Rozehnal to cap remarkable rise

Latecomer
Remarkably, Rozehnal did not play for the Czechs during their qualifying campaign, but following his second-half cameo against Denmark on Sunday, he has made three appearances here in Portugal. With central defender René Bolf struggling for fitness, he may even get another chance to impress at the Estádio do Dragão.

'Like a dream'
"This tournament is like a dream for me as I watched the whole qualifying campaign on television, and didn't even consider going to the finals," the Club Brugge KV player said. Rozehnal replaced Bolf in the 65th minute of the quarter-final, having previously played the full 90 minutes against Germany and as a substitute against the Netherlands in the group stage.

'A big surprise'
"I am ready to take every opportunity I get, even if it is more difficult to come into a game than to play from the start," added Rozehnal, whose contribution is all the more notable given the criticism that followed his performances in the spring friendlies against Italy and Japan. "I seemed to be out of the squad so to be selected was a big surprise for me," he admitted.

Battle-hardened
However, coach Karel Brückner was happy to pick a player he knows well from the Under-21 squad and who gained UEFA Champions League experience with Club Brugge last season. "The battles in the Champions League helped me. We won 1-0 at AC Milan and I found out that Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko are only human like me," he said.

Birthday boy
Given that Bolf is still not fully fit, and fellow centre-back Tomáš Ujfaluši goes into the semi-final with a yellow card to his name, Rozehnal, who has eight caps, might well add to his 130 minutes of tournament action. "I don't wish bad luck on anybody, and I am not unhappy sitting on the bench. However, if I can play in the final and contribute to winning it, the dream would be perfect," said Rozehnal, who could have double cause for celebration when he turns 24 next Monday.