Sad news on BBC Sports about Czech International Patrik Berger retiring from football at the age of 36 because of a recurring injury.
I know he's best known for his time at Liverpool and for being part of the great Czech team of the mid to late nineties but I'll always remember him for this wonder goal for Portsmouth against Charlton Athletic in 2004:
The look on Dean Kiely's face after the fact is absolutely priceless. I'd totally forgotten that Portsmouth ended up losing that game 2-1. A wonder goal like that should by rights be a winning goal . . . and against a better team than Charlton, now that I think about it.
There's a good YouTube compilation of his time at Liverpool here, and a wonder goal of a different sort from Berger here from when he was playing for Aston Villa.
I've always wondered why he didn't get the plaudits his flair and skill so richly deserved. I guess being a member of a Liverpool team that always flattered to deceive in the nineties didn't help, but I also think it's partly explained by the fact that he's such an ugly bastard. We live in shallow times people, and if you're a sportsman who doesn't have the bone structure for the Gillette Mach3 adverts, then you can just forget about it.
