Tomáš Rosický

Tomáš Rosický

Personal information
Full name	Tomáš Rosický
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Attacking/Left Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Arsenal
Number	7
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:57, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Tomáš Rosický (IPA: [ˈto̞.maːʃ ˈro̞.sɪtsˌkiː] (Tom-aash Ro-sits-ski); born October 4, 1980 in Prague) is a Czech international football player, who currently plays his club football for the English Premier League side Arsenal. He is the brother of Jiří Rosický.

Club career

An attacking midfielder nicknamed 'the Little Mozart', Rosický is known for his phenomenal skill and his ability to orchestrate the midfield with good passing and the composure to keep the ball in the final third.

Borussia Dortmund

He cost Borussia Dortmund £18 million, a Bundesliga record when he arrived from Sparta Prague in 2001. Rosický's reputation grew during his time at Dortmund, and during the latter stages of his spell at the club, Dortmund were in substantial financial trouble and could not hold onto him despite recognising his influence on the team. Press reports linked him with big money transfers to Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal. Rosický expressed a desire for Dortmund to allow him to leave at the end of the 2005–06 season, and the arrival of South African Steven Pienaar was made in preparation for Rosický's departure.

Arsenal

2006–07 season

On May 23, 2006, Arsenal confirmed that they had signed Rosický on a long-term contract. The transfer fee was undisclosed but was rumoured to be in the region of £6.8 million due to a get-out clause in his contract at Borussia Dortmund. Rosický took over the number 7 shirt which was formerly worn by Frenchman Robert Pirès.

On August 8 2006, Rosický made his competitive debut for Arsenal in their first leg Champions League third round qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb, playing on the left-wing. On 13 September, Rosický scored his first goal for Arsenal in an away game at Hamburg SV, with a spectacular long-range effort from 30 yards. He scored his first Premiership goal against Wigan Athletic on February 11 2007. Rosický was not in his goalscoring form in the 2006–07 season, only hiting the net three times in the Premiership all season.

Rosický is preferred as a left-winger at Arsenal, as some of his play resembles his predecessor of his position, Robert Pires. Both first choice wingers at Arsenal, Hleb and Rosický have played in the Bundesliga as attacking midfielders, but Arsene Wenger prefers to play both in wide positions, and have full-backs such as Clichy and Sagna overlapping down the wings. While still at an early stage in his career, Tomáš has gained the nickname(s) of "The Little Mozart" and "The Mozart of Football" for his ability to orchestrate play on the pitch.

2007–08 season

Rosický again started the 2007–08 season deployed as a left midfielder. On August 29 he scored his first competitive goal of the season in a game against his former club Sparta Prague, scoring just after 7 minutes with a low drive from inside the box, following good work from Theo Walcott. Rosický kept up his good form while playing against Portsmouth F.C. to score his first Premier League goal of the season with a fierce shot from an acute angle. After recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in the Sevilla game, Rosicky made his comeback against Bolton Wanderers in a Premier League match. He combined well with Theo Walcott to score with a neat finish from six yards out, then once again against Wigan Athletic after being put clean through by Nicklas Bendtner. He netted again in an away game at Middlesbrough in which Arsenal lost 2–1 and was on the scoresheet again against Everton with a low drive from the edge of the box in a 4–1 victory. He again scored in the away match against Fulham from six yards out after being set up by Eduardo. The match ended in a 3–0 victory for Arsenal.

Arsenal fans last saw the Czech midfielder when he left the pitch after nine minutes of the FA Cup tie with Newcastle at Emirates Stadium on January 26. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger later described the 27-year-old's injury as "not a serious one but a strange one". However, it has now sidelined him for the remainder of the season and will keep him out beyond the summer tournament, EURO 2008.

International career

Rosický made his international debut in 2000 aged 19, against the Republic of Ireland. He played for his country at Euro 2000 and Euro 2004 and helped the side qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Rosický shone for his country in the group stages of the qualification campaign, scoring several goals from the penalty spot and setting up Milan Baroš and Jan Koller in particular with accurate and precise passing. He also scored the winning goal in the second leg of the Czech Republic's play-off against Norway, to ensure qualification for the finals.

In the 2006 World Cup finals, Rosický scored two goals in the Czech Republic's 3–0 victory over the United States in their opening match, on June 12, 2006. The Czech Republic went out at the World Cup in the group stages, with Rosický forced to move into the attack after injuries to both of the country's star strikers, Jan Koller and Milan Baroš.

At the beginning of the 2006–07 season Rosický was made captain of the Czech Republic national side, replacing the retiring Pavel Nedvěd which he has taken up very well, greatly helping the Czech Republic qualify for Euro 2008.

Rosický missed Euro 2008 due to injury.

Honours

With Sparta Praha

• Czech Liga 1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01

With Borussia Dortmund

• Bundesliga Champion 2001/02
• UEFA Cup runner-up 2002

With Arsenal

• League Cup runner-up 2007

Club career statistics

(correct as of 27 January 2008)

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Borussia Dortmund	2001–02	24	4	-	-	-	-	8	1	-	32	5	-
	2002–03	30	3	-	-	-	-	7	2	-	37	5	-
	2003–04	19	2	-	-	-	-	4	0	-	23	2	-
	2004–05	26	4	-	-	-	-	0	0	0	26	4	-
	2005–06	27	6	-	-	-	-	0	0	0	27	6	-
Total											145	22	-
Arsenal	2006–07	26	3	3	5	2	1	6	1	0	37	6	4
	2007–08	18	6	2	1	0	0	5	1	0	24	7	2
Total											61	13	6

External links

• Official website
• Tomáš Rosický's career timeline and detailed statistics
• Tomáš Rosický's statistics at Football Association of the Czech Republic webpage
• Tomáš Rosický at Soccerbase
• Arsenal Website Profile and statistics at the Arsenal web site.
• Tomáš Rosický (Czech unofficial website)
• Tomas Rosicky (English unofficial website)

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