Karel Poborský

Early career

Karel Poborský made his top-flight debut for Dynamo České Budějovice in the 1991–92 Czechoslovak First League. He transferred to the Prague-based club Viktoria Žižkov in mid 1994, before moving to local rivals Slavia Prague in mid 1995. In the 1995–96 season, Poborský led Slavia Prague to the Czech First League title and to the semi-finals of the 1995–96 UEFA Cup.

Manchester United

Poborský was one several players from the Czech national squad at UEFA Euro 1996 who after the tournament left the Czech Republic to play elsewhere. Poborský received offers from Liverpool and Lazio, but in June 1996, he signed for Manchester United for a fee of £3.5 million. He made his club debut in the 1996 FA Charity Shield against Newcastle United, appearing as a substitute for Nicky Butt in a 4–0 win. Poborský also won a Premier League title-winner's medal in the 1996–97 season, in which he played in 22 out of 38 league games and scored three goals, and helped United reach the Champions League semi-finals. Due to David Beckham's rising stardom, Poborský remained at Manchester United for one and a half seasons; in December 1997 Poborský left that club, having made only six starts that season. His last match for United was a substitute appearance against Everton on 26 December.

Benfica and Lazio

in December 1997, Poborský moved to the Portuguese side Benfica for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract to play for the club, which was…

Karel Poborský's first international appearance, which was against Turkey on 23 February 1994, was also the first match for the Czech Republic's national side after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

Euro 96

Poborský played for his country at Euro 96, where he was one of the most valuable players of the tournament. After losing against Germany in the opening group match, a Poborský cross resulted in a goal for teammate Pavel Nedvěd in a 2–1 win against Italy. In the knockout stages of the tournament, Poborský scored his first international goal; he lobbed the ball over Portugal's advancing goalkeeper Vítor Baía, settling the game, which the Czech Republic won 1–0. The goal became a trademark shot for Poborský and that shooting style was soon attributed to him. In 2008, Poborský's 1996 lob was voted the best individual goal in the "Carlsberg goal of the day" poll on UEFA's official website. In Czechia's semi-final against France, Poborský was among players who scored penalties in the shootout after a goalless match, which the Czech Republic won. In the final, the German defender Matthias Sammer fouled Poborský, and Patrik Berger converted the resulting penalty. Germany won the match 2–1 with a golden goal, settling the game, and the Czech Republic finished the tournament as runners-up. Poborský was given the Man of the Match award.

Euro 2000

Poborský was part of the Czech squad at Euro 2000. He scored his country's first goal of the tournament from the…

Club

Notes

International

Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Poborský goal.

Karel Poborský was previously married with two children. After the breakdown of his marriage, he had another daughter. In 2013 Poborský moved from Hluboká nad Vltavou to Prague. In 2016, Poborský was put into a medically induced coma after contracting a brain infection that paralysed the muscles in his face and caused hypersensitivity to light. Poborský spent three weeks in hospital before making a full recovery, and said if he had arrived at the hospital a day later, he might have died. Poborský's nickname is Steve, after the similarly-named Canadian skier Steve Podborski.