Marek Jankulovski (born 9 May 1977) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a defender. His most notable achievements include winning the UEFA Champions League with AC Milan and being voted the 2007 Czech Footballer of the Year. He earned 77 caps for the Czech Republic, and represented them at three UEFA European Championships, the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Jankulovski was well known for his versatility, being able to play anywhere on the left side, and was used as a full-back, as a wing-back, and as a winger throughout his career. He was also known for his ability to cross the ball, as well as his considerable technical ability and energetic attacking runs down the left flank.
Jankulovski started his career for Baník Ostrava after joining from NH Ostrava. In 1994, he made a breakthrough into the first team, as the club finished in third place in the league. Jankulovski started out, playing in the attacking midfield position before playing in the defender position and established himself in the first team.
Jankulovski scored in the opening game of the 1999–2000 season in a 6–1 win against Chmel Blšany. A week later he opened the scoring in a 2–2 home draw against Sigma Olomouc. It was not until 27 February 2000 when Jankulovski scored his third goal of the season, in a 4–1 win against Sigma Olomouc. This was followed by scoring twice in a 3–1 victory against Drnovice. He then went on to score three goals later in the 1999–2000 season. By the end of the 1999–2000 season, Jankulovski had made 27 appearances and scored eight times in all competitions; his performance at Baník Ostrava attracted interest from foreign clubs. By the time he left the club, Jankulovski had made a total of 110 league appearances, scoring fifteen goals.
Following his participation in the UEFA Euro 2000, Napoli began negotiations to sign Jankulovski. The transfer was confirmed on 29 June 2000. He was one of a large number of players brought in by new Czech manager Zdeněk Zeman. Jankulovski said about his compatriot manager, Zeman: "I had heard of Zeman's methods in my country. I had prepared myself to suffer. Yet I am still in pieces, after having faced many kilometers of running in a few days. It is a different preparation from what I was used to."
Jankulovski made his debut for Napoli, playing the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Lecce on 1 November 2000. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 loss against Vicenza four days later. After the match, La Repubblica praised his performance. After joining Napoli, however, Jankulovski found his playing time, mostly coming from the substitute bench. He scored his second goal for the club in a 6–2 victory against Reggina on 16 December 2000, having come on as a substitute in the 75th minute. In a goalless draw against Perugia on 18 March 2001, Jankulovski played as a substitute but received a straight red card for protesting in the 90th minute. On 14 April 2001, after serving a one match suspension, he scored on his comeback as a substitute in the 87th minute against Bari. Napoli finished the season being relegated to Serie B. At the end of the 2000–01 season, Jankulovski had made twenty appearances and scored once in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2001–02 Serie A, Jankulovski remained at Napoli despite the club's relegation. He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 loss against Siena on 12 August 2001. After the start of said season Jankulovski continued to regain his first-team place, rotating in playing either left midfield and central midfield.
Early in the 2001–02 season he was linked with a move to Premier League side West Ham United, as well as Italian sides Lecce, Fiorentina and Torino.
By December, he began playing at left-back. Later, Jankulovski scored two goals in the next two matches against Cosenza and Pistoiese between 9 December 2001 and 14 December 2001. After missing two missing two matches due to injury, he made a comeback by scoring in a 1–1 draw against Cagliari on 24 February 2002. Jankulovski then scored in a 1–1 draw against Palermo, and in a 2–1 loss against Siena. Despite suffering injuries throughout the season, he made 33 appearances in all competitions, scoring six times.
In February 2002, Jankulovski signed a four-year contract with Serie A side Udinese, staying with Napoli on loan for the rest of the 2001–02 season. In the opening game of the 2002–03 season, Jankulovski made his debut for the club, coming on as a 57th-minute substitute during a 1–1 draw against Parma. After joining Udinese, he quickly became a first-team regular, rotating in playing either at left-back or in midfield for the next five matches. After missing five matches that saw him sidelined for one month, Jankulovski returned to the first team, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute in a 2–1 victory against Empoli on 8 December 2002.
Jankulovski helped Udinese keep three consecutive clean sheets between 18 December 2002 and 12 January 2003. Despite being sidelined towards the end of the 2002–03 season, he continued to regain his first-team place, rotating in playing either left-back or in midfield. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 loss against Parma on 2 February 2003. This was followed by scoring his second goal of the season in a 2–1 victory against Piacenza. Jankulovski scored his third goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against Como on 19 April 2003. Once again, Jankulovski scored two goals in the remaining two matches of the 2002–03 season against Perugia and Lazio.
Ahead of the 2003–04 season, Jankulovski's performances attracted interest from Serie A clubs, but ended up staying at Udinese. The start of the season saw Jankulovski continue to regain his first-team place, rotating in playing either left-back or in midfield in the first 12 matches of the season. He played in both legs of the UEFA Cup's first round against Austria Salzburg, as the club lost 3–2 on aggregate. On 9 November 2003, Jankulovski scored his first goal of the season in a 4–1 loss against Juventus. One month later, he scored in both legs of the Coppa Italia last 16 against Bologna, as Udinese won 4–0 on aggregate. Jankulovski's fourth goal of the season came on 25 January 2004, in a 1–1 draw against Roma. He added two more goals in February against Bologna and Ancona. Jankulovski added two more goals in May and saw the club qualify for UEFA Cup next season. Despite missing two matches during the 2003–04 season, he made 38 appearances, scoring eight times in all competitions.
In summer 2004, Jankulovski was linked with a move to Juventus and CSKA Moscow. Eventually, he ended up staying at Udinese, having rejected a move to CSKA Moscow, preferring to remain in Italy. Having missed the opening match of the season due to an injury, Jankulovski made his first start in a 3–1 loss against Panionios in the first leg of the UEFA Cup first round on 16 September 2004. Three days later, on 19 September 2004, he scored his first goal of the season in a 4–0 loss against Parma. However, on 26 September 2004, Jankulovski received a straight red card for not having a sportsman-like behavior in the 80th minute in a 2–1 loss against Brescia. Four days later, on 30 September, in the return leg against Panionios in the UEFA Cup first round, he received another red card for unsportsmanlike attitude, as the club won 1–0 – but was eliminated from the tournament following a 3–2 loss on aggregate. After serving a one-match suspension, Jankulovski returned to the starting line-up on 17 October in a 3–1 loss against Inter Milan. Three days later on 20 October 2004, he signed a contract with the club, keeping him until June 2008. Following his return from suspension, Jankulovski regained his first-team place, playing at both right midfield and left midfield. On 7 November 2004, he scored twice, with an equaliser and converting the penalty to score the winning goal of the game in a 4–3 victory against Lecce. On 16 January 2005, Jankulovski scored an own goal in a 3–1 loss against AC Milan]. On 2 February, he made amends from mistakes by scoring his fourth goal of the season in a 3–0 victory against ChievoVerona. After serving a one-match suspension, Jankulovski returned to the starting line-up against Milan in the second leg of the Coppa Italia quarter-final, and set up one of the goals in a 4–1 victory, resulting in Udinese progressing to the semi-final with a 6–4 win on aggregate. Afterwards, he regained his first team place, starting in the next seven matches for the club. This lasted until when Jankulovski suffered an ankle injury that saw him sidelined for the rest of the 2004–05 season.