Ste Speed profiles a former Red who recently, effectively lost his job over his love of Liverpool when advising Gareth Barry to join the Reds, saying “It is Liverpool, if I was in Gareth’s position I would go there tomorrow. It is the opportunity of a lifetime.”….
CZECH MIDFIELDER Patrik ‘Paddy’ Berger spent seven years at Liverpool, during which he had mixed fortunes. He scored a number of goals in important games, many from long distance, and he was involved in the treble winning season of 2000/01. He was a talented player with a great left foot and it is a shame that recurring injuries often stopped him just as he was beginning to show good form.
Patrik Berger was born in November 1973, in Prague in the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia). He started his football career as a youth player with AC Sparta Praha in 1989. Two years later when he was eighteen, Patrik signed a professional contract with SK Slavia Prague. He was a regular in the side as they began to build a great young side after many years of failure in the Czech league. Patrik’s performances began to earn him acclaim and he was to become a regular in the national side. One of his team-mates with Slavia Prague was future Liverpool player Vladimir Smicer.
In 1995 he was signed by German Bundesliga side, Borussia Dortmund for £500,000. Patrik played just one season for them in 1995/96. It was a very successful one for the team as they won the Bundesliga Championship and the German Super Cup. Patrik hardly got to play a part however as he was used mostly as a substitute and scored four goals in twenty five appearances. The manager Ottmar Hitzfeld failed to take advantage of Patrik’s attacking qualities and deployed him as a defensive midfielder. Ironically for Patrik, his previous club won the Czech First Division that same season for the first time in forty eight years and he missed out on those celebrations.
In 1996 Patrik was part of the excellent Czech Republic side at the European Championships in England, during which they were the losing finalists. I remember watching him play during this tournament in a group game between the Czech’s and Italy which was played at Anfield. The Czech Republic won the game 2-1 with goals from Bejbel and the outstanding Pavel Nedved. The Czech Republic where not regarded as genuine contenders before the tournament, but this victory put them on the map. Their final game in the group was also at Anfield. It was a pulsating 3-3 draw with Russia in which Vladimir Smicer scored a last minute equaliser at his future home ground. This result meant that they finished second in the group to Germany and Italy was eliminated in a huge shock. In the quarter finals they defeated Portugal 1-0 with a phenomenal goal by Karel Poborsky who was making a name for himself as one of the stars of the tournament. The Czech’s then defeated France in the semi finals via penalty shoot out, with Patrik scoring one of the penalties. They then faced Germany in the final who had won their own semi final over England in one of the most heartbreaking games of my life. In fact for me, the heartbreak of that loss was only truly healed in 2005 when Liverpool won a huge penalty shoot out in Istanbul. In the Euro 96 final Patrik scored another penalty but unfortunately for the Czech Republic they lost the game 2-1 with Bierhoff scoring a golden goal for the Germans in extra time.
After the tournament ended a number of the Czech Republic players were suddenly in demand from many of the top clubs in Europe. After witnessing them first hand during the group games at Anfield, Liverpool made serious approaches to both Karel Poborsky and Patrik Berger. Poborsky decided to join Man Utd instead but Patrik was signed by Roy Evans in August 1996 for £3.25 million. Patrik has since described signing for Liverpool as “the greatest day in my football life”. In a 2004 interview with the Sunday Times, he talked about how when he was young, a friend’s father had been to see a Liverpool game and gave him the match ticket, programme and a Liverpool scarf. He said he still kept those items which were part of his proudest possessions.
Patrik made an explosive start to his Liverpool career by scoring five goals in four games. He made his debut as a substitute in a 2-1 win at home to Southampton. He was a substitute again in his second game which was against Leicester City. This time Patrik came off the bench to score two great goals in a 3-0 victory for The Reds. In one of the most predictable football headlines ever, the following days tabloid newspapers all carried various versions of the phrase ‘Berger King’ after this performance. Patrik certainly seemed to live up to this billing the following weekend when he bagged another two goals as we thrashed Chelsea. He then grabbed another goal in a European Cup Winners Cup victory over Finnish side MyPa. These performances earned Patrik the player of the month award for September.
Roy Evans then began using Patrik as a striker alongside Robbie Fowler. However this was never his best position and he struggled to maintain the scoring ratio from his first month at the club. This also unsettled Stan Collymore who had previously been successful in a partnership with Fowler, and was one of the factors in Stan eventually departing. Patrik then got injured and never regained his starting place for the remainder of the season.
He started the 1997/98 season well and scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 win against Chelsea. These were to be his only goals of the season as he unfortunately had a poor second season at Anfield. He played mostly as a substitute which eventually led to a public falling out with Roy Evans. Roy accused Patrik of having the wrong attitude not being a team player. Patrik countered by saying there was no discipline at the club and training was awful because he knew no matter how hard he worked he wouldn’t be picked. He said in an interview with the Sunday Mirror that when he asked Roy why he wasn’t being picked, he was told “you don’t play very well”.
It looked certain that he would be leaving the club in the summer of 1998 and his agent had a contract from Italian side Roma waiting for Patrik to sign. Liverpool’s chief executive Peter Robinson convinced Patrik to hold on and wait. Then Gerard Houllier arrived as joint manager and everything changed for Patrik. Houllier immediately convinced Patrik that he had a future at Anfield and backed this up by putting him in the starting eleven in a role just behind the strikers. He flourished in this role and after two quiet games he then went on a run of scoring four goals in the next five games. After Roy Evans departed when the partnership with Houlier collapsed, Patrik finally felt settled at Liverpool.
He had a slow start to the 1999/2000 season but he showed probably his best form during the second half of the season. He scored some of the most spectacular Liverpool goals of that period against Wimbledon, Leeds Utd, Man Utd and Tottenham Hotspur. Patrik has since described the goal against Leeds Utd as his best ever for Liverpool. I clearly remember the spectacular free kick against Man Utd because I watched that game in a pub in St Helens that was frequented by mostly Man Utd fans. I’ll never forget me and my mate Pat falling backwards off our chairs in celebration as threats of violence lingered all around us.
Patrik missed the majority of the amazing treble winning season of 2000/01 through a serious knee injury. In November 2000 he badly twisted his knee in a 4-3 defeat away at Leeds Utd. This was the beginning of the end for Patrik’s Liverpool career as he remained dogged by injuries from that moment on. He received surgery in Colorado, America and was out for the next five months, returning to the team in March 2001. Patrik was able to play a part in both the F.A Cup and UEFA Cup finals at the end of that incredible season. No Liverpool fan will ever forget his pass to Michael Owen that led to that incredible winner in the F.A Cup final against Arsenal. The celebrations for that goal remain the wildest I’ve ever been a part of and the only time I’ve ever become temporarily insane in my life! This proved to be the last great moment for Patrik as a Liverpool player despite remaining at the club for a further two seasons.
The next two seasons, 2001/02 and 2002/03 were pretty much disasters for Patrik as he missed most of them through a series of recurring injuries. Patrik didn’t start a single game during the 2002/03 season and only appeared on the bench four times. At the end of that season his contract expired and although he was offered a new one, he decided to leave the club as his chances in the first team were limited. In the summer of 2003 he joined Premiership new boys Portsmouth on a free transfer.
You know, the greatest day in my football life was the day I signed for Liverpool. I couldn’t believe it. When I was young in Czechoslovakia, we didn’t see much European football, but my father’s friend went to England and he watched Liverpool. When he came back, he gave me the programme, the ticket and a scarf. I still have them all.
When I moved to Southport to live, my neighbour was Kenny Dalglish. Alan Hansen lived around the corner. I met them, they were normal guys, but they were my heroes. To me, it’s the best club in the world and when I am finished playing and I’m telling my children about it I will be proud to say that for seven years I was a Liverpool player.
Berger had a great start with Pompey, scoring the winning goal on his debut in a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa. He went on to score the winner against Liverpool in October 2003. Fortunately Liverpool got revenge at Anfield when Didi Hamman scored the goal of the season. In February 2004 Patrik re-injured his knee which required surgery and he missed the remainder of the season. During the following season 2004/05 he showed signs of a return to form and scored one of the Premierships greatest goals in a 2-1 defeat to Charlton Athletic. Despite playing well in his second season for Portsmouth, Patrik was released on a free transfer in the summer of 2005.
Patrik then joined Aston Villa on a two year contract. These two years were hampered by injury with Patrik only making nine league appearances. After a rumoured falling out with manager Martin O’Neill, he was loaned out to Stoke City after complaining about playing in the reserves to regain fitness. This seemed to revitalise him and he came back to score goals again at the tail end of the 2006/07 season. Thanks to his performances in the last two months of the season Patrik was offered a one year contract extension. It appears that this will be the last contract he is ever going to be offered by Aston Villa. At the end of the 2007/08 season Martin O’Neill stated that Patrik will never play for the club again after newspaper reports claimed that he had urged Villa’s captain, Gareth Barry, to join Liverpool in order to further his career.
Despite his last few years at Liverpool being tainted by injuries, Patrik Berger remains a popular figure amongst Liverpool fans. His commitment on the field and spectacular goals in important games will always leave fond memories in the hearts and minds of Reds supporters. Patrik is one of those players that gets the YouTube highlight treatment due to the fact that he never scored tap in’s, only spectacular goals. He was voted in at number 79 in the series ‘100 Players Who Shook the Kop’.
In 1996 Patrik was part of the excellent Czech Republic side at the European Championships in England, during which they were the losing finalists. I remember watching him play during this tournament in a group game between the Czech’s and Italy which was played at Anfield. The Czech Republic won the game 2-1 with goals from Bejbel and the outstanding Pavel Nedved. The Czech Republic where not regarded as genuine contenders before the tournament, but this victory put them on the map. Their final game in the group was also at Anfield. It was a pulsating 3-3 draw with Russia in which Vladimir Smicer scored a last minute equaliser at his future home ground. This result meant that they finished second in the group to Germany and Italy was eliminated in a huge shock. In the quarter finals they defeated Portugal 1-0 with a phenomenal goal by Karel Poborsky who was making a name for himself as one of the stars of the tournament. The Czech’s then defeated France in the semi finals via penalty shoot out, with Patrik scoring one of the penalties. They then faced Germany in the final who had won their own semi final over England in one of the most heartbreaking games of my life. In fact for me, the heartbreak of that loss was only truly healed in 2005 when Liverpool won a huge penalty shoot out in Istanbul. In the Euro 96 final Patrik scored another penalty but unfortunately for the Czech Republic they lost the game 2-1 with Bierhoff scoring a golden goal for the Germans in extra time.
Roy Evans then began using Patrik as a striker alongside Robbie Fowler. However this was never his best position and he struggled to maintain the scoring ratio from his first month at the club. This also unsettled Stan Collymore who had previously been successful in a partnership with Fowler, and was one of the factors in Stan eventually departing. Patrik then got injured and never regained his starting place for the remainder of the season.
He had a slow start to the 1999/2000 season but he showed probably his best form during the second half of the season. He scored some of the most spectacular Liverpool goals of that period against Wimbledon, Leeds Utd, Man Utd and Tottenham Hotspur. Patrik has since described the goal against Leeds Utd as his best ever for Liverpool. I clearly remember the spectacular free kick against Man Utd because I watched that game in a pub in St Helens that was frequented by mostly Man Utd fans. I’ll never forget me and my mate Pat falling backwards off our chairs in celebration as threats of violence lingered all around us.
You know, the greatest day in my football life was the day I signed for Liverpool. I couldn’t believe it. When I was young in Czechoslovakia, we didn’t see much European football, but my father’s friend went to England and he watched Liverpool. When he came back, he gave me the programme, the ticket and a scarf. I still have them all.
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