Patrik Berger

Patrik Berger

Personal information
Full name	Patrik Berger
Date of birth	10 November 1973 (1973-11-10) (age 37)
Place of birth	Prague, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Left winger
Youth career
1989–1991	Sparta Prague
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1995	Slavia Prague	90	(24)
1995–1996	Borussia Dortmund	25	(4)
1996–2003	Liverpool	149	(28)
2003–2005	Portsmouth	52	(7)
2005–2008	Aston Villa	29	(2)
2006–2007	→ Stoke City (loan)	7	(0)
2008–2010	Sparta Prague	23	(6)
Total		375	(71)
National team
1993	Czechoslovakia	2	(0)
1994–2001	Czech Republic	44	(18)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Patrik Berger (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpatrɪk ˈbɛrɡr̩]; born 10 November 1973 in Prague) is a retired Czech footballer. He has played in Czech Republic, Germany, and England. He is best remembered for his time at Liverpool. He operated mostly as a left winger.

The success of the Czech Republic's national team in the Euro 1996 raised the profile of many players – including that of Patrik Berger, Pavel Nedvěd, and Karel Poborský — and convinced some of Europe's most prestigious clubs to purchase them.^[1] Capable of occupying midfield and forward positions, Berger became noted for his powerful strikes, surging runs, and strong left foot.^[2][3] Berger was beset with injuries throughout his career and received specialist treatment in the United States.^[4] He retired on 6 January 2010 due to knee injuries.

Club career

Prague and Dortmund

Berger was born in Prague, then capital of Czechoslovakia. His uncle is the Czech footballer Jan Berger — He began his career as a youth player at Sparta Prague in 1989, securing a professional contract two-years later with rivals Slavia Prague.^[5] Establishing himself as a senior regular, Berger competed in Europe and earned selection for Czechoslovakia and, following its establishment, the Czech Republic.^[3][5][6]

After 89 league games and 24 goals, Berger was purchased by Ottmar Hitzfeld's Borussia Dortmund in 1995 for a reported £500,000.^[3] His only season as a Dortmund player was frustrating and successful. While Dortmund gained the Bundesliga title and Super Cup, Berger was predominantly used as a substitute, scoring four goals in 25 league appearances. Hitzfeld preferred to employ Berger as a defensive midfielder as he considered him to be most suited to the role.^[2]

Liverpool's interest in Berger was stimulated by the performances of the Czech Republic during Euro 1996, organised in England, in the final of which he scored a penalty.^[3] The club approached both Berger and Karel Poborský, who elected to transfer to Manchester United after the competition's conclusion.^[7] Berger did accept Liverpool's contract offer and completed his transfer in August 1996 for £3.25 million.

Liverpool

With wife Jaroslava and their two children, Berger settled in Southport, Merseyside, where he resided near retired players Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen.^[8] Debuting as a substitute in a 2–1 home win against Southampton on 7 September 1996, Berger performed well in his first month with the club, endearing him to supporters and earning praise from colleagues.^[5][9] Used again as a substitute in his second match, Berger scored a brace of goals in a 3–0 win against Leicester City. A second double was registered against Chelsea in the latter's 5–1 defeat at Anfield, which he followed with a fifth goal in four games in a Cup Winners' Cup match against MYPA.^[10] The series of displays were recognised in October with the FA's Player of the Month award for September.^[11]

First-team opportunities became limited in Berger's second season. Unable to reproduce earlier performances, Berger was often confined to the bench in a season punctuated by a hat-trick against Chelsea.^[12][13] Berger's dissatisfaction and discord between the midfielder and manager Roy Evans placed his Liverpool career in jeopardy.^[14] Evans criticised Berger's perceived indifference to teamwork and publicly expressed a willingness to sell after he refused to be used as a substitute against Bolton Wanderers in March 1998.^[12][15] His agent reported to the media that Benfica, Roma and unidentified Spanish clubs were interested in arranging a transfer from Liverpool. The appointment of Gérard Houllier as co-manager before the 1998–99 season and subsequent departure of Roy Evans proved to be pivotal in Berger's decision to remain with the club.^[14]

Playing regularly in his first season under Houllier's reign, Berger scored nine goals and improved as a player.^[2] An injury sustained in a 4–3 defeat to Leeds United in November 2000 rendered Berger unavailable for much of the 2000–01 season and required specialist treatment in the United States from Richard Steadman.^[5][16] Berger recovered by March and featured in the finals of the UEFA Cup and FA Cup, in which he assisted Michael Owen to score the deciding goal against Arsenal.^[5]

Recurring injuries between 2001 and 2003 further disrupted Berger's career and deprived him of a presence in the first team, resulting in his decision to leave Liverpool after the expiration of his contract on the conclusion of the 2002–03 season.^[2][17] Berger had been confined to the bench for the duration of his final season when selected, limiting him to four appearances.^[17] He moved on a free transfer to Portsmouth,^[18] having played 196 games for Liverpool, scoring 35 goals in the process.

Portsmouth

Berger made his first appearance for Portsmouth on the opening day of the club's debut Premiership season in a 2–1 home win over Aston Villa, scoring the second goal. However, in February 2004, he was forced to undergo an operation upon his knee forcing him to miss the rest of the season. His performances at the start of the 2004–05 season indicated that a return to his best form might be on the cards.

However, he was released by Portsmouth in June 2005 and joined Aston Villa on a two year-deal.^[19]

Aston Villa

Berger was hampered by injury during his early Villa career, making few league appearances. In November 2006 he was loaned to Stoke City in order to gain fitness,^[20] with some reports suggesting that the player had fallen out with manager Martin O'Neill over playing in the reserve side. After his loan spell, Berger had a good spell of fitness and began to show flashes of what he was capable of, regularly showing his influence on the pitch. On April 7, Berger scored his first goal in two years against Blackburn Rovers in a 2–1 victory, where his performance was praised.^[21] Berger scored again on May 5 in the penultimate game of the season against Sheffield United.^[22]

On 28 May 2007, Berger agreed to sign a one-year contract extension with Aston Villa.^[23]

On 6 May 2008, he was told he had played his last game for Aston Villa after urging Villa captain Gareth Barry to move to Liverpool.^[24] At the end of his contract he was released by the club having appeared in just 29 matches in three seasons.^[25]

Return to Prague

On 29 May 2008, Berger returned to Prague as a free agent, signing a two-year contract with Sparta Prague.^[26] On 6 January 2010, he retired because of a ligament injury that he failed to recover from.^[27][28]

International career

Berger was capped 44 times, scoring 18 goals. He made his debut on 23 March 1993 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Cyprus, which ended 1–1. He famously scored in the final of Euro 1996 from the penalty spot to give Czech Republic a 1–0 lead. Unfortunately for him and his team, they lost on the Golden Goal rule in extra time to Germany. He also appeared once in the Euro 2000, having been suspended after being sent off in a qualifier against the Faroe Islands.

Career statistics

^[29]

Honours

Borussia Dortmund

• German Super Cup: 1
  

1995

• Bundesliga: 1
  

1995–96

Liverpool

• FA Cup: 1
  

2001

• Football League Cup: 2
  

2001, 2003

• UEFA Cup: 1
  

2001

• Charity Shield: 1
  

2001

• UEFA Super Cup: 1
  

2001

References

External links

• Patrik Berger career stats at Soccerbase

Czech Republic squad – UEFA Euro 1996 Runners-up 1 Kouba • 2 Látal • 3 Suchopárek • 4 Nedvěd • 5 Kadlec • 6 Němeček • 7 Němec • 8 Poborský • 9 Kuka • 10 Drulák • 11 Frýdek • 12 Kubík • 13 Bejbl • 14 Berger • 15 Horňák • 16 Srníček • 17 Šmicer • 18 Kotůlek • 19 Rada • 20 Novotný • 21 Kerbr • 22 Maier • Coach: Uhrin

Czech Republic squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Srníček • 2 Řepka • 3 Látal • 4 Nedvěd • 5 Fukal • 6 Vlček • 7 Němec • 8 Poborský • 9 Kuka • 10 Koller • 11 Rosický • 12 Lokvenc • 13 Bejbl • 14 Horváth • 15 Jankulovski • 16 Maier • 17 Šmicer • 18 Novotný • 19 Rada • 20 Berger • 21 Gabriel • 22 Blažek • Coach: Chovanec