It can be easy to be dismissive when looking back on players from the previous decades and Pavel Nedvěd is, perhaps, a victim of this phenomenon.
In my mind, Furia Ceca (‘Czech Fury’ in Italian) was the complete player. Robust, versatile, competitive, skilful and intelligent. In fact, it could be argued he would be even more effective in the modern game, where wide attackers who cut inside and create and score are a key part of tactical systems across the globe. Add to this his relentless fitness and aggression, and he would most likely cost an eye watering amount. There was little he couldn’t or wouldn’t do in pursuit of victory.
Pavel Nedved last kicked a ball 14 years ago and for this reason many people may question the Czech’s ability to perform in the modern era, where a select few superstars tower above the game racking up outrageous statistics. In this, his best season (2002/03) Nedvěd scored 14 goals and set up 13 in Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League. 27 goals and assists, whilst a good return for a player in the top flight, could seem modest in relation to the modern greats of the game. Yet the majority of the goal contributions came in crunch games at crunch times – a fact that statistics can’t really tell us.
Magical against Madrid, The Boss in Barcelona
A case in point was the Champions League semi final, second leg against Real Madrid in 2003. It was twenty years ago, yet, to me, it seems like only a few days – a ‘classic champions league night’. Real Madrid were at the apex of the ‘galáctico‘ project, before the sustained success it generated started to crumble. This was the team of Ronaldo, Figo, Raul, Roberto Carlos, Iker Casillas and Fernando Hierro. To make things even more interesting, Juve legend, Zinedine Zidane was back at the Stadio Delle Alpi. Even Vincent Del Bosque on the side-lines had a certain charisma.
Real had a 2-1 first leg lead, but Juve’s own brand of ‘galáctico‘s were a team to respect. A glance at the starting eleven shows David Trezeguet and poster boy Alessandro Del Piero. Also Edgar Davids, so recognisable in appearance and playstyle and past and future World Cup winners Lilian Thuram and Gianluigi Buffon. They were coached by Marcello Lippi, who was calculating as ever. Yet the star of the whole show was a blur of perpetual motion under a mop of blonde hair, on his way to a Ballon d’or: Pavel Nedvěd.
It’s a game packed full of drama and Juve engineered an electric start. After twelve minutes, Trezeguet snuck home a goal on the volley – set up by his strike partner Del Piero. Juventus continued to dominate first half and, just before half time, Del Piero turned the Madrid defence inside out before finding the corner. 2-0 and Juve were ahead in the tie.
The high octane nature of the game continued in the second half: Buffon made some vital saves, including one from a Figo penalty, as Real desperately looked to reclaim their advantage. Then, seventy three minutes into the tie, a ball over the top split Ivan Helguara and Hierro in two, with Nedvěd charging onto it. Without hesitation, without missing a step, he smashed the ball on the half volley to open up the path to final. He didn’t stop running either, leaping over consecutive advertising hoardings to celebrate. Arms outstretched under the curva, he was the darling of Turin. And he knew it. Juve would march on to an all-Italy champions league final: Juventus v Milan.
But the drama wasn’t entirely over, and of course it involved our protagonist. Nedvěd always played with an edge, and it was Steve McManaman’s turn to be on the receiving end of the Furia Ceca. The erstwhile Liverpool winger was going nowhere of any real note when Nedvěd went to ground, sticking out a lazy leg and taking McManaman down. Yellow card. In everyone else’s ecstasy at the result, it could easily be ignored. Even the La Gazzetta dello Sport the next day has an image of Nedved leaping over the hoardings, club officials celebrating in the background. ‘Juve Di Fenomeni’ it announced. The card seemingly not headline worthy.
But Nedved held his head in his hands. He was out of the final, having accumulated too many yellow cards. It was a drab final which Juve would go on to lose on penalties, leaving the Czech and millions of Juve fans wondering: What If? Nedvěd often made a difference to teams in this pressure games throughout his career and his absence in the final was profoundly felt.
Madrid weren’t the only Spanish team to be cut down by Nedvěd in the Champions League in 2002/03. In the quarter finals, the Camp Nou saw the Czech put on another display of ruthless aggression. With the first leg a one-all draw, the first fifty three minutes were a tight affair. Then Nedvěd received the ball at speed but was surrounded by traffic in Barcelona shirts. Showing the bloody-mindedness that was his hallmark, he simply cut inside and burst past two Barcelona defenders. He then shot beyond an onrushing third, finding the bottom corner of the net to put Juventus ahead in the quarter final. The nonchalant expression he wore as he strolled away, arms outstretched, told the story of a man who knew he was having the season of his life.
Filling Big Shoes in Turin
The previous season, 2001/02, order had been restored in Serie A after the Scudetto had been returned to Turin after two seasons in a row of Roman champions. Lazio side were in their nouveau riche era, and Nedvěd was a crucial cog in the 2001 title winning side but was overshadowed by the ready-made superstars Lazio spent money on, such as Juan Veron, Hernan Crespo and Christian Vieri.
To the shock and horror of Lazio tifosi, Nedvěd was signed by Juventus the following season as the replacement for Zidane and went on to have a solid debut season winning the league once more. In this first season, he operated mainly on the flanks and was his usual bundle of energy. He chipped in with assists and a few goals and was more industrious than Zidane, but perhaps lacking the authority and charisma of the Frenchman. Going into 2002/03, with a stacked squad in Turin, the pressure was on Nedvěd to show that superstar quality he was brought in for.
The upturn in performance could perhaps be explained that Lippi’s use of the Czech in a more central position. He was supported by the talented, yet gritty likes of Davids, Antonio Conte and Alessio Taccinardi in midfield and had Trezeguet, Del Piero and Marco Di Vaio as foils upfront. In the league, he scored regularly, and often in big games. Lazio, Roma, Torino and Milan all conceded against the Czech. He scored all types of goals, but operating centrally, he would regularly carry the ball past a myriad of defenders before unleashing stinging shots from distance. He also showed a penchant for drifting in between Del Piero and Treqzeguet to finish layoffs and knock downs.
Nedvěd had become the perfect Juve player: Hard working and a part of a cohesive whole, productive and industrious. Yet with that aura and charisma befitting the playmaker for one of the world’s elite clubs.
A Worthy Ballon D’Or Winner
His performance against Inter was a key example as Juve looked to reclaim their title. Come February, Inter were behind Juventus in second but were their typically inconsistent selves. Nedvěd ran the show in this crunch match. He was fouled regularly and brutally, yet was everywhere, providing dangerous crosses from the left and releasing Trezeguet down the middle for half chances. He caused chaos in the Inter defence with a free kick from the left wing, the ball bobbling in for an own goal in the confusion. Shrugging off more raised boots and niggling fouls, he made it 2-0 with a hard and low shot which snuck inside the post, the second time he had made the usually reliable Francisco Toldo look borderline clumsy. Come the second half, his coronation as the prince of Turin was in full swing. Again, dominating the left wing, he cut inside to prod the ball along to Mauro Camoranesi who made it 3-0 and helped Juventus to pull even further ahead at the top of the league.
Nedvěd was in the last of the great run of Serie A players to win the Ballon d’or, preceding Shevchenko and Kaka. Even now, more than a decade after the fact, people claim the ‘Czech cannon’ shouldn’t have won it. Popular opinion suggests he robbed it from Thierry Henry – I would tell these naysayers to revisit the 2002/03 season. Nedvěd ran the show, both in Europe and in the league, which was still arguably the most competitive on the world. Whilst the yellow card that denied him a starring showing in the final it’s best to reflect upon the iconic image of him after his goal against Madrid.
Imperious, and untouchable.
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