The Czech Fury..

.... That is Pavel Nedved, well what can be said about such an important player for club and country. I think the one thing that we all can say without a shadow of a doubt, is that he was the most hardworking player around.

He would run himself into the ground if it meant victory for his team, he was constantly training and working on his weaknesses ( if any) and he would always strive to get better, unlike some players who think they're the finished product i.e C. Ronaldo!!! He would train so hard that former boss, Sven Goran Eriksson revealed in an interview in Champion Magazine, that the Juventus trainers called him up especially to try and talk to Nedved and convince him to go home, they obviously still wanted the time off even if Nedved was ready to start work again, now tell me where can you find this kind of dedication?

To top that, along with his incredible work rate, was his hunger for every ball and his perseverance. He was a player that would keep the ball alive, while others would have given up, he would make it work and he would chase balls down and make a loose ball into the perfect shooting opportunity.

But it doesn't end with him just being a hard worker, he has skill, power and pin point accuracy. His free kick are simply awe inspiring and his shots from distance are monstrous. But not only that, he seems to know instinctively where the goal is and how to get the ball in the back of the net.

He would accelerate with the ball as if it was glued to his feet, an important quality needed in a winger/ attacking midfielder. But with great skill comes great risks, as he is so painfully aware. Defending players didn't know how to stop him without fouling him, so, they fouled him, and all the knocks finally took its toll when he finally decided to hang up his boots at the end of the 2008/09 season.

But all is not lost, as he has decided to grace Juventus with his presence as a member on the board of directors, and it does bring me comfort knowing that someone on the board actually knows football!!