	43	11
1998–99			30	4	1	0	4	0	-	-	35	4
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1999–2000	Liverpool	Premier League	21	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	25	1
2000–01			27	2	5	1	6	4	11	0	49	7
2001–02			22	4	1	0	1	0	11	1	35	5
2002–03			21	0	1	0	5	0	6	1	33	1
2003–04			20	3	1	0	1	1	3	0	25	4
2004–05			10	0	0	3	0	0	6	1	19	1
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
2005–06	Bordeaux	Ligue 1	25	3	0	0	2	0	-	-	27	3
2006–07			3	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	7	0
Czech Republic			League		Czech Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2007–08	Slavia Prague	Gambrinus liga	12	2	0	0	-	-	5	0	17	2
2008–09			8	3	3	0	-	-	4	0	15	3
2009–10			3	0	1	0	-	-	1	0	5	0
Total	Czechoslovakia		21	9					0	0
	Czech Republic		85	23					24	2
	France		119	19	8	3	13	0	10	2	150	24
	England		121	10	10	1	15	5	37	3	183	19
Career total			346	61					71	7

International goals

Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first.^[15]

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 June 1996	Russia	3–3	Draw	UEFA Euro 1996
2.	18 September 1996	Malta	6–0	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
3.	26 August 1997	Slovakia	1–2	Loss	1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
4.	6 September 1997	Faroe Islands	2–0	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
5.	11 October 1997	Slovakia	3–0	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
6.	13 December 1997	South Africa	2–2	Draw	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
7.
8.	17 December 1997	United Arab Emirates	6–1	Win	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
9.
10.
11.	25 March 1998	Republic of Ireland	2–1	Win	Friendly
12.	22 April 1998	Slovenia	3–1	Win	Friendly
13.	21 May 1998	Paraguay	1–0	Win	Kirin Cup
14.	6 September 1998	Faroe Islands	1–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
15.	10 October 1998	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
16.	31 March 1999	Scotland	2–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
17.	21 June 2000	Denmark	2–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2000
18.
19.	13 February 2002	Cyprus	4–3	Win	Friendly
20.	18 May 2002	Italy	1–0	Win	Friendly
21.	6 September 2002	FR Yugoslavia	5–0	Win	Friendly
22.	30 April 2003	Turkey	4–0	Win	Friendly
23.	11 June 2003	Moldova	5–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
24.	6 September 2003	Belarus	3–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
25.	19 June 2004	Netherlands	3–2	Win	UEFA Euro 2004
26.	4 June 2005	Andorra	8–1	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
27.	12 November 2005	Norway	1–0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifier

Honours

Slavia Prague

• Gambrinus liga: 1995–96, 2007–08, 2008–09

Lens

• Ligue 1: 1997–98
• Coupe de la Ligue: 1998–99

Liverpool

• FA Cup: 2000–01
• Football League Cup: 2000–01,^[16] 2002–03^[17]
• UEFA Champions League: 2004–05
• UEFA Cup: 2000–01

Bordeaux

• Coupe de la Ligue: 2006–07

Czech Republic

• UEFA European Football Championship runner-up: 1996

References

1. "Vladimír Šmicer: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
2. "Vladimír Šmicer". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 3 April 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
3. "Sheffield Wednesday 1 - 2 Liverpool". LFC History. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
4. "Reds end brave Watford fight". BBC News. 15 January 2000. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
5. "Smicer's late strike takes 'Pool to the top". Irish Examiner. 25 March 2002. Archived from the original on 18 January 2005. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
6. "Liverpool cruise through". BBC Sport. 30 October 2001. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
7. "Historie ankety Fotbalista roku". Football Association of the Czech Republic (in Czech). Archived from the original on 18 July 2023.
8. Novák, Jaromír (11 May 2010). "Fotbalový Eden slavil: Šmicerovu benefici ozdobilo dvanáct gólů". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech).
9. "Republic Czech out". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 June 2000. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
10. "Smicer ruled out of Czech squad". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 June 2006. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
11. "Šmicer named Czech national team manager". USA Today. 10 November 2009. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012.
12. "Smicer given Czech Republic role". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 November 2009.
13. "Euro elections: Footballer Smicer taking on Europe". BBC. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
14. Mylnařová, Alexandra (27 January 2022). "Vladimír Šmicer: Rodiče mi dali dva roky, abych ukázal, co ve fotbale umím". Czech Radio (in Czech).
15. "Vladimir Smicer - International Appearances". Retrieved 28 February 2015.
16. "Blues shot down as Liverpool lift cup". BBC Sport. 25 February 2001. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
17. "Liverpool lift Worthington Cup". BBC Sport. 2 March 2003. Retrieved 27 March 2024.

External links

• Vladimír Šmicer – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Vladimír Šmicer – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Vladimír Šmicer at Premier League
• Player profile at LFChistory.net
• Vladimír Šmicer at FAČR (also at old FAČR website) (in Czech)
• Vladimír Šmicer at Soccerbase
• Profile and pictures on Sitercl.com