Our guest is a member of the miraculous Spartan class of 1992. As captain, he led the senior youth team to a sovereign title, in 2011 he won a silver medal at the U19 European Championship. He then established himself on the league scene, but his promising career began to be complicated by injuries. At the age of 28, he found out that he had to quit football.
“I remember a little sadly, because I think that I could have gotten a lot more out of my career than I did. However, injuries have accompanied me since the age of fifteen,” confesses Roman Polom.
You got it right. He started focusing on finance, in which he has a university degree. In addition to his studies, he also obtained all the licenses needed to mediate investments, loans and insurance. In addition, he completed several courses, including a financial literacy tutor course.
Photo: Vlastimil Vacek, Law
Sparta Prague defender Roman Polom during the Gambrinus League match with SK Slavia Prague, played on April 13, 2013 at the GENERALI Arena in Prague.
“College has always been my goal. I had great demands on myself not only in football. As I finished football, I felt I had to go back to school. Of course it was difficult. However, I have discipline and willpower, my best qualities I carried over from football.”
That’s how he managed the moment to quit football. “It was a difficult decision, but not one-sided. The end of my career was already a pain… So it was a release for me. I received an offer from Sport Invest, with whom I have been working since I was fifteen years old. Towards the end, I was just playing football, it was better to start building a new career.”
He then met another well-known football player, Jan Nezmar, at the consulting firm.
“He was one of the main reasons why I decided to leave Sport Invest and start working for JPL Servis, for Mr. Josef Luks. I see Mr. Nezmar as one of the TOP managers. It’s always nice to connect with successful people who can then give you a lot. They played a big role in my decision to move from a sports agency to the world of finance.”
He likes America very much. He got the idea of what he wanted to do while watching the sports comedy series Ballers.
“A lot of things in it are far-fetched, but also quite true to how athletes treat their finances. I really liked that he is not just a financial advisor, but rather a financial manager of the players. And I would like to be that too. I wouldn’t quite call myself a financial advisor, but something in between. Kind of like a sports agent, but for finance. I loved what Dwayne Johnson portrayed there. He was close to the players, he was their support. He understood what it was like to have a football career, but he also understood the world of finance. I would like to be something like that. And there is absolutely no such thing on the Czech market, I think,” he smiles.
He began lecturing in Sparta. He still feels like a Spartan and was glad to be back there. He doesn’t want his young listeners to do stupid things.
“I want guys to realize that a football career is terribly short. Unfortunately, you never know what will happen.’
Photo: Stanislava Benešová, Law
Former soccer player Roman Polom was the guest of the Bodlo podcast.
His father, Roman Polom, was a weightlifter who represented at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The brother also played football, Roman also draws on their experience. “Dad finished very late and then headed to normal work. On the contrary, my brother quit practically at the beginning and preferred employment.”
He goes step by step, but with his mentor Luks he sees how to work with sports stars. “I’m not there yet. A lot of stars are also my friends, so it wouldn’t be entirely ideal… My goal is to raise young boys, for example, in financial literacy.”
He doesn’t think much that he would still play himself. “I recently went to play my first ‘amateur’ match for the Sparta Foundation. One of my last attempts to return to football. But when I want to play properly like before, my body can’t stand it. I did something with my muscle again. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll probably never kick a ball again…”
How does Roman Polom like Sparta under coach Priske, how would he like a foreigner also in the Czech national team? Listen to our podcast in full.