David Limberský (born 6 October 1983) is a former Czech professional footballer who played for Czech clubs FC Viktoria Plzeň and AC Sparta Prague.[1] He was a member of the Czech Republic national football team.

David Limberský
Limberský with the Czech Republic at UEFA Euro 2012
Personal information
Date of birth (1983-10-06) 6 October 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Plzeň, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Left back
Team information
Current team
Jiskra Domažlice (sporting director)
Youth career
1989–1990 Tatran Třemošná
1990–2002 Viktoria Plzeň
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2007 Viktoria Plzeň 56 (7)
2004Modena (loan) 4 (0)
2005Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 0 (0)
2007–2008 Sparta Prague 13 (0)
2008–2021 Viktoria Plzeň 327 (15)
2021–2024 Jiskra Domažlice 35 (0)
Total 435 (22)
International career
2003 Czech Republic U-20 9 (4)
2004–2005 Czech Republic U-21 11 (1)
2009–2016 Czech Republic 40 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2021-01-31

Club career

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Early career

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Born in Plzeň, Limberský played for hometown team Viktoria Plzeň and spent time at Italian side Modena on loan in the 2003–04 Serie A. He joined Tottenham Hotspur in December 2004 on a six-month loan.[2] Upon signing for Tottenham, Limberský was compared to Czech legend Pavel Nedvěd by Spurs coach Martin Jol.[3] Despite this, Limberský did not feature in any of Tottenham's matches during his time in England.

Limberský played in the final of the 2009–10 Czech Cup in a 2–1 victory against Jablonec.[4] He played at the first Czech Supercup against Sparta Prague in 2010, played the entire game as Sparta won 1–0.[5]

Limberský played in all of Plzeň's matches in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League. In the group stages of the following season's Europa League, he was headbutted by Diego Costa, an incident which brought the Atlético Madrid forward a four-match UEFA ban.[6][7]

Having ended his professional career in June 2021, Limberský joined third-tier club Jiskra Domažlice.[8] On 13 January 2024, Limberský ended his football career due to a persistent knee injury and became sporting director of Jiskra Domažlice.[9]

International career

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Limberský played for the Czech Republic at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring goals against Australia[10] and Brazil respectively.

On 5 June 2009, at the age of 25, Limberský debuted for the Czech senior squad in a 1-0 friendly victory against Malta.[citation needed] He was chosen as part of the Czech Republic's squad for the 2011 Kirin Cup.[11] However, Limberský did not feature in any of their games in the tournament.

UEFA Euro 2012

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Despite not playing in any qualification match for major tournaments, as well as having never previously played a competitive game for his national side, Limberský was called up for UEFA Euro 2012. He was left out of the Czechs' first game against Russia, where his side were heavily beaten 4–1. Limberský was brought in for the Czech Republic's second game against Greece in his first ever competitive game for the national side, playing at left back. The Czech Republic won that game 2–1, with Limberský doing enough to be retained for the Czech Republic's must-win game against co-hosts Poland. His side defeated Poland 1–0 and ended up as group winners, meaning that they would face Portugal in the quarter finals. Limberský again played left back against Portugal where the Czech Republic were knocked out after a 1–0 loss.

UEFA Euro 2016

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Limberský was included in the final 23-man squad for the UEFA EURO 2016,[12] starting in all three of the Czech Republic's matches until its elimination from the group stage.[13]

Controversy

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Limberský gained media attention after crashing his Bentley car in September 2015 and subsequently behaving abusively towards several police officers and testing with a high blood alcohol content, offences which carry a maximum three-year prison sentence.[14] He was subsequently stripped of the captaincy of Viktoria Plzeň and fined for "an absolutely unacceptable violation of the professional contract".[15] Limberský apologised,[16] but four days after the incident, celebrated his first of two goals in a 4–0 win against Příbram by pretending to drive a car.[17][18] The club moved to distance itself from Limberský's gestures.[19]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 7 March 2020
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Viktoria Plzeň 2003–04 Czech First League 12 0 12 0
2005–06 23 3 0 0 23 3
2006–07 21 4 0 0 21 4
Total 56 7 0 0 56 7
Modena (loan) 2003–04 Serie A 4 0 4 0
Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 2004–05 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sparta Prague 2007–08 Czech First League 12 0 0 0 6 0 18 0
Viktoria Plzeň 2008–09 27 3 0 0 27 3
2009–10 26 1 1 0 27 1
2010–11 29 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 32 3
2011–12 29 1 0 0 13 0 1 0 43 1
2012–13 28 0 2 0 15 0 45 0
2013–14 27 1 6 0 12 0 0 0 45 1
2014–15 26 2 3 0 2 0 1 0 32 2
2015–16 27 2 3 0 10 0 1 0 41 2
2016–17 24 0 0 0 9 0 33 0
2017–18 20 1 0 0 10 0 30 1
2018–19 32 0 0 0 7 0 39 0
2019–20 15 1 2 0 2 0 19 1
Total 310 14 17 0 82 1 4 0 413 15
Career total 382 21 17 0 88 1 4 0 491 22

International goals

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Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first.

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 6 September 2015 Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia   Latvia 1–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Honours

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Club

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Viktoria Plzeň

References

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  1. ^ "Limberský končí kariéru: Moje tělo řeklo "dost". V Plzni zůstane dál". Blesk (in Czech). 9 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Tottenham clinch double transfer". BBC Sport. 20 December 2004. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Jol on young recruits". Tottenham Hotspur. 23 December 2004. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Finále domácího poháru vyhrála Plzeň a zajistila si účast v Evropské lize". Lidové noviny (in Czech). 18 May 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Finále - Superpohár FAČR 2010/2011". AC Sparta Prague (in Czech). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  6. ^ "La UEFA castiga con cuatro partidos a Diego Costa" [UEFA punishes Diego Costa with four games]. Marca (in Czech). 19 December 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  7. ^ "Plzeň pip Atlético to take top spot". UEFA. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  8. ^ Schulz, Ervín (17 June 2021). "Nekončím, hlásí Král západu. Limberský míří do Domažlic". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  9. ^ Švec, Martin (13 January 2024). "Limberský je sportovním ředitelem Domažlic. Ještě nikdy jsem nepracoval, řekl". Deník. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Limbersky limbers up for Brazil with stunner". FIFA. 1 December 2003. Retrieved 15 September 2014.[dead link]
  11. ^ Czechs to play Kirin Cup in Japan without Rosicky VC Star
  12. ^ "Euro 2016 (ME vo futbale)". Sme (in Slovak). Petit Press. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  13. ^ Rendek, Martin (16 June 2016). "Česi v nádhernom zápase remizovali s Chorvátskom 2–2". Sme (in Slovak).
  14. ^ "Opilý fotbalista Limberský naboural s bentleyem, pak hrozil policistům". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Prague. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  15. ^ "Czech Republic defender Limbersky loses club captaincy after car crash". Associated Press. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  16. ^ "Limberský poprvé o nehodě: Mrzí mě, že jsem zklamal tolik lidí". Blesk (in Czech). 11 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  17. ^ "Limberský oslavil gól čtyři dny po autonehodě napodobováním řízení". idnes.cz (in Czech). 13 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  18. ^ "Příbram 0–4 Plzeň, snadné vítězství orámovaly dva góly Limberského". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). 13 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  19. ^ "Pochopení nenašel Limberský ani doma, Plzeň se od gesta distancovala". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). 14 September 2015.
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