David Rozehnal

David Rozehnal

Rozehnal with Newcastle United in 2007
Personal information
Full name	David Rozehnal [1]
Date of birth	(1980-07-05) 5 July 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth	Šternberk, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2003	Sigma Olomouc	72	(2)
2003–2005	Club Brugge	50	(1)
2005–2007	Paris Saint-Germain	75	(1)
2007–2008	Newcastle United	21	(0)
2008	→ Lazio (loan)	10	(0)
2008–2009	Lazio	28	(0)
2009–2011	Hamburger SV	23	(1)
2010–2011	→ Lille (loan)	13	(1)
2011–2015	Lille	62	(1)
2015–2018	K.V. Oostende	50	(1)
2018–?	Sokol Kožušany		(0)
Total		405	(8)
International career
2001–2002	Czech Republic U21	8	(1)
2004–2009	Czech Republic	60	(1)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Czech Republic UEFA European Championship 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Winner 2002
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

David Rozehnal (born 5 July 1980) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He played for a host of European clubs, making over 400 appearances in a career spanning almost two decades, and retired from the professional game in April 2018. Internationally Rozehnal made 60 appearances for the Czech Republic, appearing in three major tournaments: Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008.

Early life

Rozehnal was born in Šternberk and raised in Kožušany. He comes from a sports family, his father was a second-league football player, his mother played competitive handball. His father then trained amateur club Sokol Kožušany, where Rozehnal started with football. ^[2]

Club career

Club Brugge

In 2003, Rozehnal joined Belgian club Club Brugge. Shortly after joining the club he was part of the side which defeated AC Milan at the San Siro in the UEFA Champions League. ^[3] He won the Belgian Cup in his first season with Brugge and the Belgian League in the 2004–05 season. ^[4]

Paris Saint-Germain

Rozehnal with Paris Saint-Germain in 2006

Rozehnal signed for Paris Saint-Germain in June 2005. ^[5] His form resulted in reported interest from Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle United and Sevilla. ^[6] Sources close to the defender confirmed that he would prefer a move to Newcastle. ^[7]

Newcastle United

On 22 June 2007, Rozehnal's agent confirmed that a "definite agreement" had been reached for the player to join Newcastle United. Rozehnal underwent a medical check on 25 June and Newcastle confirmed the transfer had been completed on 29 June for a fee of £2.9 million, with the player signing a four-year contract. ^[6] He made his league debut against Bolton Wanderers the same year on 11 August. ^[8]

Lazio

On 31 January 2008, Rozehnal left Newcastle for Lazio on loan until the end of the 2007–08 Serie A despite having only signed in June 2007. ^[9] After only playing seven times for Lazio during his loan spell, it remained unclear if they wanted to sign him permanently. On 9 June 2008, Lazio officially announced they had signed Rozehnal on a permanent basis, ^[10] with Newcastle recouping the full £2.9 million which they initially paid for the defender. ^[11]

Later career and retirement

Rozehnal with Lille in 2014

After only one year in Italy, Rozehnal left Lazio on 29 July 2009 for German club Hamburger SV, signing a contract until 30 June 2012. Due to a poor season with several costly errors by Rozehnal, he was removed from the first team and asked to find a new club. ^[12]

On 31 August 2010, Hamburg confirmed that Rozehnal had left for French side Lille on loan, with the German club still paying part of his salary. ^[13] He made a permanent move to Lille in June 2011, signing a contract until 2014. ^[14]

Rozehnal retired from professional football on 4 April 2018 and joined Sokol Kožušany alongside his brother, Marek. ^[15] He made his debut for the club the following weekend. ^[16]

International career

Rozehnal was part of the Czech Republic national youth football team which won the UEFA U-21 Championships in 2002. ^[17] In 2004, Rozehnal made his debut for the Czech Republic in a 2–2 friendly draw against Italy on 18 February 2004. ^[18] He went on to play for his country at Euro 2004, ^[4] where the team made it to the semi-finals before being knocked out by Greece. He also played in the group stage at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although his nation did not advance to the knockout stages. ^[4] Rozehnal played in his third major tournament at Euro 2008. ^[19] He scored his only international goal in his 57th appearance for his country, finding the net in a 3–1 friendly win against Belgium. ^[20]

Personal life

Rozehnal is married to Petra with two children. ^[21] Their first child, Luka, was born on 3 October 2007. ^[22]

Honours

Club Brugge

• Belgian Pro League: 2004–05 ^[4]
• Belgian Cup: 2003–04 ^[4]
• Belgian Super Cup: 2003, 2004 ^{[23] [24]}

Paris Saint-Germain

• Coupe de France: 2005–06

Lazio

• Coppa Italia: 2008–09

Lille

• Coupe de France: 2010–11
• Ligue 1: 2010–11

References

1. "UEFA Europa League 2009/2010: Booking List Semi-Finals, Second Leg Match" (PDF). UEFA. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
2. "David Rozehnal" (in Czech). Czech Television . Retrieved 7 May 2022.
3. "Rozehnalův fotbalový sen pokračoval v Miláně" (in Czech). Mladá fronta Dnes. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
4. Jeřábek, Luboš (2007). Český a československý fotbal – lexikon osobností a klubů (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic: Grada Publishing. p. 174. ISBN   978-80-247-1656-5.
5. "Rozehnal closes on switch to PSG". BBC Sport . BBC. 17 June 2005. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
6. "Newcastle complete Rozehnal deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 June 2007.
7. Chowdhury, Saj (5 June 2007). "Rozehnal eager to join Newcastle". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
8. "Bolton 1-3 Newcastle". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
9. "Rozehnal in Lazio loan". Eurosport . 31 January 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
10. "La Lazio riscatta Rozehnal". S.S. Lazio (in Italian). 10 June 2008. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008.
11. "Rozehnal completes move to Lazio". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 June 2008.
12. "Veh streicht Tavares und Rozehnal". Kicker (in German). 4 August 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
13. "HSV-Ladenhüter Rozehnal geht!". Hamburger Morgenpost (in German). 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
14. "Francouzské Lille vykoupilo z Hamburku Davida Rozehnala". ČT Sport (in Czech). Czech Television. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
15. Desplenter, Kurt (4 April 2018). "Rozehnal kvůli rodině rozvázal smlouvu v Ostende a ukončil kariéru". ČT Sport (in Czech). Czech Television . Retrieved 17 December 2024.
16. Mazal, Miroslav (9 April 2018). "Rozehnalova premiéra za Kožušany: ztracené vedení, sporný moment a prohra". Deník (in Czech). Olomouc: Vltave Labe Media. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
17. "European U-21 Championship 2002 | Final Tournament Details". RSSSF . Retrieved 19 April 2022.
18. "David Rozehnal se stal hráčem Hamburku!". efotbal.cz (in Czech). 29 July 2009.
19. "Nejlépe zahrál Sionko, nejhorší známku dostal Rozehnal". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
20. Saiver, Filip (13 August 2009). "Rozehnalův první gól v reprezentaci. Po pěti letech". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
21. Havlíček, Václav (11 July 2024). "David už umí fotbal oželet, říká Rozehnalová. Zášť k Brücknerovi necítí". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
22. "Baby Joy For Czech Mate". Newcastle United F.C. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 16 June 2007 – via Premium TV.
23. "Club Brugge - La Louvière 1-1". Club Brugge. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
24. "Anderlecht beaten in the Supercup". Anderlecht Online. Retrieved 20 April 2022.

External links

• David Rozehnal at FAČR (also at old FAČR website ) (in Czech)
• David Rozehnal at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• David Rozehnal at Soccerway
• David Rozehnal at Soccerbase