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.

Club career

Liverpool

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 and scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–2 away victory against Watford.

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

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.

Slavia Prague

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. He ended his football career after a goalless draw against Viktoria Plzeň on 9 November 2009, but made his farewell party on 11 May 2010.

International career

Šmicer made his senior international debut in 1993, playing for the Representation of Czechs and Slovaks in a 3–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4 win against Cyprus on 27 October. At Euro 1996, he represented the Czech Republic as they made it to the final. He was the Czechs' only substitute in the final, coming on in the 88th minute against Germany to replace Karel Poborský. At Euro 2000, he scored both goals in the national team's only tournament victory, 2–0 against Denmark. Šmicer did not participate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup due to a leg injury.

Managerial career

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

Personal life

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

Career statistics

Club

Club performanceLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalTotal
SeasonClubLeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
CzechoslovakiaLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalTotal
1992–93Slavia PragueFirst League219--00
Czech RepublicLeagueCzech CupLeague CupEuropeTotal
1993–94Slavia PragueCzech First League186--20
1994–951630--113
1995–9628942--1114312
FranceLeagueCoupe de FranceCoupe de la LigueEuropeTotal
1996–97LensDivision 1335003021386
1997–982875340614311
1998–993041040--354
EnglandLeagueFA CupLeague CupEuropeTotal
1999–2000LiverpoolPremier League211202000251
2000–012725164110497
2001–022241010111355
2002–03210105061331
2003–04203101130254
2004–05100030061191
FranceLeagueCoupe de FranceCoupe de la LigueEuropeTotal
2005–06BordeauxLigue 12530020--273
2006–073020002070
Czech RepublicLeagueCzech CupLeague CupEuropeTotal
2007–08Slavia PragueCzech First League12200--50172
2008–098330--40153
2009–103010--1050
TotalCzechoslovakia21900
Czech Republic8523242
France119198313010215024
England1211010115537318319
Career total34661717

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
RCS199310
Total10
Czech Republic199510
199692
1997148
199885
199961
200062
200170
200273
200373
200461
200592
Total8027
Total8127

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

List of international goals scored by Vladimír Šmicer
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
119 June 1996Anfield, Liverpool, EnglandRussia3–33–3UEFA Euro 1996
218 September 1996Na Stínadlech, Teplice, Czech RepublicMalta5–06–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
324 August 1997Tehelné pole, Bratislava, SlovakiaSlovakia1–01–21998 FIFA World Cup qualification
46 September 1997Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe IslandsFaroe Islands1–02–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
511 October 1997Letná Stadium, Prague, Czech RepublicSlovakia1–03–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
613 December 1997King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaSouth Africa1–02–21997 FIFA Confederations Cup
72–1
817 December 1997King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaUnited Arab Emirates3–06–11997 FIFA Confederations Cup
95–0
106–0
1125 March 1998Andrův stadion, Olomouc, Czech RepublicRepublic of Ireland1–12–1Friendly
1222 April 1998Fazanerija City Stadium, Murska Sobota, SloveniaSlovenia1–13–1Friendly
1321 May 1998Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium, Kobe, JapanParaguay1–01–0Friendly
146 September 1998Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe IslandsFaroe Islands1–01–0UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
1510 October 1998Koševo City Stadium, Sarajevo, Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina2–03–1UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
1631 March 1999Celtic Park, Glasgow, ScotlandScotland2–02–1UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
1721 June 2000Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, BelgiumDenmark1–02–0UEFA Euro 2000
182–0
1913 February 2002GSP Stadium, Nicosia, CyprusCyprus4–34–3Friendly
2018 May 2002Letná Stadium, Prague, Czech RepublicItaly1–01–0Friendly
216 September 2002Letná Stadium, Prague, Czech RepublicYugoslavia1–05–0Friendly
2230 April 2003Na Stínadlech, Teplice, Czech RepublicTurkey3–04–0Friendly
2311 June 2003Andrův stadion, Olomouc, Czech RepublicMoldova1–05–0UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
246 September 2003Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, BelarusBelarus3–13–1UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
2519 June 2004Estádio Municipal, Aveiro, PortugalNetherlands3–23–2UEFA Euro 2004
264 June 2005Stadion u Nisy, Liberec, Czech RepublicAndorra3–18–12006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2712 November 2005Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, NorwayNorway1–01–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Slavia Prague

Lens

Liverpool

Bordeaux

Czech Republic

External links