Jan Koller

At 6 feet 7 inches and with one of the most impressive goalscoring records in European football, Jan Koller literally and metaphorically can be said to be one of the giants of the international football world. He started his career in 1994/95 in his native country playing for Sparta Prague. His 3 seasons at the club were fairly nondescript and it was only when he arrived in Belgium with Lokeren that Koller began to show that he was more than a giant target man. He scored 35 goals in 66 games, being the top scorer in Belgium in 1998/99, which was enough to alert Anderlecht, one of Europe's most famous clubs and he signed for them in 1999.

He was only with Anderlecht for two seasons but his 42 goals in 62 games proved that Koller was a finisher of the highest order, something which was recognised by Borussia Dortmund and in 2001 Koller moved to the Bundeliga. Koller's first season with Dortmund was a memorable one as they lifted the Bundesliga, the Czech contributing 11 goals in 33 league matches, Dortmund also enjoyed a excellent season in the UEFA Cup before losing in the final 3-2 to Feyenoord, Koller on the scoresheet. He had four more seasons with Dortmund, the last one in 2005/6 was ravaged by injury before heading for Le Championnat and to Monaco, predictably goals in the Principality were harder to come by but Koller still remained a reliable goalscorer.

Koller has a fantastic goalscoring record for the Czech Republic, with 48 goals in 75 internationals. He scored on his international debut in 1999 against Belgium in Brussels and the goals have come freely since. He played in all 3 of the Czech Republic's matches at the Euro 2000 finals but did not manage a goal. The Czechs didn't make the 2002 World Cup and Koller only managed 2 goals in the qualifying competition but at Euro 2004, Koller managed a couple of goals as the Czechs made it to the semi-finals. Koller got four goals against Macedonia in a World Cup qualifying match in 2005 but the tournament itself was a disappointment for both the Czechs who bowed out in the group stage and for Koller who was restricted to one appearance, albeit a scoring one, because of injury, against the United States, unfortunately it will probably be Koller's only match at the World Cup as he will be 37 by the time of the next tournament.