A two-footed all-purpose midfielder with three major international tournaments under his belt, Jaroslav Plašil is one of the senior statesmen in the Czech national team. The successor in the side to the legendary Pavel Nedvěd, he has spent most of his club career in France and has just finished his third season with FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

• Left his homeland at 18, joining AS Monaco FC from FC Hradec Králové.

• Loaned to second division US Créteil before breaking into Monaco side in 2003/04 and helping Didier Deschamps' team to the UEFA Champions League final (ten appearances, six as substitute, including both semi-final ties v Chelsea FC).

• Spent three further seasons at Monaco before moving on to Spanish club CA Osasuna in August 2007.

• An ever present for the Czech Republic at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and in both the qualifying campaign and final tournament for UEFA EURO 2008, he won his 50th cap against San Marino in September 2009.

• Joined Bordeaux from Osasuna in June 2009 and made a dramatic return to the UEFA Champions League after a five-year gap, scoring on his first appearance in competition for Les Marine et Blanc in a 1-1 draw at Juventus.

• Took his international goal tally to six with one apiece during UEFA EURO 2012 qualifiers in Spain and Scotland; made his 70th appearance for the Czechs on 29 February 2012, a 1-1 friendly draw with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

UEFA honours
UEFA Champions League: runner-up 2004