In the fifth article on a handful of cult Eastern European players who captured the imagination of a generation, Andy Edgeworth looks at Jan Koller.
There is something about a giant striker that fans love and while they don’t come round at the top level of football too often they are rarely forgotten.
From Kevin Francis to Niall Quinn and Peter Crouch they have captivated football fans.
Despite their awkwardne, s they had the skill to produce moments of magic but only one sands head and literally shoulders above all of them.
Jan Koller is a terrifying human being. Nicknamed ‘Dino’ for his prehistoric looms and physique, the Prague native battered defenders all over Europe for more than 20 years.
But it was in 2004 that he made his mark on us all, helping the Czech Republic to reach the semi-finals before they were eventually beaten by surprise winners Greece.
At six foot eight and weighing around sixteen stone Koller was surprisingly mobile and even the strongest centre-backs were powerless if he stole a yard on them, his strength too much.
Koller started his career with his hometown club Sparta Prague, but his physique quickly attracted Europe’s scouts and he was soon on his way to Belgium with Lokeren. He thrived in Belgium and moved to Anderlecht where he quickly built up a successful partnership with Canadian striker Tomasz Radzinski, excelling in his debut season and earning him another top scoring accolade with 22 goals in 1999/2000.
Now a regular at international level he turned down a move to Fulham to sign for German giants Borussia Dortmund.
It was disappointing for English football fans as he would no doubt have thrived in the physical world of the Premier League.
Six seasons at Dortmund made him a cult hero, scoring 59 goals in 138 games, picking up a Bundesliga title medal in the 2001/02 season.
Never the prettiest player to watch Koller was however, a better player than most gave him credit for and fans of a certain generation will always remember the fear he put into opposition players and how helpless centre-backs looked against him.
