Tomáš Galásek

Tomáš Galásek
Galásek in 2016
Personal information
Full name Tomáš Galásek[1]
Date of birth (1973-01-15) 15 January 1973
Place of birth Frýdek-Místek, Czechoslovakia
(now Czech Republic)
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position Midfielder
Youth career
1979–1991 Baník Ostrava
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1996 Baník Ostrava 121 (9)
1996–2000 Willem II 110 (11)
2000–2006 Ajax 154 (24)
2006–2008 1. FC Nürnberg 63 (4)
2008 Banik Ostrava 14 (0)
2009 Borussia Mönchengladbach 15 (0)
2009–2011 FSV Erlangen-Bruck 23 (2)
Total 500 (50)
International career
1994–1996 Czech Republic U21 15 (6)
1995–2008 Czech Republic 69 (1)
Managerial career
2015–2016 SpVgg SV Weiden
2022 Baník Ostrava (caretaker)
2025–2026 Baník Ostrava
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Czech Republic
UEFA European Championship
2004 Portugal
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Tomáš Galásek (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈɡalaːsɛk]; born 15 January 1973) is a Czech football manager and former player. A midfielder, he is the only player to have witnessed both silver goals ever scored in European football, scoring the first for Ajax.

Club career

Galásek started his career with Banik Ostrava, where he was part of the starting line-up for more than four seasons, before moving to Dutch side Willem II Tilburg in 1996 for a fee of 50 million Czech koruna.[2] With Willem II, he reached an historic fifth place in Eredivisie, which meant UEFA Cup qualification for the first time in 30 years. Since then, he played four UEFA Cup matches. In 1998–99, Willem II exceeded the previous year's performance, finishing second in the league. For the first time in history, Willem II qualified for the UEFA Champions League. In that competition, Galásek played five matches for Willem II.

Galásek moved to Ajax in the summer of 2000. With Ajax, he won the national championship twice and the national cup once and played 26 times in the Champions League.

From 2006, he played for 1. FC Nürnberg in the Bundesliga, after signing a two-year deal with German club. On 15 August 2008, he returned to Banik Ostrava. On 19 December, he signed a contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach. In July 2009, he retired from professional football[3][4] but made a comeback in the Bayernliga on 31 August 2009 when he signed for FSV Erlangen-Bruck.

International career

Galásek made his debut for the Czech Republic in 1995 and was part of the team that reached the semifinals of Euro 2004. He took part in the 2006 FIFA World Cup as captain of the Czech team.

In June 2008, after a loss to Turkey at UEFA Euro 2008, he left the national team and ended his international career. He made 69 appearances scoring once.

Managerial career

In the season of 2011–12, Galásek trained the U15 team in FSV Erlangen-Bruck, where his son played. The following year, he was the assistant manager of the Czech national team. In the 2013–14 season, he was assistant manager of 1. FC Schweinfurt 05. In the summer of 2015, he became the head coach of SpVgg SV Weiden,[5] remaining in his position until 2016.[6]

He worked at Baník Ostrava as assistant coach in the 2021–22 season under head coach Ondřej Smetana. After Smetana's departure, he concluded the season as interim head coach.[6] On 12 October 2025, Galásek was appointed as manager of Baník Ostrava.[7] On 16 February 2026, after only four months, Galásek was replaced by Ondřej Smetana.[8]

Personal life

Galásek was born on 15 January 1973 in Frýdek-Místek to Czech parents. In 1994, he married his wife Sylvie. Together, they have two children Denisa and Tom. In 2012, he was living with his family in the suburbs of Nuremberg, Germany.[9]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[10]
Club Season League
Division Apps Goals
Baník Ostrava 1991–92 First League 10 0
1992–93 30 1
1993–94 First League 30 0
1994–95 25 3
1995–96 26 5
Total 121 9
Willem II 1996–97 Eredivisie 16 0
1997–98 31 3
1998–99 32 5
1999–00 31 3
Total 110 11
Ajax 2000–01 Eredivisie 33 8
2001–02 23 1
2002–03 30 5
2003–04 29 4
2004–05 13 2
2005–06 26 4
Total 154 24
1. FC Nürnberg 2006–07 Bundesliga 32 2
2007–08 31 2
Total 63 4
Baník Ostrava 2008–09 First League 14 0
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2008–09 Bundesliga 15 0
FSV Erlangen-Bruck 2009–10 Bayernliga 16 1
2010–11 7 1
Total 23 2
Career total 500 50

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[10]
National team Year Apps Goals
Czech Republic 1995 2 0
1998 5 0
1999 4 0
2001 2 0
2002 8 0
2003 7 0
2004 14 0
2005 7 1
2006 5 0
2007 6 0
2008 9 0
Total 69 1

Honours

Ajax

1. FC Nürnberg

References

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ Procházka, David (14 July 2022). "Do útěku do Tilburgu v roce 1996 byl Tomáš Galásek přehlíženým hráčem". Czech Radio (in Czech). Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  3. ^ "Unauffällig und konstant" (in German). Borussia.de. 6 June 2009. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Abschied mit Tom und Melissa" (in German). RP-Online. 25 May 2009. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
  5. ^ "Galasek trainiert die SpVgg SV Weiden". Kicker (in German). 18 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Galásek jde znovu trénovat Baník Ostrava, vrací se po třech letech". idnes.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 12 October 2025. Archived from the original on 11 November 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  7. ^ Tomaškovič, Jiří (12 October 2025). "Baník má nového trenéra. Stal se jím Galásek". Sport.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  8. ^ Vaculík, Vojtěch; Tomaškovič, Jiří (16 February 2026). "Galásek už není trenérem Baníku, střídá ho Smetana". Sport.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  9. ^ Roser, Philipp (24 September 2012). "Tschechische Nationalelf rief Ex-Kapitän Galasek" [Czech national team called former captain Galasek] (in German). Nürnberger Zeitung. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Tomáš Galásek". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 May 2019.