Karel Poborsky – the Czech winger (Video)
The long haired Czech winger was signed by Manchester United in the summer of 1996, just after the European Championship came to a conclusion. He was a skilful and technically decent player who is usually remembered for scoring a famous lob goal against Portugal in the quarter-finals of Euro 96. Sir Alex Ferguson saw attributes that he liked and had it not been for David Beckham’s arrival and subsequent performances on the right side of midfield then he might have spent longer at Old Trafford.
A lot of Czech players were signed straight after the tournament held in England, as a result of increased media coverage allowing us to view previously unseen talent, combined with the Czech team playing so well to get to the final. The majority of the squad were still playing club football at home, with only a handful signed to German clubs and just Pavel Srnicek playing in England for Newcastle United.
As it turned out he did manage to lift the Premier League trophy in his debut season in England and played a large number of league games as well as contributing in the Champions League. As the young Beckham gained more experience and playing time, Poborsky fell out of favour at the club and was sold to Benfica. Three years were spent in Portugal, where the best he could manage was a third place finish on two occasions. However, he was popular with the fans and scored yet another lob similar to the Euro 96 one, amazingly against the same keeper.
Later years were spent playing club football back in his native country with Sparta Prague and he eventually returned to his first club to wind down his career. He is still the most capped player for his country, with 118 appearances, although most people wouldn’t know anything about this record. If you say the name ‘Poborsky’ to any football fan over the age of 25 then they will tell you about his famous goal, which is not the worst thing to be remembered for.
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