2003 Ballon d’Or Winner: Pavel Nedved, The World’s Best Ordinary Player

Pavel Nedved may be the most controversial Ballon d’Or winner of all-time.

His 2003 victory made him only the second Czech player to win FIFA’s top individual award after Dukla Pragues’s Josef Masopust in 1962.

Nedved’s success story wasn’t a complete surprise. The midfielder had been steadily applying his trade in Italian football since the late 1990’s – winning major honours, producing consistent performances both domestically and on the European stage.

Yet it was the relatively mediocre season in which he won the Ballon d’Or that caused most confusion.

Pavel Nedved will be remembered as one of the world’s best ordinary players.

The Czech Workhorse

Following the departure of Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid in 2001 for a world record fee of almost £70 million, Juventus were looking for a direct replacement to fill the void left by the legendary Frenchman.

Lazio’s left winger and attacking midfielder Pavel Nedved was seen as the answer.

The Czech arrived with an impressive CV having already won the Serie A title in 1999/2000 along with two Coppa Italia, a pair of Supercoppa Italiana and the 1999 Cup Winners’ Cup.

He was renowned for fantastic crossing ability and famed for cutting inside to shoot with his skilled right foot. Nedved was capable of playing across the midfield line whilst possessing both an amazing offensive and defensive work-rate. He even won the league title with Juventus during his debut 2001/02 season.

But by his own admission, Nedvěd was a ‘pretty ordinary’ footballer and once said “I don’t think I am that great technically. My game is simple; there are no secrets to it, just work and more work.”

The Best Ordinary Season

In the eyes of a Ballon d’Or voting panel, football experts and journalists, Pavel Nedved delivered a fine season. That’s according to the awards and plaudits at least, yet in hindsight his 2002/03 campaign was rather ‘ordinary.’

The Czech played 43 times, scoring 15 goals and providing 11 assists in all competitions – a respectable but fairly modest return for a man voted best in class. With Juventus he won the Serie A league title and Supercoppa Italiana.

Unbelievably, Nedved was handed more than ten individual accolades as a result of his perceived brilliance during 2003 including…

• Czech Republic Golden Ball
• Czech Footballer of the Year
• Sportsperson of the Year
• Serie A Footballer of the Year
• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year
• UEFA Club Best Midfielder of the Year
• World Soccer Awards Player of the Year
• UEFA Team of the Year

However, it was his Champions League story that would ultimately persuade hoards of voters to back him for the Ballon d’Or.

In Europe, Nedved appeared 15 times and scored a reasonable five goals. He was involved in two of three Juventus goals against Barcelona during the quarter-final stage and netted a crucial away strike with the tie delicately poised at the Camp Nou.

But it was Nedved’s performance against Real Madrid in the semi-final second leg that effectively cemented his Ballon d’Or triumph – providing an assist and scoring a goal in their epic 3-1 victory.

The Czech was booked and suspended for the final after picking up a yellow card for an unnecessary foul on Steve McManaman with only eight minutes of the game remaining. Nedved finished the season as a Champions League runner-up following defeat to eventual winners AC Milan.

Yet the lasting impression was cast and no-one could stop the anomaly that was Pavel Nedved being crowned Ballon d’Or King.

2003 Ballon d’Or Top 20

Trivia

• The year 2003 would mark the final time Pavel Nedved won a major honour in any of Europe’s top leagues.
• Theirry Henry’s second place finish was a shock to most. The Frenchman scored 32 goals in all domestic competitions and hit eleven more strikes for France. He won the 2003 FA Cup with Arsenal, continuing the year brilliantly as part of their Invincibles team and scored another 39 goals in 2003/04.
• AC Milan’s Champions League victory handed Paolo Maldini his fourth out of the five European cups he would eventually win during an illustrious career.