Czech Player Profile: Vladimír Šmicer

Fans of Liverpool will recognize the familiar face of Vladimír Šmicer. Vladimír plays at midfield for the Czech side and was the key figure in cinching the Czech Republic’s place in Germany with his goal against Norway in Oslo.

A former Liverpool standout (both on the field and off the field with the Anfield fans and his run-ins with them), Šmicer now makes his home at FC Girondins de Bordeaux in the French Ligue 1. He’s also played at home for SK Slavia Praha and in France at FC Lens.

When he’s not busy playing for his club team, he’s represented the Czech Republic in the Euro 1996, Euro 2000, and Euro 2004 tournaments, in addition to many World Cup Qualifiers. A little piece of trivia for you: he has one cap for the now defunct Czechoslovakian National Team.

Billed as a technically sharp player, he’s both gifted and unpredictable making him a huge asset for Karel Bruckner and the team. For opponents, he’s a hard one to pin down with his tricky movement on the ball and his willingness to shoot from distance. This is the man who will cause problems for the other Group E defensive lines.

As to his home life, football is definitely spoken in his house. His wife Pavlina is the daughter of former Czech international Ladislav Vizek.