Early career Born in
Ústí nad Labem, then
Czechoslovakia,
Chelsea On 6 January 2005, Jarošík was purchased by
Premier League club
Chelsea for an undisclosed fee, thought to be about £3 million. He made his debut two days later in a 3–1 home win over
League Two team
Scunthorpe United in the third round of the
FA Cup, as a 68th-minute substitute for
Didier Drogba. On 27 February, he started the
League Cup final, which Chelsea won 3–2 against
Liverpool; he was replaced at half time by
Eiður Guðjohnsen. Chelsea won the
2004–05 Premier League title and Jarošík made enough league appearances (14) to earn a championship medal. Jarošík was involved in a controversy in February 2005 when he came on as a substitute with a 15-line handwritten note from manager
José Mourinho, for midfielder
Tiago Mendes, in a game at
Everton that Chelsea ended up winning 1–0. Refereeing chief
Keith Hackett stated that there was nothing to prevent the tactic in the
Laws of the Game.
Birmingham City On 22 August 2005, Jarošík was loaned to fellow Premier League team
Birmingham City for the rest of the season. He had started only three league games for Chelsea (his only full match was the game in which they won the Premier League, away at
Bolton Wanderers) He made his debut the following day in a 3–0 home loss to
Middlesbrough, and on 27 August he scored in a 3–2 win at
West Midlands rivals
West Bromwich Albion. On 4 April 2006, Jarošík scored the only goal against Bolton at
St Andrew's; his long-range strike past
Jussi Jääskeläinen took Birmingham out of the relegation zone for the first time since October. He returned to Chelsea at the end of his loan, after Birmingham were relegated.
Celtic On 19 June 2006, Jarošík left Chelsea and signed a three-year deal with
Scottish Premier League champions
Celtic for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be around the £2 million mark. He scored on his Celtic debut in a 4–1 victory over
Kilmarnock at
Celtic Park on 29 July. Competition from other midfielders such as
Evander Sno,
Aiden McGeady and
Paul Hartley meant that first team opportunities were limited for Jarošík, but he still made several notable contributions to Celtic's success, including winning both the free kicks from which
Shunsuke Nakamura scored in the two
Champions League group stage matches against
Manchester United – the second put Celtic into the
last 16. On 6 December 2006, Jarošík also scored Celtic's goal in a 3–1 Champions League group stage loss at
Copenhagen. On 14 January 2007, he scored the winner in a 2–1 win over
Hearts with a long-range strike. Celtic won the
2006–07 league title in Jarošík's first season with the club, meaning that he had won league medals in a joint-record four countries – the Czech Republic, Russia, England and Scotland. Despite the signings of
Massimo Donati and
Scott Brown for the 2007–08 season, which made midfield competition even tighter than before, Jarošík remained with Celtic. On 3 October, Jarošík made his first Celtic start in over six months in the 2–1
Champions League group stage victory over
A.C. Milan at Celtic Park. On 28 November, Jarošík scored Celtic's equaliser in another Champions League group stage match – this time against
Shakhtar Donetsk – with a left-footed volley. The match ended 2–1 to Celtic. In July 2023, Jarošík said he hated Scottish football and claimed that it was "30 years behind" the English game.
Krylia Sovetov On 31 January 2008, Jarošík signed for Russian club
Krylia Sovetov for a reported fee of €1 million.
Real Zaragoza At the end of his Krylia Sovetov contract in December 2009, Jarošík returned to Sparta Prague to train, before being informed by a Serbian agent of interest from
La Liga club
Real Zaragoza. He had previously not heard of the team or the city of
Zaragoza, but was convinced of their merits by compatriot
Jiří Rosický,
Tomáš Rosický's brother who had played for
Atlético Madrid B. On his debut four days later, the team drew 0–0 at home to bottom team
Xerez. His first goal was a 7th-minute header from
Gabi's
corner kick in a 1–1 draw with
Atlético Madrid also at
La Romareda. Jarošík was sent off on 2 October 2010 in a 2–2 home draw with
Sporting de Gijón, for fouling
David Barral for a penalty that
Diego Castro scored. The following May, as his contract was to expire, the
Aragonese club offered him one more year. He said in 2016 that he turned down the offer as the club did not settle a debt with him.
Sparta Prague On 13 August 2011, Jarošík re-signed with his former club Sparta Prague as a free agent.
Deportivo Alavés On 26 August 2013, Jarošík signed as a free agent for
Deportivo Alavés, newly promoted to Spain's Segunda División. ==International career==