František Rajtoral

{{Infobox football biography

| name = František Rajtoral

| image = František Rajtoral 01.jpg

| upright = 1.1

| caption = Rajtoral in 2013

| fullname =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1986|3|12|df=y}}

| birth_place = Příbram, Czechoslovakia

| death_date = ca. {{Death-date and age|23 April 2017|12 March 1986}}

| death_place = Gaziantep, Turkey

| height = 1.80 m

| position = Right winger, right-back

| youthyears1 = 1992–1994

| youthclubs1 = Kovohutě Příbram

| youthyears2 = 1994–2004

| youthclubs2 = Marila Příbram

| years1 = 2004–2005

| clubs1 = Marila Příbram

| caps1 = 15

| goals1 = 1

| years2 = 2005–2009

| clubs2 = Baník Ostrava

| caps2 = 100

| goals2 = 12

| years3 = 2009–2016

| clubs3 = Viktoria Plzeň

| caps3 = 168

| goals3 = 19

| years4 = 2014

| clubs4 = → Hannover 96 (loan)

| caps4 = 7

| goals4 = 0

| years5 = 2016–2017

| clubs5 = Gaziantepspor

| caps5 = 12

| goals5 = 0

| totalcaps = 302

| totalgoals = 32

| nationalyears1 = 2004

| nationalteam1 = Czech Republic U18

| nationalcaps1 = 5

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 = 2004–2005

| nationalteam2 = Czech Republic U19

| nationalcaps2 = 10

| nationalgoals2 = 1

| nationalyears3 = 2006–2008

| nationalteam3 = Czech Republic U21

| nationalcaps3 = 15

| nationalgoals3 = 1

| nationalyears4 = 2012–2014

| nationalteam4 = Czech Republic

| nationalcaps4 = 14

| nationalgoals4 = 0

}}

František Rajtoral (12 March 1986 – ca. 23 April 2017) was a Czech professional footballer who played as a right winger or right-back. He was best known for his stint at Viktoria Plzeň. He was a member of the Czech Republic national team.

He won the Czech Cup with Viktoria Plzeň in 2010. Further trophies he won with the club include the Gambrinus Liga twice and the Czech Supercup.

On 29 February 2012, Rajtoral earned his first cap for the senior team of his country in the 1–1 draw with Ireland in a friendly match.

Rajtoral was described as "one of the best attacking right-wingers in the Czech Republic" by journalist Mark Smith.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/24038033|title=Manchester City in Champions League: Viktoria Plzen profile|work=BBC Sport|date=16 September 2013|access-date=6 May 2014}}

Club career

=Early career=

Rajtoral played for Příbram for a season before joining Baník Ostrava, with whom he signed a three-year contract in 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/players/player=99348/profile/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129113953/http://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/players/player=99348/profile/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 November 2011|title=František Rajtoral|work=UEFA|date=22 May 2012|access-date=6 May 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://fotbal.idnes.cz/novacci-zatim-v-ostrave-bloudi-dz4-/fotbal.aspx?c=A050714_104629_fotbal_no|title=Nováčci zatím v Ostravě bloudí|language=cs|work=Mladá fronta DNES|date=14 July 2005|access-date=6 May 2014}} He made his debut in European competitions in the 2005–06 UEFA Cup while playing for Ostrava.

=Viktoria Plzeň=

He joined Viktoria Plzeň from Ostrava in 2009 in a deal which involved the exchange of striker Adam Varadi in the other direction.{{cite news|first=Václav|last=Vacek|url=http://plzensky.denik.cz/fotbal_region/do-viktorie-miri-rajtoral-do-baniku-se-vraci-varad.html|title=Do Viktorie míří Rajtoral, do Baníku se vrací Varadi|language=cs|work=Deník|date=29 June 2009|access-date=6 May 2014}}

Rajtoral played in the inaugural Czech Supercup in 2010 against Sparta Prague, being one of two players to be sent off as his team lost the match.{{cite web|url=http://fotbal.idnes.cz/superpohar-mel-dva-vyloucene-repka-s-rajtoralem-za-to-budou-pykat-v-lize-1ou-/fot_dsouteze.aspx?c=A100708_210932_fot_dsouteze_ber|title=Superpohár měl dva vyloučené. Řepka s Rajtoralem za to budou pykat v lize|language=cs|trans-title=Supercup had two excluded. Řepka with Rajtoral will pay for it in the league|work=Mladá fronta DNES|date=8 July 2010|access-date=6 May 2014}} He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season in October 2010 against Mladá Boleslav, but his team lost the game 4–3.{{cite web|url=http://fotbal.idnes.cz/dostat-ctyri-goly-to-je-moc-vedel-po-prohre-plzensky-obrance-rajtoral-1kd-/fotbal.aspx?c=A101024_145709_fotbal_pes|title=Dostat čtyři góly? To je moc, věděl po prohře plzeňský obránce Rajtoral|language=cs|work=Mladá fronta DNES|date=24 October 2010|access-date=6 May 2014}}

Rajtoral played the second half of the 2011 Czech Supercup, a match which Plzeň won on penalties against Mladá Boleslav. He replaced Marián Čišovský in the 46th minute, in a match which finished 1–1.{{cite web|url=http://fotbal.idnes.cz/mistrovska-plzen-ziskala-superpohar-boleslav-zdolala-po-penaltach-1pk-/fot_dsouteze.aspx?c=A110722_172546_fot_dsouteze_pes|title=Mistrovská Plzeň získala Superpohár, Boleslav zdolala po penaltách|language=cs|work=Mladá fronta DNES|date=22 July 2011|access-date=6 May 2014}}

=Hannover 96=

In January 2014 Rajtoral joined German Bundesliga club Hannover 96 on loan for the remainder of the season with an option to make the transfer permanent.{{cite web|url=http://radio.cz/en/section/news/football-plzens-rajtoral-sent-to-hannover-on-loan|title=Football: Plzeň's Rajtoral sent to Hannover on loan|work=Radio Prague|date=30 January 2014|access-date=6 May 2014}} Hannover passed on that option though and Rajtoral returned to Plzeň for the start of the new season.

=Gaziantepspor and death=

Rajtoral joined Gaziantepspor in August 2016. He was found dead in his home in Gaziantep, Turkey, on 23 April 2017 after not turning up for a training session with his team in the morning. His neighbors contacted the local authorities in concern when they found his apartment door locked from the inside with no response. Upon investigation local authorities announced that Rajtoral had committed suicide by hanging.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/football/2017/04/23/gaziantepspors-czech-striker-rajtoral-commits-suicide-by-hanging|title=Gaziantepspor's Czech striker Rajtoral commits suicide by hanging|work=DailySabah|access-date=23 April 2017}}

International career

Rajtoral took part in the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He played in all three of his nation's matches at the tournament.

He made his senior debut on 29 February 2012 in a friendly match against Ireland, a game which finished 1–1. In May 2012 he was named in his country's 23-man squad for the Euro 2012 tournament.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/18253669|title=Euro 2012: Injured midfielder Tomas Rosicky in Czech squad|work=BBC Sport|date=29 May 2012|access-date=6 May 2014}}

Personal life

Rajtoral was born in Příbram, where he made his professional breakthrough in Czech First League with Marila Příbram.{{cite web |title=Profil hráče - František Rajtoral #27 - FC VIKTORIA Plzeň |url=http://www.fcviktoria.cz/hrac.asp?id=Frantisek-Rajtoral-167&sezona=2015&kategorie=MUZ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425024117/http://www.fcviktoria.cz/hrac.asp?id=Frantisek-Rajtoral-167&sezona=2015&kategorie=MUZ |archive-date=25 Apr 2017 |access-date=24 April 2017 |website=www.fcviktoria.cz}} In 2008 he was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and underwent treatment for several months. His disease recurred again in 2014.

On 24 April 2017, he did not participate in training sessions for Gaziantepspor. He was found dead in his apartment by police after committing suicide on Sunday.{{cite news|title=Former Czech Republic international Frantisek Rajtoral found dead after 'committing suicide'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/04/24/former-czech-republic-international-frantisek-rajtoral-found/|newspaper=The Telegraph}}{{cite web|access-date=24 April 2017|title=Gaziantepsporlu Frantisek Rajtoral intihar etti|url=http://www.fanatik.com.tr/2017/04/23/gaziantepsporlu-frantisek-rajtoral-intihar-etti-1289884|website=Fanatik}} It has been hypothesized that the breakup with his longtime girlfriend in 2016 and the departure of his friend Daniel Kolář in February 2017 may have worsened his psychological situation. Coincidentally, in a month, his death was followed by that of David Bystroň, a former teammate and defensive partner at Viktoria Plzeň, who committed a similar suicide.{{Cite web|url=https://www.marca.com/en/football/real-madrid/2018/10/23/5bce329ee5fdeac3178b45c1.html|title = Champions League: The tragedy that struck the Viktoria Plzen defence that faced Barcelona in 2011|date = 23 October 2018}}

Career statistics

rowspan="2"\|Club !rowspan="2"\|Season !colspan="3"\|League !colspan="2"\|Cup !colspan="2"\|Continental !colspan="2"\|Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition{{cite web\|title=F. Rajtoral\|url=https://int.soccerway.com/players/frantisek-rajtoral/14684/\|website=Soccerway\|access-date=24 April 2017}}
Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Marila Příbram \|2004–05 \|Czech First League \|15	1	0	0	0	0	15	1
rowspan="5"\|Baník Ostrava \|2005–06 \|rowspan="4"\|Czech First League \|26	0	0	0	0	0	26	0
2006–07 \|26	8	0	0	0	0	26	8
2007–08 \|25	3	0	0	0	0	25	3
2008–09 \|23	1	0	0	0	0	23	1
colspan="2"\|Total !100	12	0	0	0	0	100	12
rowspan="6"\|Viktoria Plzeň \|2009–10 \|rowspan="5"\|Czech First League \|27	3	5	0	0	0	32	3
2010–11 \|27	3	5	0	2	0	34	3
2011–12 \|29	2	2	0	14	1	45	3
2012–13 \|28	3	2	0	16	3	46	6
2013–14 \|16	3	1	0	12	2	29	5
colspan="2"\|Total !127	14	15	0	44	6	186	20
Hannover 96 \|2013–14 \|Bundesliga \|7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
rowspan="4"\|Viktoria Plzeň \|2014–15 \|rowspan="3"\|Czech First League \|16	4	4	1	0	0	20	4
2015–16 \|22	1	7	0	9	0	38	1
2016–17 \|3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
colspan="2"\|Total !41	5	11	1	9	0	61	6
Gaziantepspor \|2016–17 \|Süper Lig \|12	0	7	0	0	0	19	0
colspan="3"\|Career total !302	32	33	1	53	6	388	39

Honours

Viktoria Plzeň

Czech Cup: 2010
Gambrinus liga: 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16
Czech Supercup: 2011, 2015

References

External links

{{FACR player}}
{{Fotbal DNES}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120512145509/http://guardian.touch-line.com/StatsCentre.asp?Lang=0&CTID=27&CPID=89&pStr=Player&PLID=189300&TEID=925 Guardian Football]
{{Mackolik player|23755}}

Category:1986 births

Category:2017 suicides

Category:2017 deaths

Category:Footballers from Příbram

Category:Czech men's footballers

Category:Czech Republic men's youth international footballers

Category:Czech Republic men's under-21 international footballers

Category:Czech Republic men's international footballers

Category:Czech First League players

Category:Bundesliga players

Category:Süper Lig players

Category:FK Příbram players