Jan Koller

Jan Koller

Personal information
Date of birth	March 30, 1973 (1973-03-30) (age 37)
Place of birth	Smetanova Lhota, Czechoslovakia
Height	2.02 m (6 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Cannes
Number	9
Youth career
1978–1989	TJ Smetanova Lhota
1989–1994	ZVVZ Milevsko
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1996	Sparta Prague	29	(5)
1996–1999	Lokeren	97	(43)
1999–2001	Anderlecht	65	(43)
2001–2006	Borussia Dortmund	138	(59)
2006–2008	Monaco	51	(12)
2008	Nuremberg	14	(2)
2008–2009	Krylia Sovetov Samara	46	(16)
2010–	Cannes	16	(7)
National team‡
1999–2009	Czech Republic	91	(55)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9:57, 6 September 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:55, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Jan Koller (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjan ˈkolɛr]) (born 30 March 1973) is a Czech footballer who is currently playing for French club AS Cannes.

As an international player he played as a striker for the Czech Republic national team. He is the all-time leading goal scorer for either the Czech Republic or the former Czechoslovakia, with 55 goals in 90 caps as of 15 June 2008. With 202 cm height (6'7.5") and a weight around 107 kg (about 235 pounds), Koller has an impressive physical presence and is a constant aerial threat to the opposition.^[1]

Club career

Early career

Koller started his football training as a goalkeeper, but was converted to striker by the time he started his professional career with Czech giants Sparta Prague. In 1996, Koller caught the eye of Belgian football and signed with the club Lokeren.

Anderlecht

After a successful three-year personal campaign, in which he managed to finish as Belgian First Division top-scorer in his last season at Lokeren, Koller was appointed by Belgian giants Anderlecht. While playing in Anderlecht, he made a strong and successful partnership with Canadian striker Tomasz Radzinski which brought him a brilliant performance in his debut season earned him the Belgian Golden Shoe in 2000 and just a year later he was bought by German side Borussia Dortmund.

Borussia Dortmund

Jan Koller playing for Borussia Dortmund

During Koller's spell at Dortmund (in which the club conquered the Bundesliga trophy in the 2001–02 season), his training as a keeper saw some use in the 2002–03 season. In one Bundesliga match at Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund's keeper Jens Lehmann was sent off about midway through the second half, and Koller moved from striker to keeper after he had already scored once in the first half. He kept a clean sheet for the rest of the match against good opportunities by Michael Ballack and others, and was named the Bundesliga's top keeper of the week for his performance. Nevertheless Dortmund lost this important match. He helped them to the 2002 UEFA Cup Final where his goal could not prevent them going down 3–2 to Feyenoord.

Monaco and Nuremberg

In a surprising move, Koller signed with French side AS Monaco in 2006 but a two-season disappointing campaign, despite earning a decent scoring record, forced him to move back to Germany to play with Nuremberg.^[2] Unfortunately for Koller, who wasn't the only Czech in the team as he was partnered with Tomáš Galásek and Jaromír Blazek, the Nuremberg-based club displayed a poor performance and was relegated to 2. Bundesliga at the end of the 2007–08 season.

Krylia Sovetov Samara

On 23 June, Koller was transferred to Russian club Krylia Sovetov Samara in a deal worth €1 million.^[3]

AS Cannes

On 5 December, Koller was transferred from Russian club Krylia Sovetov Samara to Championnat National team AS Cannes.^[4] He signed until June 2011.^[5]

International career

Koller is the most prolific goal-scorer of the Czech Republic and has represented his country in Euro 2000, Euro 2004, 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.

His best performance to date in a major tournament was in Euro 2004, when his side reached the semi-finals and he scored two goals, forming a pivotal partnership with fellow striker Milan Baroš. In the 2006 World Cup, Koller scored the opening goal against the United States, but later suffered a minor thigh injury. His injury was a major blow for the Czech Republic, which lost their next two matches without him and were eliminated.

Into his third month with Nuremberg, Koller announced that he would retire from the Czech national team after Euro 2008.^[6] He finished his international career with 55 goals, including a crucial headed goal in their deciding Euro 2008 Group A match against Turkey. However, his goal was not enough as the Czechs conceded three goals in the last 15 minutes, culminating with a Petr Čech blunder that allowed Nihat Kahveci to score the winning goal.^[7] The Czechs lost the match 3–2, and failed to progress to the knock-out stage, prompting Koller to announce his retirement from the national team.

On 12 August 2009, he announced that he would rejoin the national team because of poor results in the 2010 World Cup qualification. He played in the match against Slovakia, but on 6 September 2009, he again announced his retirement from international football.^[8]

Career statistics

Honours

Sparta Prague

• Gambrinus liga: 1
  

1995

• Czech Republic Football Cup: 1
  

1996

Anderlecht

• Jupiler League: 2
  

2000, 2001

• Belgian Supercup: 2
  

2000, 2001

Borussia Dortmund

• Bundesliga: 1
  

2002

Individual

• Belgian League Top Scorer: 1
  

1999

• Belgian Golden Shoe: 1
  

2000

References

External links

• Profile at Czech Republic Football Association (CMFS) official site with complete international stats (Czech)
• FootballDatabase provides Jan Koller's profile and stats

Czech Republic Squads Czech Republic squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Srníček • 2 Řepka • 3 Látal • 4 Nedvěd • 5 Fukal • 6 Vlček • 7 Němec • 8 Poborský • 9 Kuka • 10 Koller • 11 Rosický • 12 Lokvenc • 13 Bejbl • 14 Horváth • 15 Jankulovski • 16 Maier • 17 Šmicer • 18 Novotný • 19 Rada • 20 Berger • 21 Gabriel • 22 Blažek • Coach: Chovanec Czech Republic squad – UEFA Euro 2004 semi-finalists 1 Čech • 2 Grygera • 3 Mareš • 4 Galásek • 5 Bolf • 6 Jankulovski • 7 Šmicer • 8 Poborský • 9 Koller • 10 Rosický • 11 Nedvěd • 12 Lokvenc • 13 Jiránek • 14 Vachoušek • 15 Baroš • 16 Blažek • 17 Hübschman • 18 Heinz • 19 Týce • 20 Plašil • 21 Ujfaluši • 22 Rozehnal • 23 Kinský • Coach: Brückner Czech Republic squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Čech • 2 Grygera • 3 Mareš • 4 Galásek (c) • 5 Kováč • 6 Jankulovski • 7 Sionko • 8 Poborský • 9 Koller • 10 Rosický • 11 Nedvěd • 12 Lokvenc • 13 Jiránek • 14 Jarolím • 15 Baroš • 16 Blažek • 17 Štajner • 18 Heinz • 19 Polák • 20 Plašil • 21 Ujfaluši • 22 Rozehnal • 23 Kinský • Coach: Brückner Czech Republic squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Čech • 2 Grygera • 3 Polák • 4 Galásek • 5 Kováč • 6 Jankulovski • 7 Sionko • 8 Fenin • 9 Koller • 10 Svěrkoš • 11 Vlček • 12 Pospěch • 13 Kadlec • 14 Jarolím • 15 Baroš • 16 Blažek • 17 Matějovský • 18 Sivok • 19 Skácel • 20 Plašil • 21 Ujfaluši • 22 Rozehnal • 23 Zítka • Coach: Brückner