Vladimír Šmicer

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Vladimír Šmicer

Šmicer in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Vladimír Šmicer
Date of birth	(1973-05-24) 24 May 1973 (age 51)[1]
Place of birth	Děčín, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2][1]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1985–1987	Kovostroj Děčín
1987–1992	Slavia Prague
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1996	Slavia Prague	81	(26)
1996–1999	Lens	91	(16)
1999–2005	Liverpool	121	(10)
2005–2007	Bordeaux	28	(3)
2007–2009	Slavia Prague	23	(5)
Total		344	(60)
International career
1993	RCS	1	(0)
1994–2006	Czech Republic	80	(27)
Medal record Representing  Czech Republic UEFA European Championship Runner-up 1996 England 2004 Portugal
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vladimír Šmicer (Czech pronunciation: [ˈʃmɪtsɛr]; born 24 May 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his senior career at Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England where he played for Liverpool, winning multiple honours. He is perhaps best remembered at Liverpool for his long-range goal in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final victory against Milan. At Liverpool he also won an UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup treble in 2001 as well as the 2003 League Cup.

He also notably played for French sides Lens, with whom he won the Ligue 1 title, and Bordeaux.

At international level, Šmicer played once for the Czechoslovak national side and 80 times for the Czech Republic. He retired from professional football in 2009.

Šmicer joined Liverpool for a fee of £4.2 million, recruited to fill the void left by the departure of Steve McManaman to Real Madrid. Upon arriving at Anfield in 1999, Šmicer was given the number 7 shirt, although he would later switch to number 11 after the arrival of Harry Kewell. When he left Liverpool in 2005, Šmicer said: "Just signing for Liverpool in itself was a dream because I supported them as a kid. It was a dream come true." He made his Liverpool debut in a match against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough Stadium^[3] and scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–2 away victory against Watford.^[4]

Although Šmicer was plagued with injury problems, he scored the last minute winner against Chelsea in 2002,^[5] and a stunning volley against Borussia Dortmund^[6]

Šmicer also scored Liverpool’s second goal during the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final vs AC Milan. The game ended 3-3, with Liverpool coming back from 3-0 to bring it to penalties. Šmicer would then score Liverpool’s fourth and final penalty to win the game.

Upon returning to Slavia Prague in 2007, Šmicer won the Personality of the League award at the Czech Footballer of the Year awards in 2008.^[7] He ended his football career after draw 0–0 with Viktoria Plzeň on 9 November 2009, but made his farewell party on 11 May 2010.^[8]

Šmicer began his international career in 1993.^{[citation needed][clarification needed]} At the Euro 1996, he represented the Czech Republic as they made it to the finals. He was the Czech’s only substitute in the final, coming on in the 88th minute against Germany to replace Karel Poborský. At the Euro 2000, he scored both goals in the national team's only tournament victory, 2–0 against Denmark.^[9] Šmicer did not participate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup due to a leg injury.^[10]

Just one day after retiring from football, Šmicer became sports manager of the Czech national team, working alongside head coach Michal Bílek.^[11][12]

Šmicer stood for minor Czech party VIZE 2014 in the European Parliament election; his stated priority was to reduce obesity among children.^[13] As a result of Šmicer's playing career, he can speak English and French apart from his native Czech.^[14]

Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first.^[15]

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 June 1996	Russia	3–3	Draw	UEFA Euro 1996
2.	18 September 1996	Malta	6–0	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
3.	26 August 1997	Slovakia	1–2	Loss	1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
4.	6 September 1997	Faroe Islands	2–0	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
5.	11 October 1997	Slovakia	3–0	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
6.	13 December 1997	South Africa	2–2	Draw	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
7.
8.	17 December 1997	United Arab Emirates	6–1	Win	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
9.
10.
11.	25 March 1998	Republic of Ireland	2–1	Win	Friendly
12.	22 April 1998	Slovenia	3–1	Win	Friendly
13.	21 May 1998	Paraguay	1–0	Win	Kirin Cup
14.	6 September 1998	Faroe Islands	1–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
15.	10 October 1998	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
16.	31 March 1999	Scotland	2–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
17.	21 June 2000	Denmark	2–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2000
18.
19.	13 February 2002	Cyprus	4–3	Win	Friendly
20.	18 May 2002	Italy	1–0	Win	Friendly
21.	6 September 2002	FR Yugoslavia	5–0	Win	Friendly
22.	30 April 2003	Turkey	4–0	Win	Friendly
23.	11 June 2003	Moldova	5–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
24.	6 September 2003	Belarus	3–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
25.	19 June 2004	Netherlands	3–2	Win	UEFA Euro 2004
26.	4 June 2005	Andorra	8–1	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
27.	12 November 2005	Norway	1–0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifier

Slavia Prague

• Gambrinus liga: 1995–96, 2007–08, 2008–09

Lens

• Ligue 1: 1997–98
• Coupe de la Ligue: 1998–99

Liverpool

• FA Cup: 2000–01
• Football League Cup: 2000–01,^[16] 2002–03^[17]
• UEFA Champions League: 2004–05
• UEFA Cup: 2000–01

Bordeaux

• Coupe de la Ligue: 2006–07

Czech Republic

• UEFA European Football Championship runner-up: 1996

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vladimír Šmicer.

• Vladimír Šmicer – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Vladimír Šmicer – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Vladimír Šmicer at Premier League
• Player profile at LFChistory.net
• Vladimír Šmicer at FAČR (also at old FAČR website) (in Czech)
• Vladimír Šmicer at Soccerbase
• Profile and pictures on Sitercl.com