Asking about your health is not just a polite phrase for František Cipro, who in April moved from the senior category to the longer-lived group. Two years ago, he underwent an operation for colon cancer, and the rhythm of the quiet life of an active pensioner from Hluboká nad Vltavou found a completely different form.
–
“Once a fortnight I go to the hospital in České Budějice for chemotherapy,” he reveals. “Three or four days after it, I’m pretty tired,” he admits. “But then it will get better,” he soon turns to hope. “We’ll see. I’ve learned to live with it,” he accepts his fate.
–
He continues to watch football. “But only from a perspective,” he proves that he does not allow himself to be mentally troubled by trifles. After all, he has enjoyed two lifetimes of nerves and sleepless nights behind a long career – especially as a coach.
–
The attack of a vile enemy
The insidious disease sneaked into his body in May 2020, just like in other patients. “Suddenly it stopped tasting, I completely lost my taste,” he recalls. “When I just looked at the food, I felt sick,” the unpleasant feeling returns to him.
–
He understood that it could not be itself. “I went to see a friend in Buděžice, what was happening to me. They examined me with sono, ultrasound and other devices. They pierced everything in my body. Esophagus, stomach, then colonoscopy, catheter,” he describes the procedure. The conclusion did not please. “He told me clearly – it’s in pr… There are metastases,” he accepted the unpleasant news.
–
He was immediately sent for an operation, which was arranged by the son in Motola by the renowned expert Professor Jiří Hoch, who is the head of the surgical clinic. “He did a great job. When someone looks at my scar, they just look up. There is almost nothing to see, he did a fantastic job. In addition, without an outlet, which I was terribly afraid of,” he praises the procedure performed. He was in Prague for about ten days, then he was allowed to go home, and since June 2020 he has been going to České Budějovice for chemotherapy, and he is checked once every three months for a blood test.
–
One of the most fearless defenders of the Czechoslovak league of the 1970s began to face the attack of a mean enemy. “I’ve had a lot of trouble,” he doesn’t hide the strong psychological strain. “But Professor Hoch got me back up, for which I am grateful,” he thanks the doctor.
–
He missed his grandchildren
Escaping the bucket was a big win in life, but the value of retirement is also measured by social ties. They were also very torn, and they were also limited by anti-covid measures. “In Hluboká, where we have built a house, I was only with my wife, the rest of the family lives in Prague. Connection only by phone, via Skype,” reveals the isolation.
–
He missed his grandchildren the most. “She didn’t follow me so as not to endanger me, that’s clear,” he understood the medical point of view. “But it was terrible,” he says again, returning to that period.
–
Today everything is different, much happier. “They’ll come, I’ll be happy with them, now they’re on vacation and she was here, then at the other grandmother’s,” he says, experiencing full-fledged grandfather days.
–
Slavic legend
He played 234 games for the Slavist team in the Czechoslovak league, scoring eleven goals in them, quite a decent amount for a defender. However, he entered the memory of the fans much more as a coach. As a successful coach. Legendary.
–
Under his leadership, when he was suitably complemented by assistant Josef Pešic, he returned to Eden, in fact, for the first time in 1996, he brought to Eden the championship title, which the fans of the oldest Czech club had been waiting for for 49 long years, throughout the communist regime. He left the great team voluntarily, in the fall of 1997 he could not resist the offer of the Austrian Innsbruck.
–
František Cipro (13 April 1947, Jihlava, defender)
Francis Cipro
VTJ Tábor (1966–1968), VCHZ Pardubice (1968–1970), TJ Gottwaldov (1970–1971), Slavia Prague (1971–1980), TJ Jílové (1980–1982), SV Gmünd / Austria (1984–1988)
–
TJ Jílové (1980–1982), SV Gmünd/Austria (1984–1988), Zbrojovka Brno (1988–1990), AEL Limassol/Cyprus (1990–1992), FK Chmel Blšany (1992–1994), Slavia Prague (1995– 1997), Tirol Innsbruck / Austria (1997–1999), Slavia Prague (1999–2000), LASK Linz / Austria (2001), FK Teplice (2001–2002), Viktoria Plzeň (2003–2004), SV Freistadt / Austria ( 2004–2005), SK Dynamo České Budějovice (2005–2007), SV Freistadt / Austria (2008–2009), Slavia Prague (2010), SK Dynamo České Budějovice (2011–2012), SK Dynamo České Budějovice (2015).
–
Achievements: Czech champion 1995/1996, UEFA Cup semi-final 1995/1996, coach of the year 1997
——
He returned to the Slavist bench whenever the club management called him in both hopeful and difficult times. “And if there was interest, I would take her a fourth time,” he is not ashamed of his warm relationship.
–
Current success – four titles in the last six years and participation in the Champions League, which he never achieved – makes him happy. However, if there was an imaginary clash with his team, he is clear about the outcome: “We would win,” he says without hesitation.
–
And he presents the arguments: “The players in my time were better at football. No one will take that away from me,” he declares. “Just look at the big clubs they ended up with. Karel Poborský went to Manchester United, Radek Bejbl to Atlético Madrid, Vláďa Šmicer got as far as Liverpool, Pavel Novotný had good offers, even though he left later, and others,” he calculates.
–
This also applied to the next generation. “Pavel Horváth went to Sporting Lisbon, we had offers for the Doška brothers, although they did not materialize. It was probably a mistake,” he admits. “Obviously, today’s players would excel in other parameters,” admits that football is moving forward. “But it’s easier to improve fitness, improve personal fights, master tactics. That can be learned,” he would not be afraid of today’s workload. “But we have to have football skills in us from a young age and just develop it,” he points out. “At that time, we had a really great team, even from a European point of view,” he repeats.
–
What bothers him the most is the very wide staff, mostly made up of foreigners. “It’s more difficult to negotiate in the cabin,” he says from his own experience. “And above all, some feel underappreciated. I had thirteen selected, the other five knew that they were the first substitutes, and it was on,” he recalls.
–
He did not receive an offer from the land of his ancestors
His coaching curriculum vitae also includes two years at the Cypriot club AEL Limassol. How characteristic for him, since the name Cipro means in Italian this very island in the Mediterranean Sea. It couldn’t be a coincidence.
–
He searched for it, unraveling his family tree. “It has been established that my ancestors on my father’s side came from Calabria, Italy,” he concluded. “Poor peasants went elsewhere in search of a better livelihood, some went as far as Bohemia,” explains the move to the cold north. “Dad was from Zdice, and the name Cipro is quite common in Berounska,” he points out. “Whenever I came across the surname Cipro, it came from this region,” he adds.
–
He led Slavia against Italian rivals several times, the most memorable being the elimination of AS Rome in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in the rich year 1995/1996, when Slavia came close to winning the championship. However, there is a big difference between leading a team against, or training in the land of our forefathers, in the promised land of football Italy.
–
A huge attraction for a football coach. “That would appeal to everyone,” he confirms. “But the offer never came,” he shrugs and recalls several Austrian engagements, the most valuable of which was in the first division Tirol Innsbruck. How many Czech ambassadors will receive such an honor?
–
However, it is not Italy. “I can’t catch up now,” he accepts life as he ran. Even without that, he was very rich.
—
