Jiří Štajner (born 27 May 1976) is a Czech former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

second striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

. Eight years a player for

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

, he is extremely popular with Hannover fans and is seen as a cult figure at the club.

Club career

Czech Republic

Štajner started his active footballing career in the youth teams of

SK Dynamo České Budějovice SK Dynamo České Budějovice is a professional football club from České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley o ...

. At a young age, he was picked up by one of the league's best teams,

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

. He failed to make a breakthrough at Slavia, continuing his youth career with TJ Senohraby, an amateur club close to the city where he grew up -

Benešov Benešov (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 17,000 inhabitants. The town is known for the Konopiště Castle. Administrative division Benešov consists of 15 municipal parts (in brackets population ...

. In 1998, Štajner moved on to MUS Most in an attempt to advance his career, although his breakthrough was to come at the beginning of the new millennium after signing for

Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech professional association football, football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won thr ...

, as he became known as an excellent goalscorer and attracted attention with his European performances in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. In the 2001–02 season he was the

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

's top goalscorer with 15 goals as Slovan secured the title. In the summer of 2002, Štajner was signed by German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

Hannover 96

Štajner quickly became a favourite with coach

Ralf Rangnick Ralf Dietrich Rangnick (; born 29 June 1958) is a German professional football coach, executive, and former player who is currently the manager of the Austria national team. Rangnick began his coaching career in 1983, succeeding his career as a ...

, although the club from the Lower Saxonian capital had to pay his former club €3.5 million, which made Štajner the most expensive player in the history of Hannover 96. At the beginning of his spell in Germany he had trouble adapting to the style of play, only becoming a regular starter in his second season. On 22 May 2003, Štajner helped cement his status as a cult hero for the club, notably scoring the decisive goal against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

to retain Hannover's place in the top flight. The match ended 2–2. On 15 May 2010, he announced his return to his former club

. In 2015, he joined Czech lower league side TJ Spartak Chrastava.

International career

Štajner was a member of the Czech Republic national team, and played in the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

Coaching career

On 14 January 2020, Štajner was appointed as a playing assistant of

Arsenal Česká Lípa An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. On 12 September 2024, Štajner was appointed manager of

Turnov Turnov (; ) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is a traditional centre for gemstone polishing, glass craftsmanship and arts. The historic town centre is well preserved and ...

Honours

Slovan Liberec *

Czech Cup The Czech Cup (), officially known as the MOL Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the major men's football cup competition in the Czech Republic. It is organised by the Czech Football Association. The Czech Cup was first held in 1961. The winner ...

: 1999–2000 *

: 2001–02

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stajner, Jiri 1976 births Living people Sportspeople from Benešov Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Czech men's footballers Czech expatriate men's footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers Czech First League players Bundesliga players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Hannover 96 players SK Slavia Prague players FC Slovan Liberec players AC Sparta Prague players FK Baník Most 1909 players FK Mladá Boleslav players FC Oberlausitz Neugersdorf players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Czech expatriate sportspeople in Germany Footballers from the Central Bohemian Region 21st-century Czech sportsmen Czech Fourth Division managers