Rudi Skácel
Rudolf Skácel (Czech: [ˈskaːtsɛl]; born 17 July 1979) is a retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was capped at international level by the Czech Republic. He was generally deployed as a left sided midfield player but proved himself to be versatile, having also played as a central Attacking Midfielder and a left back at Southampton.
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Skácel playing for Hearts in 2011 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Rudolf Skácel | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 17 July 1979 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Trutnov, Czechoslovakia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1992 | FK Trutnov | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1999 | Hradec Králové | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | Hradec Králové | 37 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Slavia Prague | 57 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2006 | Marseille | 20 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | → Panathinaikos (loan) | 16 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | → Heart of Midlothian (loan) | 35 | (16) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2009 | Southampton | 83 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008 | → Hertha BSC (loan) | 16 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Slavia Prague | 5 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Larissa | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Heart of Midlothian | 58 | (25) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Dundee United | 14 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Slavia Prague | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Mladá Boleslav | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Raith Rovers | 24 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | 1. FK Příbram | 43 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 422 | (80) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Czech Republic U21 | 9 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2010 | Czech Republic | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Skácel began his career with FC Hradec Králové before joining Gambrinus liga side Slavia Prague, where he caught the attention of French giants Olympique de Marseille. However, he struggled to establish himself in the first-team during his time with L'OM and was loaned out to Panathinaikos and Heart of Midlothian. The latter loan spell saw him establish himself as a fan favourite, culminating in him scoring in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final as the Jambos emerged victorious. He then went on to Southampton where he spent three years, including a six-month loan spell with Hertha BSC. before being released. A brief return to Slavia Prague and a short spell with Larissa followed, before he returned to Hearts. His second spell at the Edinburgh club proved to be just as successful as he ended both seasons as the club's top scorer and scored two goals in the 2012 Scottish Cup Final against Hearts' biggest rivals Hibernian en route to another cup victory.
He received infrequent call-ups to the Czech Republic national team, amassing seven caps over a period of seven years.