Is age just a number?
Definitely. Age is relative. I extended my vacation by another vacation and I’m fine. I don’t worry about the growing years, because I usually play sports somewhere with young people. But I’m most looking forward to golf with Tonda Panenko or Vizour (Ladislav Vízek), because we all have the right playfulness in us.
Does it hold health?
Clearly. Even though I can’t really run much anymore, I’m good at soccer. When I play, I step on my name. (smiles) But apart from golf, I can play tennis or hockey, I really enjoy it.
Ivan Hašek remembers the most bizarre engagement Video: Sport.cz
How do you celebrate logs?
Nothing special, like every birthday. I am with the lady in Japan where I left a piece of my heart. Anyone who has visited this country once likes to return there. And the last time I was in Japan was ten years ago.
You left a piece of your heart in the Emirates too, don’t you see? You have an apartment in Dubai.
It is also suitable for work. I believe that I will return there professionally one day, the environment there suits me perfectly. In football and in life. Otherwise, I am most comfortable at home in Lipenci on the outskirts of Prague.
Do you rejoice in your sons? The younger Ivan is an assistant coach at Bohemians and the older Pavel is the sports director of the Czech Association of Football Players.
The boys love football, they both still play and coach the kids. By the way, I’m probably not alone in not seeing my own children as much as my grandchildren. Today I already have five. It will also be difficult for me to go abroad again because of them.
Is something brewing?
I promised my wife that I would start dealing with the new engagement only after the vacation. I have something in mind, it will be a coaching job again.
Photo: ronin, Pravo
Ivan Hasek
How often do you get offers?
Every week someone calls me, but you know it: it takes a long time from an offer to a concrete meeting. You always have some conditions and your team of people you trust. I recently signed a contract with Wydad Casablanca.
Seriously? You never worked there.
Even the president of the club welcomed me into the family. When I flew to Morocco at the beginning of January, I found out that they had found another coach in the meantime. I believed that it was enough to sign a contract over the Internet, but it works differently in Africa. So, I slept there once and immediately went home again. The suitcase did not arrive until a week later. (smiles)
A lovely story.
I keep saying that the best of my coaching life is yet to come. I had a wonderful start as a coach at Sparta with two titles in two seasons and I secretly hope to do something similar. And if it doesn’t, there’s nothing you can do.
What made your 60 years so colorful and fulfilling?
I’m properly gripped and bitten to win. There used to be far better players around me with a lot of talent. When I started in the league at just under eighteen, I weighed 52 kilos and was afraid that if the wind blew I would fly away. I was happy for the chance at Sparta and was fighting to play again. My body has worn down over the years, but I’m glad I can still do sports.
Would you like to experience something again?
I know that exactly.
What is it?
I would like to watch the World Cup again.
Photo: Petr Horník, Law
Ivan Hašek in the Sport.cz studio
I understand, in 1990 you were the captain of a strong Czechoslovak team that reached the quarter-finals in the post-revolutionary euphoria.
It’s a tournament for 32 teams from all over the planet, nothing compares to it. Before last year’s championship, I tried it with Lebanon, we fought almost until the last moment. It didn’t work out, but maybe it will. One should have dreams to have something to pursue.
What would you be if you weren’t a footballer? In the 1980s, you managed to study law while working for the super-successful Sparta.
That’s right, I would probably go into law. Dad was a lawyer, mom too. They led me to it. Even though I was playing football and doing well, I knew that with my stature, trouble could come any day. In addition, I had a family soon, Pavel was born when I was nineteen, and I needed to have a plan B.
So if you had to quit football, would you be a corporate lawyer?
If the company wanted to go bankrupt, so be it. (smiles) The first place for me was always football: I wanted to do it at the highest level as long as possible. Learning was not the easiest for me many times and I put the material out of my head immediately after the exam. Dad kept telling me: “Do school and you’ll find what you need in practice in books.”
As an ordinary lawyer, you probably wouldn’t speak to the crowd from the balcony of Melantrich at the legendary demonstration on November 24, 1989. It was a memorable day when the compromised leadership of the Communist Party, headed by Milouš Jakeš, resigned.
I did not rush to the balcony, I am not an orator or a revolutionary. I really appreciate it, even though I was scared. I was the captain of the national team, a few days before we advanced to the World Cup. An exceptional time. It is interesting that in France I did more interviews about 1989 than in the Czech Republic.
In his role as coach of the Lebanese national team, Ivan Hašek enjoyed the matches at the stadiums where the World Cup was played in Qatar. Video: Sport.cz
At the end of 1989, you were one of the guests at Václav Havel’s presidential election, and then you went out into the world, traveling through seven countries. Where was the best?
I liked it everywhere. From Sparta, I went to France as a player and coach, where the work is very demanding. The players are a bit more egotistical and you come into conflict practically every day. But I enjoyed life there.
Like in Japan we talked about before?
I can’t let him go, even if it’s terribly far. Too bad I couldn’t live there longer because I was alone. But I couldn’t tear the children out of the Czech environment, that wouldn’t be possible.
On the other hand, you plucked the original midfielder Pavel Horváth from the Czech environment, who also fell in love with Japan.
The Japanese are all fast and we needed someone to slow it down a bit. Horvi arrived ten kilos overweight, but he soon gained weight and became a valued player. Beautiful times! They had high ambitions in Kobe, but unfortunately the management was not at the level that we could achieve anything.
You spent a lot of time in the Arab environment and often had to explain the difference between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to people in the Czech Republic.
That’s right, people confuse these two countries here. I started in the Emirates and went to Arabia only a few years later. I appreciate that I had the opportunity to train at the best club in Asia, even if it was only for five months. Al-Hilál is a top address comparable to, for example, Sparta, where Neymar plays today. I experienced the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League in Riyadh.
Don’t you regret not being there for half a year?
I promised young Ivan that I would go with him to America for an examination. Sometimes football has to go by the wayside. Life in Saudi Arabia was quite different from Europe: you pass through several checkpoints between cities, the streets in Riyadh are forever clogged and you don’t see much of the sun because there is sand in the air.
From left, Pavel Hašek, Patrik Eliáš, Vladimír Šmicer, Jiří Jarošík, Ivan Hašek and Michal Bílek.
In terms of football, however, Saudi Arabia is growing a lot, it has attracted a number of interesting names, led by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Don’t be surprised, the financial possibilities are huge. Saudis love football and the biggest clubs are sold out. Most European countries have bought the TV rights and something tells me that the league there could do better than in China.
We have been talking about foreign countries for a long time, but what about the Czech Republic? Why did you last train at home more than 20 years ago?
I had and still have offers from the Czech Republic, but if there is an opportunity to work abroad, I will gladly take advantage of it. Technology, conditions, material security… Even if Qatar, Saudi Arabia or the Emirates lack international success, they are ahead in many footballing details. They have such possibilities that they can buy the news first.
One last thing about the Czech Republic: would you run again for the head of the football association in 2009, even if you knew that after two years you would rather resign?
Fortunately, today is a different time. In retrospect, I’m glad I tried it. When someone insults the conditions in Czech football, I say: “And what have you done for him?” Being the chairman of the association was not easy, it is not my area. In addition, when you know that you are the boss of something that you do not really control, you have no motivation to move on. After the first year in office, I was already preparing to quit.
Has Czech football improved since then? He managed to break away from the powerful godfather Roman Berber, but at the end of the season, several shameful cases appeared in lower competitions.
There are always excesses, but the important thing is that our football is going in the right direction. It’s not the totality it used to be. Everyone wants development to go faster, but even this pace is not bad.
Are you an optimist?
Complete. Sometimes maybe too much: even if I lose 0-3 with ten minutes to go, I still believe in victory.
Did you believe even as the surprise coach of the national team at the end of the unsuccessful qualification for the 2010 World Cup?
I have said from the beginning that this is only a short-term thing. Back then, generations were changing in the national team, but I’m glad that we didn’t lose a single match. We still tried to advance, even though it was almost a utopia, and we finished the qualification with honor. I had something to do: pursuing two demanding functions at once was on the edge.
Did this experience make you stronger?
I’m sure it would suit everyone. When you’re in charge of football, it’s almost a political function. I also seriously had offers from politics, but I learned to say: “Thanks, I don’t want.” The position means a lot of stress every day, which is not my way of life.
What is your lifestyle?
For example, the fact that I look forward to the morning every night. I live a beautiful life, I lack nothing. What more could I ask for?
2023-09-07 01:17:04
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