Oldřich Nejedlý

1931/41 Sparta Prague (TCH) 415 games, 388 goals

(Czechoslovakian Championship: 187 games, 162 goals)

(Mitropa Cup: 39 games, 18 goals)

(Others: 189 games, 208 goals)

1941/50 SK Rakovnik (TCH) 38 games, 18 goals

With the National Team :

43 caps, 28 goals

(Friendly matches: 23 caps, 15 goals)

(World Cup qualifiers: 2 caps, 2 goals)

(World Cup: 6 caps, 7 goals)

(International Cup: 13 caps, 6 goals)

1st cap: June 14, 1931 against Poland (4-0)

Bohemia-Moravia: 1 cap, 1 goal

Last cap: August 27, 1939 against Yugoslavia (7-3)

Born on December 26, 1909 in Zebrak, the young football player will be trained in several clubs such as Spartak Žebrák, Čechoslovan Košíře and then Spartak Žebrák. He finished his training as a young player in the SK Rakovník club. There, he was spotted by the Sparta Prague club who signed him when he was 21 years old, he signed in exchange for 20,000 crowns for his last training club.

Alongside Raymond Braine, he established himself as one of the pillars of the squad. On the international football side, he made his debut with the Czechoslovak selection in 1931 during a match against Poland won 4-0 with a goal from Oldřich.

Nejedlý was an incredible striker, playing left winger but mainly inside-left, he was a great technician, incredible finisher and endowed with a vision of the game that only the very best players possess. He was one of the most effective players of his generation.

When he was only 24 years old, he participated in the 1934 World Cup. This was his first major international competition, the tournament was then knockout and opened with the round of 16. In this Czechoslovakia team, the danger often came from Oldřich and Antonin Puc on the left flank. These two men offered the two winning goals in the round of 16 against Romania (2 goals to 1). Then, it was Nejedly who scored the winning goal in the last ten minutes in the quarter-finals against Switzerland (3 goals to 2). He had his best match in the semi-final against Germany by scoring all three goals for his team. At the end of the match, the Czechoslovakian team won calmly 3 goals to 1.

On the other hand, in the final, he was silenced by the tough Italian defense orchestrated by the powerful Luis Monti. Despite Puc's opening goal, Italy equalized nine minutes from the end thanks to the Italian-Argentine Raimundo Orsi who allowed the Squadra Azzurra to go into extra time. It was Angelo Schiavo who scored the winning goal and the first title for the Nazionale. Nejedly's only reward was the title of top scorer in the competition with 5 goals.

He was also there during the 1938 World Cup where he scored 2 additional goals, the first against the Netherlands during the round of 16 and against Brazil in the quarter-finals. He therefore brought his total to 7 goals in 540 minutes of play in the World Cup. He played and scored his last goal for the national team on 27 August 1939 against Yugoslavia (7 goals to 3).

He also won a cap with the Bohemia-Moravia national team after the annexation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany in 1939. Four times Czechoslovakian champion (1932, 36, 38 and 39) and provisional top scorer of the unfinished championship in 1939 (21 goals), he scored a total of 162 goals in 187 first division matches. After returning to SK Rakovnik, he ended his career in 1950.

- Top scorer in the 1934 World Cup (5 goals)

- Named to the 1934 World Cup Team of the Tournament

Homepage