The Czech international’s departure from S.S. Lazio in the summer of 2001 caused an uproar among the fans and led to the temporary resignation of club president Sergio Cragnotti. So highly valued was Pavel Nedved at Lazio that it is alleged that when the legendary Dino Zoff succeeded Sven-Göran Eriksson as coach he asked the Czech midfielder how he thought the team should play. Nedved, however, felt the club had lost faith in him and opted for a move to Juventus FC for a fee of €41.2m. The Cheb-born midfielder is an impressive all-round performer, but is particularly celebrated as a player that can both dribble at pace and shoot fiercely. He was the driving force behind the Czech Republic’s run to the final of EURO 96™ during which he scored the winning goal against Italy in a 2-1 victory. Played for both FC Príbram and AC Sparta Praha before moving to Italy to join Lazio in 1996. Nedved scored the last-ever goal in the UEFA European Cup Winners’ Cup by hitting the winner against RCD Mallorca in 1999. His goalscoring ability from midfield also came through in the UEFA Champions League of 2000/01, when he scored three goals in ten games.