Roman Kukleta

Roman Kukleta
Personal information
Date of birth	22 December 1964
Place of birth	Brno, Czechoslovakia
Date of death	26 October 2011 (aged 46)
Place of death	Brno, Czech Republic
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
1982–1983	Zbrojovka Brno
1983–1985	RH Cheb
1985–1988	Zbrojovka Brno
1988–1991	Sparta Prague
1991–1992	Real Betis
1993–1996	FC Boby Brno
International career
1984	Czechoslovakia U21
1987	Czechoslovakia Olympic
1991	Czechoslovakia
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roman Kukleta (22 December 1964 – 26 October 2011) was a Czech footballer who played as a forward. He won three Czechoslovak First League titles with Sparta Prague between 1988 and 1991, during which time he also finished as top scorer of the First League. Other clubs he played for include Zbrojovka Brno, RH Cheb and Real Betis. Kukleta represented Czechoslovakia internationally, winning four caps, all in 1991.

Club career

Kukleta started to play his club football in Czechoslovakia for Zbrojovka Brno and RH Cheb. In 1986, he was awarded the Křišťálovou kopačku award for goal of the year, for his scissors kick in Brno's second division match against Slušovice.^[1] In 1988, he joined Sparta Prague, with whom he won the league three times in three seasons, as well as the Czechoslovak Cup in the 1988–89 season.^[2] He was the top scorer of the 1990–91 Czechoslovak First League with 17 goals.^[3]

In 1991 Kukleta moved to Spain to play for Real Betis, where he joined compatriot manager Jozef Jarabinský, as well as players Michal Bílek and Alois Grussmann.^[4]^[5] He scored six goals in 28 appearances for the Spanish side.^[5] Kukleta later returned to his homeland where he played for Brno for the rest of his professional career.^[2] He amassed a total of 159 appearances and 58 goals (counting First League only) in his professional career.^[2] Kukleta went on to play in the lower leagues for Děčín, Zeman Brno, Mutěnice and Velké Meziříčí.^[1]

International career

Having scored on his only appearance for the Czechoslovakia Olympic team in 1987,^[2] Kukleta made his debut for the full national side in January 1991 in a friendly match against Australia. His only competitive appearance was in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying win against Albania, where he played alongside Pavel Kuka.^[6]

Personal life

Kukleta was divorced and had a son, Roman.^[6] He worked as a lorry driver after his footballing career.^[6] Kukleta died suddenly in October 2011.^[1]

Honours

Sparta Prague

Czechoslovak First League: 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91
Czechoslovak Cup: 1988–89

Individual

Czechoslovak First League top scorer: 1990–91

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Novák, Miloslav; Meitner, Zdeněk (26 October 2011). "Zemřel bývalý fotbalový reprezentant Kukleta. Proslul gólem nůžkami" (in Czech). idnes.cz. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jeřábek, p. 105.
^ Jeřábek, p. 232.
^ "Ve věku 46 let náhle zemřel Roman Kukleta" (in Czech). Česká televize. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Fallece a los 46 años exjugador del Betis Kukleta" [Former Betis player Kukleta dies at 46] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Kára, Jaroslav (1 April 2010). "Odchod ze Sevilly mě mrzí, přiznává Kukleta" (in Czech). Deník. Retrieved 25 January 2016.