PragueBuzz!

This Czech football star snubbed an offer from one of the best football clubs, Chelsea, to stick out with his teammates at Juventus. There is nothing new about football players accepting and rejecting offers as this is a common thing in the football industry. However, what make Pavel Nedved’s case special is his team, Juventus, belongs to the second division at the moment after getting 30-point deduction for its role in the recent Italian football match-fixing scandal.

After the official verdict, rumors spread about the possibility of many high-profile players in demoted teams would leave for other clubs to protect their career. At the time, I couldn’t help but wonder how Juventus could ever manage to return to the first division if all is best players leave. I don’t follow football anymore but Juventus used to be my favorite team while growing up because my favorite football player, Roberto Baggio, played there. Fortunately for Juventus, it has ones of the best players in the world not only of pure talent but also admirable sportsmanship. As Nedved said:

However, I felt that I couldn’t leave Juventus[sig] in such a difficult moment. I made up my mind after the first verdict, which handed us the 30-point deduction.

Two other best players also stay, two of whom are Alex Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon, the best goal keeper in the world.

I never liked the Czech national team. In fact, I wished so much for them to lose during the World Cup so my two favorites, USA and Italy could advance. But if the Czech team has a few more players like Nedved, I’ll change my mind in a split second.

[ Link to full text ]