The Football Association of the Czech Republic has already communicated with some candidates for the position of the new coach of the national team. The list of candidates has narrowed down, FAČR chairman Petr Fousek did not want to comment on names or numbers. The head of the association does not expect that a decision on a new coach would be made on Thursday after the meeting of the executive committee, but according to him, the management is trying to speed up the selection of a coach. Fousek said this at a press conference in Prague after Saturday’s European Championship group stage draw.
The FAČR is choosing a coach after Jaroslav Šilhavý decided to quit after the qualification, despite progressing to the championship next year in Germany. His contract officially expired on November 30. The selection of a new coach is entrusted to a five-member working group, which includes chairman Fousek, vice-chairmen Jiří Šidliák and Jan Richter, member of the executive committee and head of the first league Viktoria Plzeň Adolf Šádek and the association’s new technical director Erich Brabec. The management of the FAČR also consults the coaching question with its advisory body, the Sports Council.
“Both the meetings of the working group and the sports council are taking place. Of course, some communication took place with certain candidates, but it is not possible to specify it further. It can be said that the selection of adepts has narrowed down. I cannot reveal how many possible candidates there were or are.” said Fousek.
Bookmakers listed the lowest odds for Slovácko coach Martin Svědík, the second biggest favorite was Viktoria Plzeň coach Miroslav Koubek. According to information from some media, the current candidate is the former union president and coach Ivan Hašek, but recently in an interview with ČTK and Radiožurnále Sport, he described his chances as small, because according to him, some people do not want him. Former national team captain Pavel Nedvěd could allegedly be the manager of the national team.
“There has been a lot of speculation, some of which are completely unrealistic. Until the process of selecting a coach is completed, of course no name can be heard from our side,” noted Fousek.
“We have our plan, we are proceeding according to it. We are not dragging anything out, there is no hesitation, embarrassment. We said that the coach should be known by January, maybe it will be even earlier. In our own interest, we are trying to speed up the negotiations. I rather do not expect it on Thursday ” added Fousek.
Brabec discussed the coaching question with the sports council today. “Today, an online meeting took place with the Sports Council. It allowed me to say publicly that it has already presented a proposal. But for obvious reasons, I will introduce it to the chairman and the executive committee first,” said Brabec.
Fousek is convinced that the association will choose the coach well. The new coach is likely to have a contract until the end of the next World Cup qualification. “It’s not like the association woke up now and started looking for someone. The FAČR selects the coach, that’s a fundamental difference. From my point of view, the working group is a standard process. When we (years ago) selected Karel Brückner, it also featured a working group composed of from the chairman, three vice-chairmen and the general secretary, who was me at the time. We chose well then, so no one can say that the officials do not have the competence to make such a choice,” said Fousek.
“It is a responsible decision, we are choosing the coach of the most watched national team in the country, moreover, before the European Championship. It is a conceptual solution for the League of Nations and the subsequent qualification for the 2026 World Cup. We approach it with the appropriate seriousness. We are also in contact with the players, they know that we want to select the best,” added a member of the UEFA executive committee.
At the same time, FAČR is also dealing with the position of manager. “The two functions influence each other, of course also specific people. There needs to be a certain compatibility. We work on it as a whole,” noted Fousek.
According to him, the association also deals with assistant coaches. “We will not force an assistant on the coach that he does not want, but we want to project our ideas into the names. There is a possibility that the assistants will work elsewhere,” Fousek added.
2023-12-04 14:22:00
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