“We can argue that Viktoria were not in optimal form, that fatigue had accumulated and therefore did not behave as usual for her. But above all, Sparta consistently pursued the goal,” says Milan Fukal, former Czech national team in a commentary for Aktuálně.cz.
Sparta won in Pilsen after eleven years and ended their opponent’s 35-game streak without defeat. We can argue that Viktoria was not in optimal shape, that her fatigue was building up and therefore she was not behaving as usual for her. But above all, Sparta has consistently pursued the goal.
There is talk of a change of formation, with which Sparta took the opponent by surprise. That is, for three defenders, in the 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 system. But above all the change took place in the heads, Letenští believed he could also be successful against the leaders on his field. Coach Priske explained how, after the derby debacle, they carefully prepared for the changes, what they felt during the break. Some will argue why they haven’t done it before. I don’t know, I’m not in the cabin. But the rule still applies: better late than never.
It was all about Sparta. If he hadn’t won, he would almost certainly be ineligible too just to think about fighting for the title. In this way she still has options, even if it is still very difficult for her, because she is chasing two teams, Slavia is also ahead of her. However, she helped herself mentally.
The goal came at the worst moment for the hosts: in the 82nd minute, when there is not much time for a draw or even a breakthrough. And after the standard, which is otherwise a very good Pilsen weapon. It shouldn’t have happened to Viktorka, it was a mistake. The blow came out of nowhere.
I admit that Pilsen has a much more demanding schedule in the fall, fatigue is felt and health problems multiply. Someone calculated that the home team had ten more duels than the guests. But Viktorka wanted to go to the Champions League, he wants to play these games, he wants to become visible in Europe and possibly sell a player. It’s his choice, you can’t find excuses for that.
It is not only for me that it is very difficult to comment on the Chorý case, regardless of whether his foul was intentional or not. I, Franta Straka, Ivan Hašek will give my opinion, we immediately face attacks, sometimes even quite vulgar. But we didn’t do anything wrong, we just said what we thought.
In the case of Choré, the VAR has failed miserably. After all, there are people who are responsible and paid for it! They would have to ask the referee to come and take a look, then he would give some sort of verdict and it would be done. The commission would support him or punish the referee for bad judgment. It would be after the discussions.
Something else happened in the match between Slavia and Baník. I don’t know exactly what the methodology for using the VAR is, once again I’m just saying: paid people sit with him. However, solving a foul in the first half, if there is no potential disqualification, probably does not fall. And the goal was scored after sixteen seconds, when several passes and fights occurred. The referee should have stopped the game immediately, it didn’t happen and I would never discuss it again.
Otherwise, it is always round and round.
Milan Petržela is the new record holder in the number of league games, he reached an incredible figure of 465. I remember him when he arrived on loan at Jablonec as a young man, he was a little too sure of himself, he thought he owned the world. But then he showed what kind of player he is, where he has moved in his career, up to the German signing and the national team.
What is admirable about him is that he has set the record as an offensive player. It’s another thing with a defender, when he can build on experience and read the game. I myself have over 400 matches with the German Bundesliga. But Milan, as an offensive type, had to keep their speed, agility, they still had to be something interesting to have priority over the younger wolves. At the same time, he was constantly being kicked by opponents, it is almost impossible to believe that he avoided an injury.
His record has a great legacy as it shows how the Czech championship is not in vain, and thus serves as an example and idol for young people. For them it is a challenge to overcome him, just as Jarda Šilhavý was a challenge for Milan, who had the record in front of him and believed that no one could overcome it. Also, he will increase it with each subsequent game and I believe he will also exceed 500.
After České Budějovice’s victory over Brno, surprising coach Jiří Lerch said he is back to what worked under David Horejš. I don’t know what he meant by that, as he was trained under the fired Jožka Weber. If it’s about emphasizing core values, that is combativeness and discipline, or he meant something else.
For me, Budějovice is a club that needs peace in order to achieve its goal: to train excellent players who can enrich the best Czech clubs and the national team. It is enough to remember the names Poborský, Němec, Sivok, Lafata, Vácha, Vozábal, Lengyel, before them Straka, Drahokoupil and others. For this, the coach must be able to do his job, while someone is always talking to him. And that there are always many who claim this right. When he is calm, Budějovice will be a worthy traditional participant in the top competition.
