Marek Jankulovski

Marek Jankulovski (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmarɛk ˈjaŋkulofskɪ], Macedonian: Марек Јанкуловски; born 9 May 1977) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a defender. His most notable achievements include winning the UEFA Champions League with A.C. Milan and being voted the 2007 Czech Footballer of the Year. He earned 77 caps for the Czech Republic, and represented them at three European Championships, the 2000 Olympics and the 2006 World Cup.

Marek Jankulovski
Jankulovski playing for Milan in 2007
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-05-09) 9 May 1977
Place of birth Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Left back
Left winger
Youth career
1987–1994 Baník Ostrava
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–2000 Baník Ostrava 110 (15)
2000–2002 Napoli 51 (8)
2002–2005 Udinese 91 (15)
2005–2011 Milan 113 (4)
2011–2012 Baník Ostrava 1 (0)
Total 366 (42)
National team
2000–2009 Czech Republic 78 (12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

A quick, tenacious, and hardworking player, Jankulovski was well known for his versatility, being able to play anywhere on the left side, and was used as a full-back, as a wing-back, and as a winger throughout his career. He was also known for his ability to cross the ball, as well as his considerable technical ability and energetic attacking runs down the left flank.[1][2]

Club career

Baník Ostrava

Jankulovski started his career for Baník Ostrava. In 1994, he made a breakthrough into the first team, as Ostrava finished in third place in the league. In the 1997–1998 season Ostrava came fourth in the Czech First League. He finished his time at Ostrava with a total of 110 league appearances. He then moved to Italy to play for Napoli in 2000.

Napoli

In the season 1999–00, Jankulovski scored 8 goals in 27 games, which made foreign clubs aware of him. After a recommendation of Zdeněk Zeman, he joined Napoli. After his first season in Serie A his club were relegated in the summer of 2001 to Serie B, where he played in the 2001–02 season.

Udinese

On 1 February 2002, Jankulovski joined Udinese in a transfer worth €3.5 million, and was loaned back to Napoli.[3] At Udinese, his talent could be expressed, as he became a key element of the team. He played 104 games and scored 17 goals with Udinese. With the shirt also debuted Udinese in the UEFA club competitions competing in four games in the UEFA Cup.

In the summer of 2004 he was linked with a move to Juventus F.C. and CSKA Moscow, but stayed at Udinese, signing a contract in October 2004, keeping him at the club until June 2008.[4]

Milan
Jankulovski during his time at A.C. Milan

In June 2005 Jankulovski was unveiled as a Milan player after signing for an undisclosed fee from Udinese.[5] Jankulovski could not start playing immediately, due to a broken ankle sustained in the May 2005 Coppa Italia semi final against A.S. Roma.[5] Jankulovski struggled to find form in his first season but was one of Milan's best players during the 2006–07 season, making 50 appearances for the team in all competitions, scoring three goals, including one from 25 yards against Livorno. On 23 May 2007, he took part in 2–1 victory in the final of the UEFA Champions League against Liverpool. He also scored the second goal of Milan's victory against Sevilla in the 2007 UEFA Super Cup held on 31 August 2007 with a volley, following a pass from Andrea Pirlo.

On 28 May 2008, Jankulovski was named Czech Player of the Year, with Petr Čech coming in second place.[6]

In the 2009–10 Winter Transfer period, Milan were said to have offered Jankulovski to F.C. Internazionale Milano in exchange for Mancini. Jankulovski refused to move to Inter, he later said that betraying Milan was not an option, stating, "Truth be told, I didn’t give it much thought… I wanted to stay at Milan, I’ve been here for five years and I’m settled."[7]

In April 2011, Jankulovski had surgery on his knee, causing him to miss the rest of the season of 2010–11 Serie A Season. Jankulovski was a part of the A.C. Milan squad that won the Serie A title for the first time since the 2003–04 season. Following A.C. Milan's league title victory, Jankulovski was finally released on a free transfer after five years at the club. Jankulovski announced it would be his final season for A.C. Milan as he intended to return to the Czech Republic to close out his career.[8]

Return to Baník Ostrava

In October 2011, Jankulovski returned to play club football in the Czech Republic for the first time since leaving Baník Ostrava for Italy 11 years before.[9] In his first game after his move, Jankulovski managed just eight minutes after coming on as a substitute before suffering a knee injury and leaving the pitch.[10] On 20 February 2012, he announced his retirement due to not being able to recover from his knee injury.[11]

International career

With the Czech Republic national football team, Jankulovski took part in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 European Championships, as well as the 2006 World Cup. He earnt 77 caps for the Czech national side, scoring 11 goals. He was named the Czech Footballer of the Year in 2007.

Personal life

His father, Pando Jankulovski, is a Macedonian who emigrated to Czechoslovakia from Yugoslavia.[12] Marek's mother is Czech. Marek is married to Jana Jankulovska and they have two daughters together, Karolína and Kristýna. He is also a member of the team Real Top Praha in whose jersey participates in charity games and events.

Career statistics

Club
Source:[13]
Club Season League Cups Europe1 Other2 Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Baník Ostrava 1994–95 Czech First League 10––––––10
1995–96 Czech First League 91––––––91
1996–97 Czech First League 211––––––211
1997–98 Czech First League 263––––––263
1998–99 Czech First League 262––––––262
1999–2000 Czech First League 278––––––278
Total 1101500000011015
Napoli 2000–01 Serie A 203–––203
2001–02 Serie B 31521––336
Total 518210000539
Udinese 2002–03 Serie A 27520––295
2003–04 Serie A 3264220–388
2004–05 Serie A 3243020–384
Total 911592400010417
Milan 2005–06 Serie A 2214020–281
2006–07 Serie A 33340130–503
2007–08 Serie A 140––3021191
2008–09 Serie A 3101061–381
2009–10 Serie A 802010–110
2010–11 Serie A 501010–70
Total 1134120261211536
Baník Ostrava 2011–12 Czech First League 10–––10
Career total 366422333012142047

International
Source:[14]
Czech Republic
YearAppsGoals
200040
200172
200251
200383
2004140
200561
2006121
200762
2008101
200961
Total7812

Honours

Club

Milan

International

Czech Republic

Individual

References
  1. May, John (22 May 2007). "AC Milan Pen Pics". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  2. Giovanni Battista Olivero (31 May 2005). "Il Milan carica la freccia Jankulovski" [Milan loads the arrow Jankulovski]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  3. Patrick Goss (1 February 2002). "Udinese sign Napoli star". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  4. "Jankulovski will stay with Udinese". CNN. 20 October 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  5. "AC Milán oficiálně přivítal Jankulovského". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). Czech Republic. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  6. "Briefs-Jankulovski voted top Czech soccer player for 2007". Reuters. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  7. "AC Milan Defender Marek Jankulovski: Why I Spurned Inter". Goals.com. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  8. "Marek Jankulovski Reveals This Will Be His Last Season at Milan". Goals.com. 30 January 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  9. "Jankulovski to return home". Sky Sports. 10 October 2011.
  10. "Jankulovski má opět přetržený vaz v kolenu, návrat trval jen osm minut". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). Czech Republic. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  11. "Injury forces former AC Milan star Jankulovski to hang up boots". Czech Position.com. 20 February 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  12. "Introducing Milan". The Guardian. London. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  13. "Marek Jankulovski » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  14. Marek Jankulovski at National-Football-Teams.com
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