Marek Matějovský (born 20 December 1981) is a Czech former

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 a central

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He was valued as a creative player with a high number of assists for goals. He is among the most significant players of the history of 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 ...

, where he played 443 games and retired at the age of 43. He spent most of his career in

FK Mladá Boleslav FK Mladá Boleslav is a Czech professional football club based in the city of Mladá Boleslav. Since 2004, the club has been participating in the Czech First League. In the Czech First League, Mladá Boleslav were runners up in 2005–06 and o ...

and

AC Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional association football, football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in cen ...

, but he also played in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and for the

Czech Republic national football team The Czech Republic national football team (), recognised by FIFA as Czechia, represents the Czech Republic in men's international Association football, football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR). H ...

Club career

Early career and Mladá Boleslav

Matějovský started his football career at the age of five with Slavoj Stará Boleslav, progressing to Alfa Brandýs nad Labem at the age of 13. After turning 18, he signed professional terms with

for the 1999–2000 season, who were then playing in the Czech 2. Liga. In the spring of 2001, he switched to

team Jablonec, but returned to Mladá Boleslav in January 2003. After settling back into the team, he helped them win promotion to the Czech First League for the start of the 2004–05 season, where they remained for the rest of Matějovský's stay at the club. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of Mladá Boleslav at the start of the 2005–06 season.

Reading

Matějovský's performances in the Czech Republic alerted big clubs elsewhere in Europe to his ability, and he was linked with moves to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and Steaua Bucharest. However, it was announced on 7 January 2008 that Reading had signed Matějovský on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £1.42 million. Nick Hammond said, "Marek is primarily a central midfield player but he is also capable of playing in both wide positions or behind the strikers – he is a player we have been following for some time, and when the opportunity arose to sign him it was too good to turn down." Brian McDermott kept an eye on him for roughly 18 months, and had seen him in action a number of times. He said "He's captain of his club, and has played all their games in the last three years except when he's been suspended. That's the type of guy he is." He made his debut for Reading on 19 January in a 2–0 home defeat to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for

Bobby Convey Robert Francis Convey (; born May 27, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who last played for New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. In addition to several MLS clubs, Convey spent five years in England with Reading, whom ...

. His first start for Reading was in another 2–0 home defeat, this time to

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

on 2 February. Matějovský scored his first goal for Reading on 15 March, with a 20-yard effort in a 2–1 loss at

. Two weeks later, he was sent off in a goalless draw against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (), currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in EFL League One. It also provides the ...

. He totalled 15 appearances in his first season, which ended with relegation to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

Sparta Prague

Matějovský returned to the Czech Republic in 2010, joining

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

and was announced as the new club

ahead of the

2011–12 Czech First League The 2011–12 Czech First League, known as the Gambrinus liga for sponsorship reasons, was the 19th season of the Czech Republic's top-tier football league. It began on 29 July 2011 and was originally due to end on 26 May 2012, although due to th ...

, taking over from

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

. He played 150 games for Sparta and is considered one of the club's personalities. Every year, he participates in the New Year's Eve

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

between the legends of Sparta and Slavia over 35 years old.

Return to Mladá Boleslav

Before the 2016–17 season, Matějovský returned to FK Mladá Boleslav and became the club's captain. Despite his age, he remained a valuable player for his football thinking, creative playmaking and final passes. For Mladá Boleslav, he played a total of 287 first league league matches, the most in the club's history, and became a club legend. Matějovský was awarded as the Personality of the Season in the 2021–22, 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons by League Football Association (LFA).

Czech First League records

Matějovský is among the most significant players of the

. He entered the Legends Club for players with 300+ league games in March 2018. In total, he played in 443 games during his active career (3rd most starts in history of the Czech First League at the time of the end of his career). He appeared in 22 seasons of the Czech First League, which is the most in history. Matějovský is among the league's top ten players with the most goal assists (69 assists, 5th most after the 2024–25 season). In the 2022–23 season, at the age of 40–41, he had 9 assists, the most among all players. On 8 December 2024, Matějovský scored hattrick in the match against

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 ...

and became the oldest hattrick scorer of the league at the age of 42 years, 11 months and 18 days. He was also the oldest scorer overall, surpassing his own record from May 2024, but on 5 May 2025, Josef Jindřišek surpassed him by a goal from penalty in his farewell match. Matějovský thus remains only the oldest scorer to score from a game. In addition to his other records, with 110 yellow cards, Matějovský is the player with the highest number of yellow cards in league history (but Admir Ljevaković, with 106 cards received them in much fewer matches).

International career

Matějovský was

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

ped 15 times by the

. Karel Brückner first called him up as a replacement for the injured

David Jarolím David Jarolím (; born 17 May 1979) is a Czech football manager and former player who most recently managed Ústí nad Labem. A central midfielder by position, Jarolím was known for his stamina, passing and technical skill. Club career Born in ...

for the Czech Republic's

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

qualifier against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on 2 September 2006, but had to wait until 7 February 2007 to make his international debut as a 70th-minute substitute in a friendly with

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, coming on for Tomáš Galásek and assisting the second goal in a 2–0 win. He scored his only international goal in the Czech Republic's 3–0 win over

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in Munich, also hitting the post, to cement their place at Euro 2008. He started the second and third group games at the

but was taken off with an injury against Turkey.

Personal life

Matějovský married in the summer of 2007. Outside football, he is also a keen

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player.

Career statistics

International

International goals

Honours and records

;Sparta Prague *

: 2013–14 *

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 ...

: 2013–14 *

Czech Supercup The Czech Supercup () was an annual football match between the winners of the Czech First League and the Czech Cup, organised by the Czech Football Association. It was last sponsored by Synot Tip and was therefore officially known as the Synot ...

: 2010, 2014 ;Individual *

**Top assist: 2022–23 **Personality of the Season: 2021–22, 2023–24, 2024–25 **Oldest hattrick scorer: age 42 years, 11 months and 18 days **Most seasons played: 22 *

: most caps (287)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matejovsky, Marek 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav Czech men's footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders FK Mladá Boleslav players FK Jablonec players AC Sparta Prague players Reading F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players UEFA Euro 2008 players Czech First League players Czech expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Czech expatriate sportspeople in England Footballers from the Central Bohemian Region Czech Republic men's youth international footballers 21st-century Czech sportsmen