Patrik Berger will be most fondly remembered by Liverpool fans for his fantastic left foot and his ability to shoot from long range, but what happened after the Czech midfielder left Anfield in 2003?

Berger was born in Prague in the then Czechoslovakia and followed in his uncle’s footsteps, Jan Berger, into football. He was part of Czechoslovakia’s Under 16 side which won the European Championships in 1990 and was quickly snapped up by Slavia Prague on a professional deal at 17, after city rivals Sparta had nurtured the youngster through their youth ranks. After spending four years with Slavia, Ottmar Hitzfeld spotted the young Czech midfielder and signed him for Borussia Dortmund in 1995. In his only season in Germany, despite starting mostly from the bench and playing in an unaccustomed defensive midfield position, Berger played 25 times in the league and scored 4 goals as Dortmund won the Bundesliga title.

His impressive performances in Euro 1996, which included scoring a penalty in the final against Germany, made him a target for top European clubs, including Liverpool. His play impressed manager Roy Evans enough to bid £3.25million for the midfielder, a bid which was accepted and the player joined the team for the start of the 1996/1997 season. After missing most of August with a calf injury, Berger came to life in September as he scored 5 goals in 4 outings, including 2 against Leicester City and two against Chelsea. He was awarded the Premier League Player of the Month for September, an incredible achievement considering he had only made his debut for the club on the 7th September against Southampton.

Berger was a prominent member of the team during his first season at the club but his opportunities became limited during his second year and despite a hat-trick coming on as a sub against Chelsea, his first team chances were being diminished. Unhappy with a lack of action, it appeared that Berger was to leave the club at the end of the season, but with appointment of Gerard Houllier as co-manager and then Evans’s subsequent sacking, Berger’s career was reignited once again at Anfield. Under Houllier, Berger scored some fantastic long range goals with his left foot and managed nine goals during the French manager’s first season in charge. In the 2000/2001 season, he again played a prominent role but a knee injury sustained in the 4-3 defeat to Leeds in November 2000 kept him out for most of the season.

Berger did however come back for Liverpool’s assault on a cup treble and played a part in both the UEFA Cup and FA Cup finals. In the FA Cup final against Arsenal in 2001, Berger provided the assist for Michael Owen’s second goal, providing the winner in a stunning comeback for Liverpool in the final. Injuries however began to take their toll on Berger once again from 2001 to 2003, and he was released from his contract with Liverpool in the summer of 2003. Berger had scored 35 goals in 196 appearances for the Reds.

Despite his injury problems, Portsmouth decided to pick up the player during their first season in the top flight. Berger made an impact straight away, and scored in the first game of the season against Aston Villa. He would also score the winning goal against former club Liverpool a few weeks later, but the Czech midfielder once again had to undergo knee surgery early in 2004 and the next year and half would be mostly spent on the Portsmouth bench or on the treatment table. His career was still not over though.

After being released by Pompey, Berger joined Aston Villa on a two year deal to start the 2005/06 season at Villa Park. Struggling for fitness, Berger joined Stoke City on loan for the majority of the first campaign, but at the end of his second season with Villa, he began to impress, and had scored his first goal for the club against Blackburn Rovers in April 2007. He impressed again against Sheffield United in May, scoring the third in a 3-0 win and his performances convinced manager Martin O’Neill to give the player a contract extension to keep the midfielder at the club for another year. His stay turned sour however, at the end of the 2007/2008, as he publicly urged Gareth Barry to move to Liverpool and he was released from his contract.

The end of Berger’s career was still not on the horizon though and he returned to the Czech Republic with the club he had played for as a youth player, Sparta Prague. His knee once again played up and he wasn’t able to play a full part of his first campaign back in his homeland. He retired last week after not being able to play since August, and his coach Jozef Chovanec said:

Patrik told me yesterday, 'It's over. My knee doesn't support the burden any more'. We have to deal with it. Thank you, Patrik, for everything you have done for Sparta and the entire Czech football.

A sentiment which will be echoed by all Liverpool fans who had the fortune of watching one of Berger’s piledrivers.