Marek Jankulovski

Marek Jankulovski

Jankulovski playing for Milan in 2007
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-05-09) 9 May 1977
Place of birth Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Left back
Youth career
1987–1994 Baník Ostrava
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–2000 Baník Ostrava 110 (15)
2000–2002 Napoli 51 (8)
2002–2005 Udinese 91 (15)
2005–2011 Milan 113 (4)
2011–2012 Baník Ostrava 1 (0)
Total 366 (42)
National team
2000–2009 Czech Republic 77 (11)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Marek Jankulovski (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmarɛk ˈjaŋkulofskɪ]; born 9 May 1977) is a retired Czech footballer who played as a defender. His most notable achievements include winning the UEFA Champions League with A.C. Milan and being voted the 2007 Czech Footballer of the Year. He earned 77 caps for the Czech Republic, and represented them at three European Championships, the 2000 Olympics and the 2006 World Cup.

A quick, tenacious, and hardworking player, he was well known for his versatility, being able to play anywhere on the left side, and was used as a full-back as a wing-back and as a winger throughout his career. He was also known for his ability to cross the ball, as well as his considerable technical ability and energetic attacking runs down the left flank.[1][2]

Club career

Baník Ostrava

Jankulovski started his career for Baník Ostrava. In 1994, he made a breakthrough into the first team, as Ostrava finished in third place in the league. In the 1997–1998 season Ostrava came fourth in the Gambrinus Liga. He finished his time at Ostrava with a total of 110 league appearances. He then moved to Italy to play for Napoli in 2000.

Napoli

In the season 1999/00, get the left-footed eight goals in 27 games, which made foreign clubs aware of him but after a recommendation of Zdeněk Zeman, Jankulovski joined Napoli. After his first season in Serie A his club were relegated in the summer of 2001 to Serie B, where he played in the 2001–02 season.

Udinese

On 1 February 2002, he joined Udinese in a transfer worth 3.5 million euros, and was loaned back to Napoli.[3] At Udinese, he was devoted very talented player, becoming been a key element of the team with which he played 104 games and scored 17 goals. With the shirt also debuted Udinese in the UEFA club competitions competing in four games in the UEFA Cup.

In the summer of 2004 Jankulovski was linked with a move to Juventus F.C. and CSKA Moscow, but stayed at Udinese, signing a contract in October 2004, keeping him at the club until June 2008.[4]

Milan

Jankulovski during his time at AC Milan

Jankulovski was unveiled as a Milan player after signing for an undisclosed fee from Udinese in June 2005.[5] Jankulovski couldn't start playing immediately, due to a broken ankle sustained in the May 2005 Coppa Italia semi final against A.S. Roma.[5] Jankulovski struggled to find form in his first season but was one of Milan's best players during the 2006–07 season, making 50 appearances for the team in all competitions, scoring three goals, including one from 25 yards against Livorno. On 23 May 2007, he took part in 2–1 victory in the final of the UEFA Champions League against Liverpool. He also scored the second goal of Milan's victory against Sevilla in the 2007 UEFA Super Cup held on 31 August 2007 with a volley, following a pass from Andrea Pirlo.

On 28 May 2008, Jankulovski was named Czech Player of the Year, with Petr Čech coming in second place.[6]

In the 2009–10 Winter Transfer period, Milan were said to have offered Jankulovski to F.C. Internazionale Milano in exchange for Mancini. Jankulovski refused to move to Inter, he later said that betraying Milan was not an option, stating, "Truth be told, I didn’t give it much thought..I wanted to stay at Milan, I’ve been here for five years and I’m settled."[7]

In April 2011, Jankulovski had surgery on his knee, causing him to miss the rest of the season of 2010–2011 Serie A Season. Jankulovski was involved in the AC Milan squad that won a Serie A league for the first time since 2003–04 season. Following AC Milan winning the Serie A, Jankulovski was finally released on a free transfer after five years at the club. Jankulovski announced it would be his final season for AC Milan as he intended to return to the Czech Republic to close out his career.[8]

Return to Baník Ostrava

In October 2011, Jankulovski returned to play club football in the Czech Republic for the first time since leaving Banik Ostrava for Italy 11 years before.[9] In his first game after his move, Jankulovski managed just eight minutes after coming on as a substitute before suffering a knee injury and leaving the pitch.[10] On 20 February 2012, he announced his retirement due to not being able to recover from his knee injury.[11]

Career statistics

Club Season Domestic
League		 Domestic
Cups		 Europe
Competitions1		 Other
Tournaments2		 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Baník Ostrava 1994–95 1 0 - - - - - - 1 0
1995–96 9 1 - - - - - - 9 1
1996–97 21 1 - - - - - - 21 1
1997–98 26 3 - - - - - - 26 3
1998–99 26 2 - - - - - - 26 2
1999–2000 27 8 - - - - - - 27 8
Total 110 15 – – – – – – 110 15
Napoli 2000–01 20 3 - - - - - - 20 3
2001–02 31 5 2 1 - - - - 33 6
Total 51 8 2 1 – – – – 53 9
Udinese 2002–03 27 5 2 0 - - - - 29 5
2003–04 32 6 4 2 2 0 - - 38 8
2004–05 32 4 3 0 2 0 - - 38 4
Total 91 15 9 2 4 0 – – 104 17
Milan 2005–06 22 1 4 0 2 0 - - 28 1
2006–07 33 3 4 0 13 0 - - 50 3
2007–08 14 0 - - 3 0 2 1 19 1
2008–09 31 0 1 0 6 1 - - 38 1
2009–10 8 0 2 0 1 0 - - 11 0
2010–11 5 0 1 0 1 0 - - 7 0
Total 113 4 12 0 26 1 2 1 153 6
Baník Ostrava 2011–12 1 0 - - - - - - - -
Total 1 0 – – – – – – – –
Career Total 366 42 23 3 30 1 2 1 420 47

International career

For the Czech Republic, he played in Euros 2000, 2004, 2008 and the 2006 World Cup. He earnt 77 caps for the Czech national side, scoring 11 goals. He was named the Czech Footballer of the Year in 2007.

Honours

Club

Milan

Country

Czech Republic

Individual

Personal life

His father, Pando Jankulovski, is a Macedonian who emigrated to Czechoslovakia from Yugoslavia.[12] Marek's mother is Czech. Marek is married to Jana Jankulovska and they have two daughters together, Karolína and Kristýna. He is also a member of the team Real Top Praha in whose jersey participates in charity games and events.

References

  1. ↑ May, John (22 May 2007). "AC Milan Pen Pics". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Giovanni Battista Olivero (31 May 2005). "Il Milan carica la freccia Jankulovski" [Milan loads the arrow Jankulovski] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Patrick Goss (1 February 2002). "Udinese sign Napoli star". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  4. ↑ "Jankulovski will stay with Udinese". CNN. 20 October 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  5. 1 2 "AC Milán oficiálně přivítal Jankulovského". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). Czech Republic. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "Briefs-Jankulovski voted top Czech soccer player for 2007". Reuters. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "AC Milan Defender Marek Jankulovski: Why I Spurned Inter". Goals.com. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  8. ↑ "Marek Jankulovski Reveals This Will Be His Last Season at Milan". Goals.com. 30 January 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  9. ↑ "Jankulovski to return home". Sky Sports. 10 October 2011.
  10. ↑ "Jankulovski má opět přetržený vaz v kolenu, návrat trval jen osm minut". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). Czech Republic. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  11. ↑ "Injury forces former AC Milan star Jankulovski to hang up boots". Czech Position.com. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  12. ↑ "Introducing Milan". The Guardian. London. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
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