Pavel Besta (born 2 September 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer player who played as a defensive midfielder.[1][2]
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 2 September 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Ostrava, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2000 | Baník Ostrava | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2007 | Baník Ostrava | 163 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Viktoria Žižkov | 37 | (0) |
| 2010 | Ružomberok | 13 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Luton Town | 6 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Viktoria Žižkov | 25 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Sandecja Nowy Sącz | 2 | (0) |
| 2015 | Viktorie Jirny | ||
| 2015–2016 | SK Union 2013 | ||
| 2016 | Bohemians Prague | ||
| 2016–2017 | SK Třeboradice | ||
| 2017–2019 | SK Rakovník | ||
| 2019–2020 | FK Seko Louny | ||
| 2020–2021 | Spartak Kbely | ||
| International career | |||
| 1997–1998 | Czech Republic U15 | 3 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Czech Republic U16 | 16 | (1) |
| 1999–2000 | Czech Republic U17 | 13 | (4) |
| 2000–2001 | Czech Republic U18 | 14 | (3) |
| 2001–2002 | Czech Republic U20 | 7 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Czech Republic U21 | 7 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editBesta started football career in his native Ostrava at local side Baník Ostrava. He was a member of Baník's 2003–2004 season title-winning squad. The next season, Ostrava played in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. Besta played two matches against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.[3] Baník then played in the first round of the UEFA Cup, with Besta playing in both legs of the 4–1 aggregate defeat to English Premier League side Middlesbrough. During that season, he also won the Czech Cup with Baník.
In 2007, he moved to Viktoria Žižkov, where he spent two seasons. In his second season, Besta was part of the team that saw Žižkov relegated to the Czech 2. Liga.
In January 2010, Besta moved to Slovakia to play for Slovak Superliga side MFK Ružomberok. At the time of the transfer, he had played over 200 games in the Czech Gambrinus liga. He played 13 times for Ružomberok as they finished the season in fifth place.[4]
Following his release from Ružomberok, Besta joined English Conference Premier side Luton Town on an initial trial period. He signed a one-year contract in August 2010 after impressing in a friendly against Newcastle United.[5] However, he did not impress when he had a full-time contract, being the target of abuse from Luton fans following an error which led to a goal in a league game against Tamworth which Luton went on to lose 3–1.[6] After just nine appearances, Besta was released from his contract with Luton in January 2011.[7]
International career
editBesta played for the Czech Republic youth national teams from under-15 level. He played five matches for the U-20 national team at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina. Between 2002 and 2003, Besta played seven times for the Czech Republic under-21 team.[8]
Honours
editBaník Ostrava[9]
References
edit- ^ Posily FK Louny? Nejznámějším jménem je Pavel Besta, zatecky.denik.cz, 5 August 2019
- ^ Start do divize Lounům nevyšel, v neděli hrají na domácím hřišti. Přivítají tým Ostrova, ohremedia.cz, 16 August 2019
- ^ Jeřábek, Luboš (2007). Český a československý fotbal – lexikon osobností a klubů (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic: Grada Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-80-247-1656-5.
- ^ "Pavel Besta career statistics 2007–2010". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ^ "Besta joins Czech mate Kroca at Luton". Bedfordshire on Sunday. Local Sunday Newspapers Ltd. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
- ^ "Fan spat galvanises Luton Town boss Richard Money". BBC Sport. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
- ^ "Money thanks Drury for the memories after Ipswich switch". Bedfordshire on Sunday. Local Sunday Newspapers Ltd. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ "Pavel Besta international career statistics". Football Association of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ^ "Pavel Besta". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2 September 2024.
External links
edit- Pavel Besta at Soccerway
- Pavel Besta – Czech First League statistics at Fotbal DNES (in Czech)
- Pavel Besta at MFK Ružomberok[dead link]