From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Patrik Berger (born 10 November 1973 in Prague) is a Czech football player. He is currently a midfielder for English Premiership team Aston Villa, having signed from Portsmouth on a free transfer on 1 June 2005.

Patrik Berger began his career as junior with Sparta Prague in 1989 then he moved to the city rival Slavia Prague in 1991/92, and moved to Borussia Dortmund in 1995/96, with whom he won the Bundesliga title that year. After impressive displays for the Czech Republic side in Euro 96 he was signed by Liverpool for £3.25 million.

Berger was impressive when he played for Liverpool, but over the next few years struggled with injuries, meaning he was in and out of the side. He kept his place when fit in both his club and national side, but only made one appearance in Euro 2000, having been suspended after being sent off in a qualifier against the Faroe Islands.

Berger picked up a serious knee injury during the 2000-01 season and had to fly to the United States for an operation by the renowned Dr. Richard Steadman. He made a return at the end of March in time to pick up a UEFA Cup winners' medal at the end of the campaign. His season was again disrupted by injuries in the 2001/02 campaign, but he played a far bigger part than in the previous campaign.

However, recurring injuries meant in the 2002-03 season Berger rarely featured, playing in just four games. At the end of that season his contract expired and he moved on a free transfer to Portsmouth FC, having played 196 games for Liverpool, scoring 35 goals in the process.

He made his first appearance for Pompey on the opening day of the club's debut Premiership season in a 2-1 home win over Aston Villa, scoring the second goal. However, in February 2004, he was forced to undergo an operation upon his knee forcing him to miss the rest of the season. His performances at the start of the 2004-2005 season indicated that a return to his best form might be on the cards.

However he was released by Portsmouth in June 2005 and joined Aston Villa on a 2 year deal. He has been hampered by injury during his Villa career, only making 9 league appearances. In November 2006 he was loaned to Stoke City in order to gain fitness, with some reports suggesting that the player had fallen out with manager Martin O'Neill over playing in the reserve side. Since his loan spell, Berger has had a good spell of fitness and has begun to show flashes of what he is capable of, regularly being a huge influence on the pitch. On April 7, Berger scored his first goal in two years against Blackburn Rovers in a 2-1 victory, with fans and pundits alike praising his performance. It is now highly probable that O'Neill will offer Berger a new contract to stay at the club.

• 1995 German Super Cup with Borussia Dortmund
• 1995/96 German Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund
• 2000/01 FA Cup with Liverpool
• 2000/01 UEFA Cup with Liverpool
• 2001/02 Charity Shield with Liverpool

• Patrik Berger career stats at Soccerbase