Jaromír Blažek

2.1. Personal life

Blažek is married and has two children, a son named Jakub and a daughter named Aneta. He is also related to the professional tennis player Radek Štěpánek, who is his cousin.

3.1. Early career and initial successes

Blažek began his professional journey at Slavia Prague in 1990, where he made his first league appearances. For two years, he was primarily used as a substitute goalkeeper. In the 1992-93 season, the final season of the Czechoslovak First League, he transferred to Dynamo České Budějovice, where he became the primary goalkeeper. Following the dissolution of the Czechoslovak First League and the establishment of the new Gambrinus liga, Blažek moved to Viktoria Žižkov for the 1993-94 season. This move proved beneficial as he won his first major title, the Czech Cup, with the club in 1994.

After only one year at Viktoria Žižkov, he moved across Prague to FC Bohemians. The team was relegated that year, and Blažek, not wanting to play in the Second League, was loaned back to his first club, Slavia Prague, for the 1995-96 season. During this loan spell, he contributed to Slavia Prague winning the 1995-96 Czech First League title, although he again served mainly as a reserve. When Bohemians regained promotion to the top flight in the same year, he returned to his parent club and remained there for three and a half years.

3.2. Dominance with Sparta Prague and foreign spell

Despite his club's modest performance, Blažek's individual abilities drew the attention of Sparta Prague, one of the giants of Czech football. He transferred to Sparta Prague in early 2000 and immediately contributed to the club winning back-to-back Czech First League titles in the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons.

In 2001, he went on a one-year loan to rival club Marila Příbram but returned to Sparta Prague after the loan period. Following his return, Blažek became an indispensable part of the Sparta Prague squad, playing almost every match across league, cup, and Champions League competitions. This period marked the pinnacle of his career, as he won four more league titles (2002-03, 2004-05, 2006-07) and three national cups (2004, 2006, 2007) with Sparta, solidifying his reputation as a highly successful goalkeeper.

In 2007, Blažek decided to seek a new challenge abroad and was transferred to the German club 1. FC Nürnberg, which had signed him as a replacement for Raphael Schäfer who had moved to VfB Stuttgart. Blažek initially served as Nürnberg's primary goalkeeper. However, he fell ill in April, which prevented him from playing in the crucial final matches of the season, a period that ultimately saw Nürnberg relegated from the Bundesliga. In June 2008, it was announced that Blažek would return to Sparta Prague for the upcoming season. On 16 December 2011, Sparta Prague announced the early termination of Blažek's contract, making him a free agent.

3.3. Later career and achievements

After his departure from Sparta Prague, Blažek joined FC Vysočina Jihlava. Even in the later stages of his career, he continued to achieve notable milestones. On 22 February 2014, in a league match for Jihlava against Znojmo, Blažek kept his 139th clean sheet, setting a new record for goalkeepers in the Czech league. He later extended this record to an impressive 157 clean sheets in the Czech First League. Blažek retired after the 2014-15 season, having played 19 seasons in the Czech First League, also setting a record for the most played seasons. At the time of his retirement, he was also the oldest player in the history of the Czech First League, having played until the age of 42 years and 4 months.

4.1. National team appearances and major tournaments

Blažek made his debut for the Czech national team on 29 March 2000, in a friendly match against Australia, which the Czech Republic won 3-1. Despite his long club career, his national team appearances were limited due to the consistent form and dominance of Petr Čech as the first-choice goalkeeper for the Czech Republic.

He was selected as part of the Czech squad for several major international tournaments. He participated in Euro 2000, Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and Euro 2008. The only tournament where he saw playing time was Euro 2004, where he made one appearance in the group stage match against Germany. This opportunity arose because the Czech team had already secured qualification for the knockout stages after winning their first two matches, allowing the coach to rest key players and give reserves a chance.

5.1. Club statistics

Detailed club statistics, including appearances and goals for each season and club, are not fully available in the provided source documents. However, Blažek's career is marked by his extensive playtime, particularly during his successful tenure at Sparta Prague, where he consistently appeared in league, cup, and Champions League matches.

5.2. International statistics

Blažek made 11 appearances for the Czech Republic national football team between 2000 and 2008, without scoring any goals.

6.1. Club honours

Viktoria Žižkov

• Czech Cup: 1994

Slavia Prague

• Czech First League: 1995-96

Bohemians 1905

• Czech Second League:
  • Winner: 1998-99
  • Third Place: 1997-98

  Sparta Prague

  • Czech First League:
    • Winner: 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2006-07
    • Runner-up: 2003-04, 2008-09, 2010-11
  • Czech Cup:
    • Winner: 2004, 2006, 2007
    • Runner-up: 2001

    Vysočina Jihlava

    • Czech Second League:
      • Runner-up: 2011-12

6.2. International honours

Czech Republic

• UEFA European Championship: Semi-finalist 2004

6.3. Individual honours

Czech First League

• Team of the Year: 1999-2000, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2008-09
• Most clean sheets: 2002-03, 2006-07, 2009-10, 2010-11
• Best Goalkeeper: 2012-13
• Second Best Goalkeeper (1993-2013) by fans' poll
• Player of the Month: October 2013

Czech Footballer of the Year

• Personality of the League: 2005-06