Oldřich Nejedlý

• 1. Introduction

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  On the 11th of June 1990, Oldřich Nejedlý died at the age of 80, just as that year's World Cup kicked off in Italy. Italy had also hosted the World Cup back in 1934, a tournament that made Nejedlý's name in the first place. What actually happened on the pitch in Italy in 1934? Which single club shaped almost his entire domestic career? And why did football's governing body still have unfinished business with his scoring record decades after the final whistle blew?

• 2. Goals For Sparta Prague

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  One hundred and sixty-two league goals in 187 games came from Nejedlý's years at Sparta Prague, the only professional club of his career. He played there as an inside-forward for that entire span. Four Czechoslovak First League championships arrived during his time there, won in 1932, 1936-1938 and 1939. A Mitropa Cup followed in 1935, adding continental silverware alongside the domestic titles.

  Eighteen more goals came in 38 games for SK Rakovník, spread across the 1943-1944 and 1946 seasons after Nejedlý's Sparta days ended. Combined with his Sparta tally, that gave him 180 league goals in 225 games across his full club career. He closed out his playing days at Zebrak, the club in his hometown, retiring at almost 47 years old. Another leg injury forced that retirement, the same kind of setback that would later shadow a different part of his story.

• 3. Nine Goals In 1934

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  Twenty-nine goals in 44 appearances made up Nejedlý's full playing record for Czechoslovakia. Nine of those appearances, and nine of those goals, came in 1934 alone, his single most productive year for the national team.

  That form carried Nejedlý to the World Cup in Italy, where he was credited with four goals. That tied him for the tournament's scoring lead with Angelo Schiavio and Edmund Conen. FIFA also awarded him the Bronze Ball as the tournament's third most outstanding player and named him to its All-Star Team. That four-goal tally would not remain the last word on his World Cup scoring.

• 4. The Injury And The Correction

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  Nejedlý's second World Cup came in France in 1938, where he scored two goals before a leg injury struck. That injury effectively ended his international career for Czechoslovakia.

  FIFA did not settle the scoring dispute from 1934 until November 2006. That's when it recognized Nejedlý as the outright top scorer of that tournament, crediting him with five goals instead of four. Until then, record books had listed him level with Schiavio and Conen, both credited with four goals apiece. FIFA's website has credited Nejedlý alone as the 1934 tournament's top scorer ever since.