Jiří Jarošík

Early career

Born in Ústí nad Labem, then Czechoslovakia, Jarošík began his career with Sparta Prague in his native Czech Republic. He had a two-year loan spell at Slovan Liberec before establishing himself in the first team at Sparta, with whom he won six league titles between 1997 and 2003. Jarošík's appearances caught the eye of CSKA Moscow, who paid a then Russian record of about $3.5 million to acquire him in 2003. On 10 August 2004, Jarošík scored the winning goal in a 2–1 home victory over Rangers in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round first leg (3–2 aggregate).

Chelsea

On 6 January 2005, Jarošík was purchased by Premier League club Chelsea for an undisclosed fee, thought to be about £3 million. He made his debut two days later in a 3–1 home win over League Two team Scunthorpe United in the third round of the FA Cup, as a 68th-minute substitute for Didier Drogba. On 27 February, he started the League Cup final, which Chelsea won 3–2 against Liverpool; he was replaced at half time by Eiður Guðjohnsen. Chelsea won the 2004–05 Premier League title and Jarošík made enough league appearances (14) to earn a championship medal. Jarošík was involved in a controversy in February 2005 when he came on as a substitute with a 15-line handwritten note from manager José Mourinho, for midfielder Tiago Mendes, in a game at Everton that Chelsea ended up winning 1–0. Refereeing chief Keith Hackett stated that there was nothing to prevent the tactic in the…

Jarošík played 23 times for the Czech Republic national team from 2000 to 2005, although he did not score and was not included in the squad for Euro 2004. His debut on 16 August 2000 was as a half-time substitute for captain Radek Bejbl in a 1–0 friendly loss to Slovenia in Ostrava.

On 15 July 2020, 42-year-old Jarošík was hired for his first job as a head coach, at his hometown club Ústi nad Labem. He signed a one-year deal with the option of an extension and said that his late father would have been pleased with the appointment. On 25 December, with his team third in the second division, he moved to Celje, the defending champions of the Slovenian PrvaLiga who were in 7th place. Having won once and draw twice in eleven games, he was dismissed on 26 April 2021. After starting the season in the second division with Prostějov, Jarošík moved in September 2021 to Teplice in the Czech top flight. He and his staff were dismissed on 4 March 2023, after a run of five losses in six games. On 22 June 2023, Jarošík was hired by Russian Premier League club Orenburg. After only two months, five league matches, with one point and with last place in the league table, Jarošík left Orenburg due to family reasons. On 5 November 2024, Jarošík was appointed as manager by Kazakhstan Premier League club Shakhter Karagandy.

Jarošík married Zlata Shvets in early 2014. His wife is from Russia.