Sparta Prag, Hannover 96, Slovan Lieberec, MUS Most, LK Lounovice, Ceske Budojevice, Slavia Prag, TJ Senohraby

Jiri Stanjer, the Red’s most expensive purchase after wining promotion back into the Bundesliga, struggled at first to live up to the high expectations of him. Initially he had little luck in front of goal, but in the second half of the 02/03 season the Czech became an absolutely key player.

With outstanding performances in the closing stages of the season Stanjer played his way into the hearts of the fans and shone as a play maker (7 Assists) as well as a goal-scorer (4 goals). The “most important goal of his career” came in the 33^rd game of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach and remains unforgettable to this day. His stoppage-time equaliser made it 2-2 and ensured that the Reds would stay up. Technically accomplished he has played on numerous occasions for the national side and scored in his debut in 2003 against Moldova in a 5-0 win. 

In the 2004 winter break Jiri returned to his Czech homeland and joined Sparta Prague, hoping to catch the attentions of national coach Karel Brückner. The European Championships were just around the corner and the Czechs were aspiring to the title. However Stamjer’s efforts were not enough in the end and the Czech side went to Portugal without him. Stanjer returned to Hanover.

Here Stanjer stayed true to his reputation as a “wasted talent”. On a good day the Czech could run rings around any defence, on a bad one he lived up to his “slapstick” image. In spite of this or due to his unpredictability, “Stanji” became an ever more indispensable player for the Reds. With six goals in 04/05 he led the club’s top scorer list with Daniel Stendel.

And then, what was seen as nigh on impossible suddenly came to pass. In the 2005/2006 season Stanjer finally found some consistency, which made him one of the stars of the team. On top of six goals “Stajni” dazzled as the top play maker (9 assists).  So the now happily married, technically adept player found his way back into the Czech national side at a good time and secured his ticket for the World Cup Finals in Germany. However once there the dark horses had a rough time with injuries and had to bow out surprisingly early in the group stages.