Jan Koller (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjan ˈkolɛr]; born 30 March 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was noted for his height, strong physique and heading ability.
 Koller in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jan Koller[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 30 March 1973 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Prague,[2] Czechoslovakia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 | (42) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2006 | Borussia Dortmund | 138 | (59) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Monaco | 50 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 14 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Krylia Sovetov Samara | 46 | (16) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Cannes | 44 | (20) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 483 | (199) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Czech Republic U21 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2009 | Czech Republic | 91 | (55) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
He began his career at Sparta Prague, then moved to Belgium, where he became the Belgian First Division top scorer with Lokeren. He won the league championship twice with Anderlecht and the Belgian Golden Shoe. In 2001, he joined Borussia Dortmund, where he won the Bundesliga title in his first season and scored 73 goals in 167 official games over five campaigns. He moved frequently in his later career, with stops in France, Germany and Russia.
Koller is the all-time top scorer for the Czech Republic national team, with 55 goals in 91 appearances in a decade-long career starting in 1999. He represented the nation at three UEFA European Championships and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
editEarly career
editKoller started his football training as a goalkeeper,[3] but was converted to striker by the time he started his professional career with Czech club Sparta Prague. He made his début for Sparta in the spring of 1995 in a match against Benešov, coming on as a substitute with 20 minutes of the game remaining.[4] In 1996, Koller caught the eye of Belgian football and signed with the club Lokeren for a fee equivalent to €102,000.[3]
Anderlecht
editAfter a successful three-year stint, in which he managed to finish as Belgian First Division top-scorer in his last season at Lokeren, Koller was signed by Belgian club Anderlecht. He quickly built up a successful partnership with Canadian striker Tomasz Radzinski, excelling in his debut season and earning him the Belgian Golden Shoe in 2000. At the end of the season, he was bought by German side Borussia Dortmund after turning down English side Fulham.[5]
Borussia Dortmund
edit
While Koller was at Dortmund, the club won the 2001–02 Bundesliga, thanks in part to Koller's 11 league goals. Besides the Bundesliga title his biggest success whilst at Dortmund was helping them to the 2002 UEFA Cup Final, where his goal could not prevent them losing 3–2 to Feyenoord.
His training as a goalkeeper saw some use in the 2002–03 season. In a Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich, Dortmund's goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off in the second half for a second yellow card,[6] and Dortmund had already used their three substitutions. Koller, who had already opened the scoring in the 8th minute, moved from striker to goalkeeper after 67 minutes of the match. He prevented any more goals for the rest of the match, despite Dortmund having been reduced to nine players due to the earlier expulsion of Torsten Frings.[7] Koller was named by kicker as the Bundesliga's top goalkeeper of the week for his performance.[8][9]
Monaco and Nürnberg
editIn a surprising move, Koller signed with French side Monaco in 2006 but a two-season disappointing campaign, despite a decent scoring record, forced him to move back to Germany to play with Nürnberg.[10] Unfortunately for Koller, who wasn't the only Czech in the team as he was partnered with Tomáš Galásek and Jaromír Blazek, the Nürnberg-based club had performed poorly throughout the season and were relegated to 2. Bundesliga at the end of the 2007–08 season. In 14 matches Bundesliga matches he netted twice for Nürnberg.[11]
Later career
edit
On 23 June 2008, Koller was transferred to Russian club Krylia Sovetov Samara in a deal worth €1 million.[12] On 5 December 2009, Koller returned to France, joining Championnat National team Cannes, with a contract until June 2011.[13] Koller announced his retirement from football in August 2011 after a series of injuries.[3]
International career
editKoller made his debut for the Czech Republic in a friendly away to Belgium at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on 9 February 1999, and netted the only goal of the game in the 73rd minute.[14]
Koller became the all-time top scorer for the Czech Republic on 8 June 2005 following a match against Macedonia, in which he scored four goals in just 11 minutes of a 6–1 win, taking his international total to 39.[15]
In his third month with Nürnberg, Koller announced that he would retire from the Czech national team after Euro 2008.[16] However, after losing a Euro 2008 Group A match against Turkey 3–2, Koller eventually retired from international football.[17]
In July 2009, Koller announced that he would rejoin the national team because of poor results in the 2010 World Cup qualification.[18] He played in the match against Slovakia, but announced his retirement from international football again on 6 September.[19]
Style of play
editKoller was particularly noted for his height, strong physique and heading ability, being referred to as a "towering forward"[20][21] and a "human lighthouse".[22] Due to his stature, he was often nicknamed Dino throughout his career.[23]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Sparta Prague | 1994–95 | Czech First League | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 1995–96 | Czech First League | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | 30 | 5 | |||
| Total | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 36 | 6 | – | ||
| Lokeren | 1996–97 | Belgian First Division | 31 | 8 | — | — | — | 31 | 8 | ||||
| 1997–98 | Belgian First Division | 33 | 11 | — | — | — | 33 | 11 | |||||
| 1998–99 | Belgian First Division | 33 | 24 | 5 | 3 | — | — | 38 | 27 | ||||
| Total | 97 | 43 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 46 | – | ||
| Anderlecht | 1999–2000 | Belgian First Division | 33 | 20 | 12 | 10 | — | 4 | 3 | 49 | 33 | ||
| 2000–01 | Belgian First Division | 32 | 22 | 5 | 2 | — | 16 | 7 | 53 | 31 | |||
| Total | 65 | 42 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 102 | 64 | – | ||
| Borussia Dortmund | 2001–02 | Bundesliga | 33 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 49 | 17 | [24] |
| 2002–03 | Bundesliga | 34 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 48 | 22 | [24] | |
| 2003–04 | Bundesliga | 32 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 42 | 19 | [24] | |
| 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 30 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 33 | 16 | [24] | ||
| 2005–06 | Bundesliga | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | [24] | |
| Total | 138 | 59 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 14 | 182 | 79 | – | ||
| Monaco | 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 8 | [24] | |
| 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 4 | [24] | ||
| Total | 50 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 12 | – | ||
| Nürnberg | 2007–08 | Bundesliga | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | [24] |
| Krylia Sovetov Samara | 2008 | Russian Premier League | 18 | 7 | — | — | 18 | 7 | [24] | ||||
| 2009 | Russian Premier League | 28 | 9 | — | — | 28 | 9 | [24] | |||||
| Total | 46 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 16 | – | ||||
| Cannes | 2009–10 | Championnat National | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 4 | [25] | ||
| 2010–11 | Championnat National | 29 | 16 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 16 | [25] | |||
| Total | 44 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 20 | – | ||
| Career total | 483 | 199 | 33 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 62 | 25 | 586 | 245 | – | ||
International
editAppearances and goals by national team and year[26]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | 1999 | 10 | 9 |
| 2000 | 11 | 6 | |
| 2001 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 9 | 5 | |
| 2003 | 9 | 7 | |
| 2004 | 14 | 6 | |
| 2005 | 6 | 7 | |
| 2006 | 8 | 7 | |
| 2007 | 9 | 4 | |
| 2008 | 7 | 4 | |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 91 | 55 |
Honours
editSparta Prague
Anderlecht
Borussia Dortmund
Individual
- Belgian Pro League top scorer: 1998–99
- Czech Footballer of the Year: 1999
- Belgian Golden Shoe: 2000
References
edit- ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Czech Republic" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
- ^ "Nejlepší reprezentační střelec Jan Koller ukončil kariéru" (in Czech). Czech Republic Football Association. Archived from the original on 31 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
- ^ a b c "Czech striker Koller calls it a day". FourFourTwo. 17 August 2011. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ "Teď už budu hrát jen zadarmo, loučil se fotbalový útočník Koller". idnes.cz (in Czech). 6 September 2011. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- ^ "Koller deal going flat for Fulham". BBC. 15 May 2001. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ^ "Koller za Dortmund skóroval i chytal" (in Czech). idnes.cz. 10 November 2002. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ "Spielstatistik FC Bayern München gegen Borussia Dortmund 2:1 (0:1) - Bundesliga 2002/2003 - Der 12. Spieltag - Fussballdaten - Die Fußballdatenbank". fussballdaten.de. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ "Auch diese Feldspieler standen im Tor" (in German). Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ "1. Bundesliga - Elf des Tages am 12. Spieltag der Saison 2002/03" (in German). Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ "Club vor Verpflichtung von Koller". fcn.de (in German). 6 January 2006. Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
- ^ Arnhold, Matthias (20 April 2023). "Jan Koller - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "Koller signs contract with Russian club Samara". SI.com. 23 June 2008. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2008.
- ^ "Koller signs for Cannes". FIFA. 4 December 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
- ^ "Koller vyrovnal starý rekord Puče". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). 9 February 2005. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Van Persie inspires Dutch victory". CNN. 8 June 2005. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- ^ "Koller to quit Czechs after Euro finals". CNN. 8 April 2008. Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
- ^ "Jan Koller definitivně skončil s reprezentací!" [Jan Koller has finally retired from the national team!]. TV Nova Czech Republic (in Czech). 27 August 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Vracím se do reprezentace, řekl Koller. Hrát chtějí i Jarošík, Jiránek a Kováč". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. 19 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ Bailey, Richard (9 September 2009). "Koller quits Czech squad". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Czech lose two towers". UEFA.com. 29 September 2005. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Sergio Di Cesare; Marco Porro; Fabio Bianchi (13 June 2000). "Sua altezza Koller sa farsi valere" [His highness Koller knows how to make himself count] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- ^ "Rosicky fires veterans to easy victory". FT.com. 13 June 2006. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ "European football's best nicknames". UEFA. 27 January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Jan Koller » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ^ a b "J. Koller". Soccerway. n.d. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ Mamrud, Roberto (20 April 2023). "Jan Koller - International Appearances". RSSSF.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
External links
edit
- Official website (in Czech and English)
- Jan Koller at FAČR (also at old FAČR website) (in Czech)