96: Jan Koller, Ceska Republika, Panini UEFA Euro 2008 Austria-Switzerland Official Sticker Album

Today Emlyn Jones pays homage to one of football’s giants. As our author stands at an impressive 6’7” it is little wonder that he would be espousing the virtues of having a big lad to aim crosses and corners at. Being approximately a foot shorter than Emlyn I personally have no idea what he’s talking about but nonetheless spent much of the last two seasons criticising Steve Bruce for his failure to just stick Andy Carroll on alongside Dwight Gayle for some classic little and large action. Over to Emlyn.

The role of the striker in modern football has changed significantly since the turn of the millennium, with forward players expected to be much more fluid and fill roles across the front line. As a result, the title of striker seems out-dated, and with the attendant death of the 4-4-2 formation, it's a rare thing to see the classic 'big man, little man' partnership. Well, unless you're watching the lower leagues or witnessing anyone line up alongside Adebayo Akinfenwa.

For years, the big lump who could knock down chances for a smaller, nippier partner was a legitimate tactic which had success for a number of teams; an early example being John Toshack and Kevin Keegan for Liverpool in the 1970s, firing the club to domestic and European glory. 5'7" Kevin Phillips won the European Golden Shoe in 2000 playing alongside veteran big man Niall Quinn, and Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe linked up for Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur and England, with goals following for all three sides. Though we didn't get to see them coached by 'Arry Redknapp for England. Other notable examples in the Premier League years include Shearer/Bellamy, Heskey/Owen and Flo/Zola. Today's article deals with one of the great big men in international history, who formed partnerships with various more diminutive partners.

Unsurprisingly with his 6’ 8” tall frame, Jan Koller's early youth career for first TJ Smetanova Lhota and ZVVZ saw him line up in goal; however by the time he came to the attention of Sparta Prague, it was for his performances up front, with his height matched by a strong build which made him a formidable opponent for defenders to try and deal with. He managed five goals over two seasons with the Czech side, before Belgian side Lokeren swooped and picked him up for a fee of €100,000.

His time in Belgium was much more prolific, and by his third season he had developed his game to the point that he finished the 1998/99 season as top scorer, earning the attention of Anderlecht, who were seeking firepower to build upon their third place finish and win a first title since 1995. Koller formed a partnership with the relatively tiny (5’ 9”) Canadian international Tomasz Radzinski, who had top scored for Anderlecht the season prior, and 34 goals between them fired the side to the league title. The 2000/01 season was the pinnacle of the partnership, Radzinski finishing as top scorer, one ahead of Koller, with their 45 combined goals seeing the title retained by five points. Attention from overseas came calling, and Radzinski moved to the UK with Everton, while Koller moved on to Germany and joined Borussia Dortmund.

His first season saw eleven goals and the Bundesliga title for Dortmund, while he also scored in the 2002 UEFA Cup final, though the side ultimately lost 3-2 to Feyenoord. He also managed to make use of his youth experience in December 2002, when he took over in goal following Jens Lehmann's 67th minute red card for moaning too much about an offside. He kept a clean sheet for the remainder of the game, all the more impressive given Dortmund were down to nine men due to an earlier red card, and he won the Bundesliga's top goalkeeper of the week award for his performance.

Koller had been a regular for the Czech Republic (as was at the time) since his debut in 1999, however poor performances by the team at the Euro 2000 tournament and 2002 World Cup had not allowed him to make his mark. By 2004, however, Koller was again part of another successful big man, little man partnership alongside Milan Baroš (6’ 0” – still stumpy next to Koller). Two goals for Koller helped the side reach the semi-finals, before one of the few examples of a Silver Goal saw a loss to eventual winners Greece. Although this was the pinnacle for the side while Koller was a member, he played 91 games and remains the record scorer for his country, with an excellent tally of 55 goals. He broke the national scoring record in a game against Macedonia, scoring four goals in eleven minutes in a fine display of dream-crushing bonfire pissing as Macedonia had taken a surprise lead, delighting their travelling fans.

Koller returned to Dortmund after the 2004 Euros, however his goal returns had fallen as he reached his early thirties, and after only nine league appearances in the 2005/06 season he moved on to Monaco, notching twelve goals over two seasons before returning to the Bundesliga for a season with Nürnberg. Aged 35, and having managed only two goals, Koller played in Russia for two seasons, before finishing his career in the third tier of French football with Cannes, retiring after two seasons with a solid return of 20 goals in 47 games for the French side. One of the great big men of the game, it's probably easiest to sum him up with two of his nicknames; Dino, and The Human Lighthouse. Keep your humble, short forwards with the silky skills; give me a big lump up top to be a prick in the mixer any time.