Tuesday May 23 2006

By Adam Fraser

He's signed for an undisclosed fee, and on a long-term contract. Hmm. Doesn't
tell you much about the Arsenal newbie, does it? Luckily, Football365 are here
to fill in the gaps about Dumpling...

1. He's nicknamed 'Dumpling' after his favourite dish - so we can all look
   forward to plenty of dough-related puns from the tabloids. However, he is
   often referred to in the Czech Republic by the far more complimentary
   'Football Mozart'.

2. Rosicky's talent was imprinted in his genes - his father Jiri was one of the
   all-time great players for the former Czechoslovakia.

3. Tomas became the youngest ever winner of the Czech Player Of The Year award
   in 2001 and then went on to win the same award the following year.

4. He made his international debut against the Republic of Ireland in 2000, and
   has since scored 15 goals in 53 appearances for his country. A rather
   important one of those goals was the winner in the second leg of the Czech
   Republic's play-off against Norway that saw them reach their first ever
   World Cup. Rosicky scored six goals from midfield in the qualifying
   campaign.

5. He became the Bundesliga's most expensive signing when he transferred from
   Sparta Prague to Borussia Dortmund. Mind you, the exact amount has been
   quoted at everything between ￡8m and ￡18m in the national press.

6. Shortly after his move to Germany, Inter Milan offered a reported ￡33
   million to take him to the San Siro.

7. He gets fouled. A lot. During one game for Dortmund, against Bayern Munich,
   he was brought down no less than 38 times - with two Bayern players being
   sent-off as a result.

8. Chelski tried to sign Rosicky in 2004, but he claims to have joined Arsenal
   so that he can play "with Thierry Henry - because he is the best." Suck up.

9. His girlfriend, Radka Kocurova, came second behind Sylvie van der Vaart in
   a poll conducted by Bild to find the most attrative players' girlfriends in
   the Bundesliga.

10. A member of the F365 editorial staff was once told off by Czech police for
    trying to half-inch a life-size photo of Rosicky from outside the Sparta
    Prague training ground. Please note: Football365 does not condone such
    activities. Funny as they are.