(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-21 10:34

PRAGUE - Goalkeeper Petr Cech, who plays with Premier League's Chelsea, won the Golden Ball award for the best Czech soccer player of the year for the third time on Monday.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech, who plays with Premier League's Chelsea, wins for the third time in a row the Golden Ball award for the best Czech soccer player of the year in journalists poll, the results of which were announced in Prague, Monday, Aug. 20, 2007. [Reuters]

Cech won the annual journalists' poll in 2006 and 2007 as well. This year he beat the second Tomas Rosicky, Arsenal's midfielder, by mere three points. Marek Jankulovski from AC Milan was the third Czech soccer player.

Vitezslav Lavicka, who ended in Liberec First League club in May and since the new season he has trained the national under-21 team, won the best soccer coach award.

Goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal was named the Discovery of the Year.

Factbox

Golden Ball: 1. Petr Cech (Chelsea) 2126 points (941 points+1185 points), 2. Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal) 2123 (1378+745), 3. Marek Jankulovski (AC Milan) 1638 (615+1023), 4. Tomas Ujfalusi (AS Fiorentina) 1053 (859+194), 5. Pavel Nedved (Juventus Turin) 1033 (605+428), 6. Jan Koller (AS Monaco) 588 (284+304), 7. David Rozehnal (Paris St. Germain/Newcastle United) 398 (266+132), 8. Libor Sionko (Glasgow Rangers/FC Copenhagen) 393 (383+10), 9. Jan Polak (1. FC Nuremberg/Anderlecht Brussels) 376 (162+214), 10. Marek Cech (Slovan Liberec/Vladivostok) 366 (365+1), 11. Radoslav Kovac (Spartak Moscow) 349 (264+85), 12. Stanislav Vlcek (Slavia Praha) 339 (327+12), 13. Tomas Galasek (1. FC Nuremberg) 315 (53+262), 14. Marek Kulic (FK Mlada Boleslav/Sparta Praha) 311 (100+211) , 15. Lubos Pecka (FK Mlada Boleslav/Aachen) 310 (40+270), 16. Tomas Repka (Sparta Praha) 281 (19+262), 17. Tomas Zapotocny (Slovan Liberec/Udinese Calcio) 279 (237+42), 18. David Jarolim (SV Hamburg) 235 (59+176), 19. Zdenek Grygera (Ajax Amsterdam/Juventus Turin) 175 (169+6), 20. Marek Matejovsky (FK Mlada Boleslav) 150 (17+133).

Discovery of the Year: Zdenek Zlamal (Zlin/Liberec) 102, 2. Tomas Krbecek (Plzen) 90, Ondrej Mazuch (Brno/Fiorentina) 83.

Coach of the Year: Vitezslav Lavicka (Liberec/under-21 national team) 135, 2. Michal Bilek (Sparta Praha) 131, 3. Dusan Uhrin junior (Mlada Boleslav/Temesvar) 91.

Best Scorer of the Season: Lubos Pecka (Mlada Boleslav) 16 goals.

List of Golden Ball winners:

Golden Ball: 1997 - Jiri Nemec (Schalke 04), 1998 - Pavel Nedved (Lazio Rome), 1999 - Patrik Berger (FC Liverpool), 2000 - Pavel Nedved (Lazio Rome), 2001 - Pavel Nedved (Lazio Rome), 2002 -Tomas Rosicky (Borussia Dortmund), 2003 - Pavel Nedved (Juventus Turin), 2004 - Pavel Nedved (Juventus Turin), 2005 - Petr Cech (FC Chelsea), 2006 - Petr Cech (FC Chelsea), 2007 - Petr Cech (FC Chelsea).

Discovery of the Year: 2002 - Rudolf Skacel (SK Hradec Kralove/ Slavia Praha), 2003 - Mario Licka (Banik Ostrava), 2004 - Filip Dort (SFC Opava), 2005 - Roman Bednar (Mlada Boleslav), 2006 - Marek Suchy (Slavia Praha), 2007 - Zdenek Zlamal (Zlin/Liberec).

Coach of the Year: 2002 - Ladislav Skorpil (Slovan Liberec), 2003 - Karel Bruckner (Czech national soccer team), 2004 - Frantisek Komnacky (Banik Ostrava), 2005 - Karel Bruckner (Czech national soccer team), 2006 - Vitezslav Lavicka (Liberec), 2007 - Vitezslav Lavicka (Liberec/under-21 national team).

Best Scorer of the Season: 2002 - Jiri Stajner (Slovan Liberec), 2003 - Jiri Kowalik (1. FC Synot), 2004 - Marek Heinz (Banik Ostrava), 2005 - Tomas Jun (Sparta Praha), 2006 - Milan Ivana (FC Slovacko), 2007 - Lubos Pecka (Mlada Boleslav).