Oldřich Nejedlý

Oldřich Nejedlý (26 December 1909 – 11 June 1990) was a Czech footballer, who spent his entire professional career at Sparta Prague as an inside-forward. He is considered to be one of Czechoslovakia's greatest players of all time. He was the top goalscorer of the 1934 World Cup.

Oldřich Nejedlý
Nejedlý in 1934
Personal information
Full name Oldřich Nejedlý
Date of birth (1909-12-26)26 December 1909
Place of birth Žebrák, Austria-Hungary
Date of death 11 June 1990(1990-06-11) (aged 80)
Place of death Rakovník, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Inside Left
Youth career
1920–1924 Spartak Zebrak
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1924–1925 Čechoslovan Košíře
1925–1926 Spartak Žebrák
1926–1931 SK Rakovník
1931–1941 Sparta Prague 187 (162)
1941–1950 SK Rakovník 38 (18)
1950–1956 Spartak Žebrák
Total 225 (180)
International career
1931–1939 Czechoslovakia 44 (29)
Medal record
Representing  Czechoslovakia
Men's Football
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up1934 Italy
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Nejedlý played for Sparta Prague during his entire professional span. He scored 162 league goals in 187 games, winning four Czechoslovak First League championships in 1932, 1936, 1938 and 1939, adding a Mitropa Cup in 1935. He also scored 18 goals in 38 games for SK Rakovník (1943, 1944 and 1946), giving him a total of 180 league goals in 225 games. At the end of his career, he wore the shirt of his home club in Zebrak again and finally retired from active football at the age of almost 47 after breaking a leg.

International career

For Czechoslovakia, Nejedlý scored 29 goals in 44 games. He was awarded the Bronze Ball in the 1934 World Cup as the third most outstanding player of the tournament and was voted into the All-Star Team of the tournament. He would have gone on to play more games and score more goals for the Czechoslovakia had he not broken his leg in the 1938 World Cup which effectively ended his International career.

Furthermore, he was a participant in two World Cups, in 1934 in Italy and 1938 in France. Nejedlý was the outright top scorer in the 1934 World Cup with five goals. This has been officially recognized by FIFA since November 2006, as he was initially credited with only four, making him joint top scorer with Angelo Schiavio and Edmund Conen.[2] He also scored two goals in the 1938 World Cup.

Nejedlý died in 1990, aged 80, while the 1990 FIFA World Cup was being played, a tournament which, as the 1934 edition, took place in Italy.

Career statistics

International

[3]

Czechoslovakia
YearAppsGoals
193111
193263
193351
193499
193542
193641
193765
193886
193911
Total4429

References
  1. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Oldřich Nejedlý (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  2. "American Bert Patenaude credited with first hat trick in FIFA World Cup™ history". FIFA. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  3. Oldřich Nejedlý at FAČR (in Czech)
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