Jiří Jarošík

Football player infobox
playername = Jiří Jarošík


fullname = Jiří Jarošík
height = height|m=1.96
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1977|10|27
cityofbirth = Ústí nad Labem
countryofbirth = Czechoslovakia
currentclub = FC Krylia Sovetov Samara
clubnumber = 20
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1996-2003
1997-1998
2003-2005
2005-2006
2005-2006
2006-2008
2008
clubs = Sparta Prague
→ Slovan Liberec (loan)
CSKA Moscow
Chelsea
→ Birmingham City (loan)
Celtic
FC Krylia Sovetov Samara
caps(goals) = 101 (20)
039 0(2)
056 (12)
014 0(0)
024 0(5)
033 0(5)
001 0(0)
nationalyears = 2000-
nationalteam = Czech Republic
nationalcaps(goals) = 023 0(0)
pcupdate = 00:00, 4 May 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 12 November 2005

Jiří Jarošík (born October 27 1977) is a Czech football player currently playing for Russian side FC Krylia Sovetov Samara.

Club career

Early career

Born in Ústí nad Labem, then Czechoslovakia, Jarošík began his career with Sparta Prague in his native Czech Republic. An attacking midfielder by personal preference, he is versatile enough to play in a more defensive role. Although a slower player, he is considered to be strong in the air due to his height, and he is known for his excellent shot. Jarošík had loan spells at Slovan Liberec before establishing himself in the first team at Sparta. His appearances caught the eye of CSKA Moscow, who paid a then Russian record of about $3.5 million to acquire him in 2003. After a difficult start, Jarošík developed into a premier player in the Russian league.

Chelsea

Jarošík was purchased by Chelsea in January 2005 for an undisclosed fee, thought to be about $7 million.Fact|date=June 2008 In August 2005, after Chelsea purchased Michael Essien, he was loaned out to Birmingham City on for the 2005–06 season. At Birmingham, he was the team's top goalscorer, becoming better known for his long range shooting, than the defensive responsibilities which gave him his name at Moscow. After finishing a disappointing season for the Midlands, Birmingham had the option to make the deal permanent when the spell ended, but following their relegation, they did not do so.

He finished a superb loan period at Birmingham City in May 2006 where he was the club's joint-top goalscorer with 8 goals, although his goals could not help Birmingham stay in the Premiership and they were relegated in April 2006. Jarošík returned to his club Chelsea not knowing where his future would lie, due to there being heavy competition for places at the club.

Celtic

Jarošík signed a three-year deal with Celtic on June 19 2006 from Chelsea, for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be around the £2 million mark. [http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/sport.cfm?id=902022006] His league success with Celtic in 2006/07 means he has now won league medals in a record four countries - Czech Republic, Russia, England and Scotland. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/6587589.stm] He scored on his Celtic debut in a 4-1 home victory over Kilmarnock, however competition from other midfielders such as Evander Sno, Aiden McGeady and, since January 2007, Paul Hartley has meant that first team opportunities have been limited for Jarošík. Despite this, he has made some notable contributions to the side's success, including winning both the free-kicks from which Shunsuke Nakamura scored in the two Champions League matches against Manchester United - the second being the one which put Celtic into the knockout stages.

Krylia Sovetov

On 31 January 2008, Jarošík signed for Russian side Krylia Sovetov from Celtic for a reported €1 million. [http://www.sportinglife.com/football/overseas/other/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/08/01/31/manual_190640.html]

International career

Jarošík has played for the Czech national team, although he was out of favour for Euro 2004 in Portugal and not included in the squad that represented the Czech Republic at World Cup 2006.

External links

*
* [http://www.celticfc.net/home/players/playerInfo/jJarosik.aspx Jarošík's page at Celtic's official site]
* [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/player?id=13014&cc=3436 Jarošík's page at ESPN's Soccernet]

Persondata
NAME= Jarošík, Jiří
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Jarosik, Jiri
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1977-10-27
PLACE OF BIRTH= Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=