Nedved wants Juve to rule again
Iconic midfielder on life as vice-president of Turin giants
Pavel Nedved has a heartfelt way of describing what it would mean if, finally, Juventus won the Champions League again. “Then,” he says. “Then I could rest in peace.”
It is said with a smile but Nedved is serious. Juventus is his second home and his second family — although he reveals he intends to return to the Czech Republic to hopefully revive the fortunes of the national team when his work in Turin is done.
There is a word that peppers his conversation as Nedved discusses his illustrious, iconic career and his role now as vice-president of the Italian giants, working closely with president Andrea Agnelli. That word is responsabilita — which needs little translation from Italian.
“The responsibility not to let anyone down, not to disappointment anyone,” Nedved explains, through an interpreter at Juventus’ training complex. Nedved felt it when he played, when he pulled on the famous black and white jersey and still feels it.
“There is no difference,” he adds. “I have always felt like this. Because I have always felt privileged. I have been able to do what I love, I have always been treated well, I have always been paid well so that’s why. I feel that I owe something; that I need to return something.
“It’s always been a great pleasure but nevertheless I do feel this responsibility.
“I can say in the past, when I was a player, it was less heavy because I could just focus on my performance. But even now, even if my role has changed, I don’t want to let anyone down.”
Nedved has a special bond with the Bianconeri. He also has a special role.
There are not many vicepresidents of clubs with the stature of Juve who were former players and not just that, but one who was signed in 2001 from Lazio for €41 million — to replace Real Madridbound Zinedine Zidane — and enjoyed such success and status.
Nedved has remained to this day and there are two episodes in Juventus’ history that reinforce the bond. The first is the way he inspired the club to the 2003 Champions League Final, only to be suspended after being cautioned in the semifinal win over Real Madrid for a foul on Steve McManaman.
Juventus lost the final to AC Milan on penalties and, even now, it is something Nedved really does not want to talk about. “It was extremely disappointing,” he says, not wanting to expand on a campaign which nevertheless ended with him winning the Ballon d’Or.
After that Nedved stayed when Juventus were relegated to Serie B in 2006 following the Calciopoli scandal. He was one of only five players, and the only non-Italian, who did.
“I have always been asked this question — whether it was difficult or not to stay in that critical moment,” Nedved says. “And my answer has always been no. It was actually easy to stay. The other players who made the same decision thought the same — that is: what would have happened if we had all left the club? We decided to stay because we felt the responsibility [that word again] to return to the club exactly what we had received. The club believed in us so it was the right time to give back. That’s why it was easy.”
Nedved could have left — and left for the Premier League and to one club, in particular. “I’ve always appreciated English football and the Premier League, I’ve always liked it,” he says. “My agent received some offers and I have always been a great supporter of Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson, specifically, at that time. They were certainly one of our greatest opponents and also a great source of inspiration and drive and desire. He [Ferguson] achieved great things, unprecedented things and I don’t know if anyone else will be able to achieve what he did.”
Nedved’s all-action, hustling, fully committed style was unmistakable with his mop of blond hair flowing as he ran; the midfielder had a powerful shot off either foot and was a fierce tackler with a fine range of passing.
Little wonder he was known as the “Czech Fury”. Little wonder Nedved, now 46 but who has changed little, physically, was so popular. “I cannot explain why my relationship with fans is so strong but, possibly, it’s due to the way I see football,” Nedved says. “I have always seen it as the result of great sacrifice, sacrifices you make every day for the victories, and hard work. That is what this club is based on: that hard work, that great effort, that sacrifice. And there are not many clubs like this one — there is Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich because of the backgrounds they have, because of their stories.”
Nedved arrived in Italy after his brilliant performances in driving the Czech Republic to the final of Euro 96 in England and retired in
2009, aged 36.
“It has been an incredible journey, it went beyond my expectations. I am still living this dream — the fact that I am here, doing this job. Football is my greatest love,” Nedved says.
With Juventus heading for an eighth successive Italian league title and having lost two more finals (in
2015 and 2017) since 2003, the Champions League is the target, almost an obsession. The last time they lifted the trophy was 1996.
Nedved believes the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer from Madrid has made a significant difference to their prospects. “It has improved the mentality,” he says. Has Ronaldo been what Nedved expected?
“No, he’s even more than that,” he says of the 34-year-old. “We knew him as a player but now we know him as a person and we’ve all been really impressed by his personality, his character. He is much more than a player.
“The way I describe Juventus is that it exactly matches with him. Ronaldo is a Juventus player. It’s a perfect fit and it is the perfect mentality.”
Nedved says of the prospect of winning the Champions League. “It would certainly make me extremely happy Then I could rest in peace.”
I am still living this dream — the fact that I am here, doing this job. Football is my greatest love. Pavel “Czech Fury” Nedved