Blazek's Sparta glove affair

By Sam Beckwith

It is one of Czech football's mysteries: Why, following defender René Bolf's summer move from FC Baník Ostrava to AJ Auxerre, is goalkeeper Jaromír Blazek the only member of the Czech Republic UEFA EURO 2004™ squad never to have played club football outside his own country?

Solid displays
The 31-year-old's rock-solid UEFA Champions League performances last season helped AC Sparta Praha reach the competition's knockout rounds, and his good form has continued this season - most recently with a clean sheet against Manchester United FC's formidable Ruud Van Nistelrooij-Wayne Rooney strike partnership.

Experienced performer
At international level too, Blazek has impressed. Given a chance at EURO 2004™, in place of regular starter Petr Cech, his confident performance helped the Czech Republic to the 2-1 win that knocked Germany out of the tournament. This season, Blazek's presence has been particularly important to a young and relatively inexperienced Sparta team - a fact not lost on his coach, František Straka.

Safety net
"Jaromír is, together with Karel Poborský, our key man," said Straka. "In fact, it's thanks to him that we can compete at the same level as the top European teams, because our players know that he'll watch their backs, and prevent a couple of goals in every game."

English hope
But despite being linked with moves to several western European clubs, Blazek says Sparta have yet to receive an offer that would be acceptable both to him and to the club, though the idea of following his former team-mate, Cech, to England is appealing. "I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be tempted to join a good foreign side," he told uefa.com. "I've always liked British football so I'd be particularly interested in an offer from the Premiership or some other British team."

Rocky road
In contrast to the 22-year-old Chelsea FC keeper Cech's remarkable rise, Blazek's ascent has not been quite as smooth or swift, taking in spells at all three of Sparta's Prague rivals, plus provincial club SK Ceské Budejovice. It was not until Blazek's second spell at CU Bohemians Praha, in 1996, that his career began to take off. As a first-team regular there, his impressive performances earned him a move to Sparta in 2000.

Cech blow
After establishing himself as first-choice at the country's biggest club, though, fate dealt Blazek's career an unexpected blow. With Blazek sidelined by injury, Sparta gave a chance to Cech, then only 19 years old.  Seizing his opportunity, Cech went on to break the Czech league record for the number of consecutive minutes without conceding a goal, moving ahead of his older rival in the Sparta pecking order.

Young rival
Blazek, however, remained philosophical. "Every goalkeeper always wants to be the number one, obviously, but I didn't have any kind of exaggerated rivalry with Petr, and we supported each other," he said. "Given his young age, it was clear that Sparta would sell him sooner or later, so I knew I had to be patient."

Sparta comeback
Sure enough, Cech moved on to French club Stade Rennais FC in 2002 and, after a loan spell at FK Príbram, Blazek became Sparta's starting goalkeeper once again. Since then, little has gone wrong for the Sparta No1, prompting inevitable speculation of an international move.

In touch
Blazek, however, is in no rush. "I'm not chasing a contract abroad at any cost," he said. "Sparta is the best Czech team and we play in the Champions League regularly. Thanks to that, I can keep in touch with football abroad."