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David Rozehnal (born 5 July 1980) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He played for a host of European clubs, making over 400 appearances in a career spanning almost two decades, and retired from the professional game in April 2018. Internationally Rozehnal made 60 appearances for the Czech Republic, appearing in three major tournaments: Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008.
Rozehnal was born in Šternberk and raised in Kožušany. He comes from a sports family, his father was a second-league football player, his mother played competitive handball. His father then trained amateur club Sokol Kožušany, where Rozehnal started with football.[2]
In 2003, Rozehnal joined Belgian club Club Brugge. Shortly after joining the club he was part of the side which defeated AC Milan at the San Siro in the UEFA Champions League.[3] He won the Belgian Cup in his first season with Brugge and the Belgian League in the 2004–05 season.[4]
Rozehnal signed for Paris Saint-Germain in June 2005.[5] His form resulted in reported interest from Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle United and Sevilla.[6] Sources close to the defender confirmed that he would prefer a move to Newcastle.[7]
On 22 June 2007, Rozehnal's agent confirmed that a "definite agreement" had been reached for the player to join Newcastle United. Rozehnal underwent a medical check on 25 June and Newcastle confirmed the transfer had been completed on 29 June for a fee of £2.9 million, with the player signing a four-year contract.[6] He made his league debut against Bolton Wanderers the same year on 11 August.[8]
On 31 January 2008, Rozehnal left Newcastle for Lazio on loan until the end of the 2007–08 Serie A despite having only signed in June 2007.[9] After only playing seven times for Lazio during his loan spell, it remained unclear if they wanted to sign him permanently. On 9 June 2008, Lazio officially announced they had signed Rozehnal on a permanent basis,[10] with Newcastle recouping the full £2.9 million which they initially paid for the defender.[11]
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After only one year in Italy, Rozehnal left Lazio on 29 July 2009 for German club Hamburger SV, signing a contract until 30 June 2012. Due to a poor season with several costly errors by Rozehnal, he was removed from the first team and asked to find a new club.[12]
On 31 August 2010, Hamburg confirmed that Rozehnal had left for French side Lille on loan, with the German club still paying part of his salary.[13] He made a permanent move to Lille in June 2011, signing a contract until 2014.[14]
Rozehnal retired from professional football on 4 April 2018 and joined Sokol Kožušany alongside his brother, Marek.[15] He made his debut for the club the following weekend.[16]
Rozehnal was part of the Czech Republic national youth football team which won the UEFA U-21 Championships in 2002.[17] In 2004, Rozehnal made his debut for the Czech Republic in a 2–2 friendly draw against Italy on 18 February 2004.[18] He went on to play for his country at Euro 2004,[4] where the team made it to the semi-finals before being knocked out by Greece. He also played in the group stage at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although his nation did not advance to the knockout stages.[4] Rozehnal played in his third major tournament at Euro 2008.[19] He scored his only international goal in his 57th appearance for his country, finding the net in a 3–1 friendly win against Belgium.[20]
Rozehnal is married to Petra with two children.[21] Their first child, Luka, was born on 3 October 2007.[22]
Club Brugge
Paris Saint-Germain
Lazio
Lille
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