Prague - It didn´t take long for Jan Koller, the Czech national team´s all-time top scoring player, to find a new employer after his 1.FC Nuremberg got relegated from German Bundesliga this year.
Dino (as in dinosaur), as the 35-year old striker is sometimes called for his unusual height (202 centimeters), is headed East to play for Russian Premier League´s FC Krylya Sovetov Samara.
He will join another Czech national there, Jiří Jarošík, who in his 30 years of age has managed to win league medals in a record four countries - Czech Republic, Russia, England and Scotland.
Koller, who himself has won the league titles in both Belgium and Germany, has just retired from the national team with impressive record of 55 goals in just 90 games.
He did manage to score in his last international cap on Sunday too, but it wasn´t enough to save the Czech team from shocking defeat against Turkey after leading 2-0 with 15 minutes left in the game, which spelled the end of their sad drive at the ongoing Euro 2008.
Read more: Czechs kicked out of Euro 2008 in a shocker
„We are leaving right now together with Honza (=familiar for Jan) Koller for Samara to lead further negotiations about his contract. The Russians are offering him a lucrative deal for next year and a half," the player´s agent Pavel Paska was quoted by internet news server Tn.cz.
Koller is thus set to become the second Czech player to leave the sinking Nuremberg boat in the spate of several days after the goalkeeper Jaromír Blažek announced he was returning to Sparta Praha for the next season.
Koller who originally trained as a goalkeeper before switching to the striker´s position in his junior years, started his professional career with Sparta, but didn´t make much of a mark until he was traded to KSC Lokeren.
After he finished as Belgian first division top-scorer in his third season at Lokeren, the famous RSC Anderlecht took fancy in him, which helped him earn the award of the best player in the Belgian league in 2000.
He was bough by German Bundesliga´s Borussia Dortmund in 2001 and played five seasons for them before joining AS Mnoaco in the French league. He returned to Germany last year, but failed to help Nuremberg stay in Bundesliga.
He should not have to worry about similar situation in Russia though as his new team is currently ranked number six in the Russian league with a decent chance to clinch a spot in European cup competitions next year.
