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Birthdate:
10.11.1973
Birthplace: Prague, Czech Republic
Other clubs: Sparta Prague, Slavia Prague, Borussia Dortmund, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Stoke (loan), Sparta Prague (2)
Bought from: Borussia Dortmund
Signed for LFC: £3250000 01.08.1996
International debut: 23.03.1993 vs. Cyprus
International caps: 44/18 (23/9 at LFC) - 15.08.2001
Liverpool debut:
07.09.1996
Last appearance: 11.05.2003
Debut goal: 15.09.1996
Last goal: 06.11.2002
Contract expiry: 01.07.2003
LFC league games/goals: 148 / 28
Total LFC games/goals: 196 / 35
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Player Notes:
Patrik Berger tasted success at an early age. He was in the Czech u-16 squad that became European champions in 1990. Berger started on the books of Sparta Prague but their rivals Slavia were quicker to react when Berger was eligible to sign a professional contract at 17. Berger spent four years with Slavia but Sparta dominated the league. He joined Dortmund in 1995 but although the club won the championship in his only season he was mostly on the bench. Berger didn't like the fact that the coach saw him as a defensive midfielder, but managed to impress Roy Evans in the 1996 European Championships in England where the Czech Republic were runners-up to Germany.
At the beginning of September Berger had shaken off a calf problem and his LFC career got off to a glorious start. Two shots with his deadly left foot beat Leicester and his first game in the starting line-up versus Chelsea resulted in two more goals. Berger was selected player of the month after his very first month as a Liverpool player! Berger was clearly seen as an out-and-out striker by Evans, threatening Collymore's place in the team. His scoring ability was evident in the beginning of his career but he couldn't keep up his scoring ratio as he had never been a real striker. He got injured and failed to recapture his place in the starting line-up. He finished with 9 goals in his first season. On the 5th of October 1997 he scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Chelsea at Anfield but he failed to utilise this opportunity and these turned out to be his only goals in the league that season. In the summer of 1998 Berger said he was going to Prague to contemplate his future with LFC. AS Roma were reportedly interested in his services.
Berger's saviour came in the form of Gerard Houllier that summer. He put him in the first eleven behind the strikers and although his first two games in the 1998-99 season were quiet, Berger repaid Houllier's faith in him by scoring 4 goals in the next 5 matches. His overall game improved and Berger seemed finally settled in on Merseyside. Berger didn't show his best side in the first half of the 1999-2000 season. He got into trouble in a European qualifiers match and was sent off. This resulted in the player only making one appearance for the Czech Republic in Euro 2000. Berger's game blossomed again at the turn of the year and fantastic goals against Wimbledon, Leeds United, Manchester United and Tottenham are forever kept in the minds of LFC suppporters. Injuries sadly held back his progress the last couple of years at Liverpool and at the start of season 2002-2003 it was clear that his future would lie elsewhere the following summer.
Berger moved to Portsmouth in 2003, having scored 35 goals in 196 first-team matches for Liverpool. His impact on the south coast was immediate as he scored against Aston Villa on the opening day of the 2003-04 season. He then scored a winning goal against Liverpool a few weeks later. Early in the New Year (2004), he had to undergo knee surgery and his appearances for Portsmouth from then on were limited until it seemed that another change of club would be in the player's best interests. After being released by Portsmouth in June, 2005 Berger joined Aston Villa on a two-year contract.
The Czech continued to suffer from injuries in the Midlands and didn't figure much for Villa, who eventually let him move on loan to Stoke City. After he returned to Villa Park, his form improved and his general fitness seemed better too. Shortly after the end of the 2006-07 season, Berger signed a one-year extension to his contract but played little football in the enclosing 12 months and alienated his manager by advising his club captain, Gareth Barry, to make a move to Liverpool once interest from his former club became known. A year and a day after signing that contract extension ... and now finally a free agent ... Berger decided to return to his homeland and at the age of 34 signed a two-year contract with Sparta Prague.
Patrik Berger retired from football on January 6th 2010 due to persistent knee problems. |
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