Real name	Jiri Jarosik
Height	6.04
Weight	13.10
Date of birth	27-10-1977
Place of birth
Position	Midfielder
Nationality	Czech Republic
Currently playing for	Celtic
Signed on	19-06-2006
Left:	31-01-2008

Summary

Jiri was born on October 27, 1977 in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia,
He has been capped 20 times for his country

In Feb 08, Jarosik has left Celtic to join Russian club FC Samara on a two-year-deal, for a reputed €1m transfer fee! [BBC]

Overview

With a pedigree like that behind Jiri Jarosik you might think we’ve got ourselves a good deal. Its said that Mourinho (the self-proclaimed special one) left Porto after managing them to win the UEFA cup and then the European Cup on the back that the club wouldn’t help him get Jarosik, ending up bringing in the player in his successful stint at Chelsea. Alex Ferguson even had a few good words to say as we bought the player (“bargain” was in there somewhere).

So where did it go wrong? Or did it go wrong? That’s the puzzle when it comes to this enigmatic player, and no side is right or wrong. When you look at his emaciated build, you’d hardly think he has the physique to be a professional footballer, but underlying it was a very talented player. Could hold the ball and play good passes, the kind of player that Gordon Strachan (our manager who purchased him) likes so well.

Poor performances though saw him in and out the side, but interspersed were some match winning performances, nicking late and last minute goals twice against Hearts to help us come from behind against the mini-huns to win. He also (cringingly) won us a free kick by his over-dramatics which led to the classic Naka free-kick to beat Man U in the Champions League.

Everyone knew that he had the skill to achieve much for the club, but excuses and reasoning by both camps on his ability abounded:

- He’s played out of position! Not his fault
- He’s too light-weight!
- He can’t take to the Scottish game!
- He’s too skilful! (not a reason I’ve ever understood)
- He’s just plain lazy!
- He’s only here for European game etc etc etc.

Whatever side you were on and whatever you said about him, the bottom line was that at the end of the first season he wasn’t even fit for the bench. Into the new season when we were drawn against Spartak Moscow, he did an interview for a Russian paper giving the background to the squad. Many saw it as selling out his team mates, rest just thought he was just stating what everyone already knew.

He ended up playing a few good games back in the first half of season 2007-08 but his heart was on leaving, and he left unsurprisingly in Jan 08 for FC Samara. Said he didn’t like the food and weather, and basically came over as a bit too precious.

Analysing his time at the club is as much a puzzle as the man himself. There’s no right answers and explanations, but no doubt neither we or anyone else has or will ever get the best out of what he has the ability to achieve, and in that sense that is the biggest loss of them all. Maybe if he finally took some responsibility and admitted that the problem was partly himself then he might achieve what he potentially can. On the other hand at least he has left us all with a good laugh (see Jarosik picture).

Club	From	To	Fee	League		FA Cup		League cup		Other
FC Samara	31/01/2008		£ 500000	No appearance data available
Celtic	19/06/2006	31/01/2008	Signed	24 (9)	5	2 (0)	0	1 (0)	0	8 (3)	2
Birmingham	22/08/2005	08/05/2006	Loan	19 (5)	5	4 (1)	1	2 (1)	2	0 (0)	0
Chelsea	07/01/2005	19/06/2006	Signed	3 (11)	0	2 (1)	0	1 (2)	0	0 (0)	0
CSKA Moscow	01/08/2003	07/01/2005		52 (4)	12	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	7 (0)	1
Slovan Liberec	01/08/1998		Loan	7 (14)	2	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Slovan Liberec	01/08/1997		Loan	6 (12)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Sparta Prague	01/08/1996	01/07/2003	Signed	84 (17)	20	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	18 (0)	4
Totals			£500,000	195 (72)	44	8 (2)	1	4 (3)	2	33 (3)	7
			goals / game	0.16		0.1		0.28		0.19
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals

Pictures

• Jiri Jarosik pics

All Clubs

Sparta Prague
Slovan Liberec Loan
2003 - 2005 CSKA Moscow, $3.5 million
2005 - 2006 Chelsea $7 million [BBC]
2005 Birmingham City Loan [BBC]
2006 -2008 Celtic [BBC]