Jan Šimák

Early career

Born in Tábor, Šimák began his professional career at Chmel Blšany. In 2000, Šimák left the Czech Republic joining 2. Bundesliga club Hannover 96. In his second season there, he contributed 18 goals to the club's promotion to the Bundesliga. In the summer of 2002, Šimák joined Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Hannover was reported as €6 million. Signed as a replacement for Michael Ballack, he could not prevail at the Rhineland-side and returned the following year on loan to Hannover 96. After the sixth matchday he dropped out because of alcohol problems and a related depression fatigue syndrome. In July 2004, he dissolved his contract in Leverkusen.

Return to the Czech Republic

A short time later, Šimák returned to his native Czech Republic to play for Sparta Prague. On 28 August 2004, he made his debut coming off the bench early in the second half for Rastislav Michalík in a 3–1 win against Chmel Blšany and scored the team's second goal for 2–1. In the following months, however, he was unable to repeat his performance of his first period at Hannover 96 and underwent therapy. He finished his first seasons with five appearances and as many appearances in the UEFA Champions League, where Sparta was eliminated in the group stage. On 19 November 2005, he celebrated his return, being substituted on for Martin Hašek in a 4–2 win on matchday 13 of the 2005–06 season. That season, he made nine starts in the league and…

Czech First League: 2005, 2007