Tomáš Řepka

Tomáš Řepka (born 2 January 1974) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a defender for Baník Ostrava, Sparta Prague, Fiorentina, West Ham United and České Budějovice, and the Czech national team.

Tomáš Řepka
Řepka with Sparta Prague in 2010
Personal information
Full name Tomáš Řepka
Date of birth (1974-01-02) 2 January 1974
Place of birth Slavičín, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1979–1989 Sokol Brumov
1989–1991 TJ Gottwaldov
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1995 Baník Ostrava 77 (3)
1995–1998 Sparta Prague 82 (6)
1998–2001 Fiorentina 89 (0)
2001–2006 West Ham United 167 (0)
2006–2011 Sparta Prague 130 (2)
2011–2012 Dynamo České Budějovice 24 (1)
2013–2014 Hvozdnice 1 (0)
Total 570 (12)
National team
1996 Czech Republic U21 2 (0)
1993 Czechoslovakia 1 (0)
1994–2001 Czech Republic 46 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Řepka began his career with Baník Ostrava, where he played from 1990 to 1995. He then joined Sparta Prague, where he spent almost three years, before moving to Italian Serie A club Fiorentina. He joined Premier League club West Ham United early in Glenn Roeder's tenure as manager, for a then club record fee of £5.5 million in September 2001.[1]

Řepka was sent off on his West Ham debut for two bookable offences,[2] missed a match through suspension, and was sent off again in the third match he played for the club.[3] He went on to form a central defensive partnership with Christian Dailly before the club's relegation to the second-tier Championship, although he gained a reputation for his disciplinary record, and received ten yellow cards that first season.

After relegation at the end of the 2002–03 season, the appointment of Alan Pardew as manager saw Řepka move to right-back. In the summer of 2005, after the club had regained their Premier League status, he was re-signed by Pardew on a two-year contract, albeit on reduced terms, but left the club in January 2006 to return to the Czech Republic to be with his family. He played his final match for West Ham on 23 January against Fulham.[4]

In 2006, Řepka returned to Sparta Prague. In 2009, he won the Personality of the League award at the Czech Footballer of the Year awards.[5]

In December 2011, Řepka left Sparta Prague following a mutually agreed early termination of his contract.[6]

After the termination of his contract with Sparta Prague, he signed with Dynamo České Budějovice, becoming a stable member of the first team and helped his team to avoid relegation in the 2011–12 season. However, his contract was terminated by his team in November 2012. After negotiations with 1. FK Příbram had broken down, he accepted a non-player role with Baník Most.[7] After three months, Řepka quit his manager role due to disagreements with new club leaders.[8]

International career

After making his international debut for Czechoslovakia in June 1993 against the Faroe Islands, Řepka played 45 times for the Czech Republic between 1994 and 2001. He missed UEFA Euro 1996 due to a two-match suspension for a red card.[9] However, he played for his country at Euro 2000, where the Czech Republic was eliminated in the group stage.

Disciplinary problems

Řepka is notorious for his lack of self-control, aggression and disciplinary problems.[10] During his professional career, he received twenty[11] red cards (see table below). One scandal included attacking game officials and a TV cameraman in September 2007.[12][13]

Team Red cards
Baník Ostrava 2
Sparta Prague 4
Dynamo České Budějovice 1
Fiorentina 6
West Ham United 4
Czech Republic national team 2
Czech Republic national under-21 team 1

Personal life

Řepka was married for 16 years to Renáta Řepková, with whom he has a daughter Veronika and a son Tomasso. In May 2012, they divorced.[14] In December 2011, he became engaged to a model Vlaďka Erbová.[15] Their son Markus was born on 19 May 2012.[16] The pair married in July 2013,[17] but divorced in 2016.

In August 2018, Řepka received a six-month jail sentence for advertising sexual services on the internet in the name of his ex-wife.[18] The sentence was later reduced to a community order.

In February 2019, Řepka was sentenced to 15 months in jail for fraud, pending appeal, after a Prague court heard how he sold a luxury rental car which he did not own.[19] Two weeks later, Řepka was sentenced to nine months in jail after two previous suspended sentences for driving under the influence were converted into jail terms due to his other convictions.[20]

Honours

Club

Sparta Prague

Fiorentina

West Ham United

International

Czech Republic

Individual
  • Czech First League Personality of the Year 2008–09
  • Was chosen as a member of All stars team Sparta Prague during the years 1980–2010 by the Fans poll[21]
  • Seventh-best Czech footballer of the decade (2000–10) by the Fans poll[22]
  • Czech First League Second-best Defender between the Years 1993–2013 by the Fans poll[23]

References
  1. "Repka set for Hammers debut". BBC Sport. 14 September 2001. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  2. "Boro make Hammers pay". BBC Sport. 15 September 2001. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  3. "Blackburn thrash West Ham". BBC Sport. 14 October 2001. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  4. "West Ham 2-1 Fulham". BBC Sport. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  5. (in Czech) Historie ankety Fotbalista roku at ČMFS website
  6. "Football: Defender Tomáš Řepka quits Sparta Prague". Czech Radio. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  7. "Konec? Manažer Řepka bude zachraňovat druhou ligu v Mostě" (in Czech). aktualne.cz. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  8. "Tomáš Řepka končí jako sportovní ředitel Mostu. Měl rozdílné názory" (in Czech). idnes.cz. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  9. Bouc, Frantisek (9 October 1996). "Czech soccer players make a pitch for World Cup '98". Prague Post. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  10. "Roundup". The Prague Post. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  11. "Unikátní jubileum krále blikanců aneb Řepkova červená "dvacítka" (Řepka's red "twenty")". .sport.cz (in Czech). 12 October 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  12. "Bad boys". The Prague Post. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  13. "Raging Czech football star attacks a cameraman". aktuálně.cz. 17 September 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  14. "Rozvod Tomáše Řepky! Renáta ho ponižovala, tvrdí soudkyně!". ahaonline.cz (in Czech). 18 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  15. "DÁREK: Diamantové zasnoubení Řepky a Erbové". nova.cz (in Czech). 25 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  16. "VÍME PRVNÍ: Erbová porodila syna Markuse! Řepka nebyl u porodu". blesk.cz (in Czech). 19 March 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  17. "Vlaďka Erbová si vzala Tomáše Řepku, nechá si příjmení po exmanželovi". idnes.cz (in Czech). 22 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  18. Willoughby, Ian (23 August 2018). "Tomáš Řepka jailed for attack on ex-wife using fake online sex ads". Radio Prague. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  19. "Former West Ham defender Repka sentenced to 15 months in jail". The Independent. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  20. "Tomas Repka handed nine-month jail term". Sky Sports. 20 February 2019.
  21. 1996-2017, FG Forrest - Creative Technologies, www.fg.cz, fg@fg.cz. "Fanoušci vyhlásili All-stars tým Sparty let 1980-2010 - AC Sparta Praha".CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. "Fotbalista desetiletí – nezničitelný Nedvěd: ten, co okouzlil Itálii – Fotbal". 29 November 2010.
  23. "Výsledky anket 20 let české ligy".
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