The strongest moment came when just before the match Cipro’s son František and granddaughter Greta entered the pitch, accompanied by Slavia boss Jaroslav Tvrdík. After the applause, the fans chanted the name of the popular man who played 501 games as a player in the red and white jersey and coached the team in three seasons. The most famous was the first of them, in which Slavia won the league title in 1996 after forty-nine long years and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.
“Terribly sad news. It hit everyone hard. We felt it most from people who have been working here for a long time. Some experienced him as a teammate or even a coach. The players in the cabin perceive the history of the club. There is a museum, photos from famous matches with AS Rome or Bordeaux. When I still went to the old Eden, on one wall there were staff lists with pictures of the coaches, we had something similar done in the cabin,” explained Slavist coach Jindřich Trpišovský.
Before the kick-off, the chairman of the board Jaroslav Tvrdík, the 1st vice-chairman of the VV FAČR Jiří Šidliák and other representatives of Slavia honored the memory of František Cipro by laying wreaths. 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/lzR67yKTZs
— SK Slavia Prague (@slaviaofficial) February 11, 2023
“He was one of the most successful, perhaps the most successful coach ever. Everything is enhanced by the fact that he spent his entire career as a player in Slavia and never hid the fact that he is a big fan of Slavia. Even though we knew about his illness, it’s a huge blow and terribly sad news especially for the people around him,” added Cipro’s current follower.
The fans chanted Cipro’s name even during the match, and at the very end they incorporated it into one of the traditional shouts. “Bican, Cipro, Plánička, they are watching Slavia roll from heaven,” Edenem said.
Guests from Brno, whom he helped to advance to the league in 1989, also paid their respects. Zbrojovka fans also chanted his name, and Richard Dostálek, who played under Cipro in Slavia, sits on its bench. “It’s sad news. I remembered the games in the old Eden or the cup games. We had quite a successful cup run under Mr. Cipre. He had a human approach, but he could also make a joke. What I could take from him is his perspective,” said Brno coach Dostálek.
In the match itself, Slavia beat Brno 2:0.
