The legend of Slavia has left. Memory of František Cipro

When in December 2017, during the celebrations of the 125th foundation of the club, Slavia Prague announced the ideal eleven in history at the gala evening in the Municipal House, František Cipro was included on the left side of the defense by the votes of the fans.

For some, it was a bit of a surprise, because during the club’s existence, more capable full-backs appeared in the red and white jersey, who made a more significant mark as players both in Slavia and in the national team.

The fans rather expressed their thanks for the relationship with the club, which he showed on the field and above all on the coaching bench, where he sat a total of three times in different periods.

František Cipro became a Slavic legend.

In March 2000, Slavia Prague under his leadership played in the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup against the Italian Udinese Calcio. A map of Europe hangs on the wall of the stadium hall and a large island in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea (Cyprus) is called Cipro in Italian. “Look, Franta has its own island!” the officials present caught the match with the coach’s name.

It was no accident, he had Italian roots. He searched for them, revealed his origin. “I have found that my ancestors on my father’s side came from Calabria, Italy,” he described. “Poor peasants went elsewhere in search of a better livelihood, some went as far as Bohemia,” explained the move to the cold north. “Dad was from Zdice and the name Cipro is quite common in Berounsko,” he observed. “Whenever I came across the surname Cipro, it came from this county,” he added.

However, he never received an offer from an Italian club as a player and above all as a coach. He wouldn’t turn her down.

He was born in Jihlava, but is considered a South Bohemian patriot. “His dad worked as a director in dairies and was transferred from Vysočina to České Budějovice. Frant was about six,” explains Jiří Fulín, Cipro’s teammate from the school team.

Fulín, as a long-time manager of the stadium, perceived his South Bohemian coaching engagement very closely. He knows why Cipro also connected his private life with the South Bohemian region. “He married a local native, Jana Dostálova, then they built a barrack in Hluboká nad Vltavou, on such a hillside, their neighbors were Karel Poborský or Jiří Kotrba,” he reveals.

And Cipro also became the owner of Dynamo for a period of time, when the shares were owned by seven recognized football personalities – local patriots.

In the league statistics, he has 285 matches and 16 goals recorded in the period 1968-1980, he wore the jerseys of Pardubice, Zlín (then Gottwaldova) and Slavia. He left his biggest mark in the Prague club, where he played nine seasons with 234 matches, scoring eleven times.

“Franta was in no way exceptional, but an honest footballer who benefited from the fact that he was used in all places,” characterizes him at the time as a teammate of stopper Jan Mareš. The former Czechoslovak representative immediately contradicts the idea that he was exclusively left-back. “During our time, the defense played in the composition of Biroš-Mareš-Luža-Smolík, everyone was kicking for the toolbox, it was not even possible to push someone out,” says Mareš. “Franta started in the reserve and in the attack, alongside the European champions Dušan Herda and Franta Veselý, wherever it was needed,” he discusses.

Ultimately, however, he is listed as a stable left-back. “That was after Bohouš Smolík had a fight with coach Jaroslav Jareš and he stopped training him,” reveals Mareš.

It does not in any way confirm Cipro’s reputation as a player who did not go far for a raw intervention, even though it was said about him that his hardness was ‘boundless’. “In the derby, he badly injured the Spartan midfielder Bušek, when he stepped on his knee and he had to stop playing football,” Mareš recalls a sad moment that will forever be recorded in the chronicle of rival clubs’ fights. “But he wasn’t malicious,” he points out.

The academic abbreviation of the title JUDr. (juris utriusque doctor – doctor of both Roman and canon law) did not put his name before his name, although he had a full right to it. However, what good would he have on the roster before an important match…

However, he honestly completed his studies at the Faculty of Law in Prague. “Three people from the Slavist manchaft attended it: Franta, Jáno Luža and Pepík Bouška,” says Mareš. And they had a following. “Franta actually talked me into studying law and pushed me to do it,” recalls midfielder Ivo Lubas, who later worked for a long time at the football association as director of professional benefits. “He told me, you’re not stupid, so try it,” she recalls the words of encouragement.

The students wearing the red and white jersey had a strong presence at the faculty. “The head of the Department of Agricultural Cooperative Law, Vojtěch Štícha, was a big fan,” reveals Lubas. “Jarda Dvorník, a great Spartan for a change, taught together with him. And he led the department according to how the derby turned out,” reveals the influence of the results of the most prestigious Czech duel on the educational process.

According to him, Cipro was an exemplary student. “While the others greased the cards, he read something in the corner,” says Lubas. “He knew what was going on, he was ahead of us. He was an educated and smart boy, which he eventually used in the coaching profession,” he points out.

As a coach, he took over Slavia Prague in 1995 and immediately fulfilled the dream of many generations of a championship title, which they had been waiting for throughout the totalitarian regime since 1947. And to that he also added a historic success in cup Europe in the form of the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.

“Victory checkered jacket,” jumps at the first shot of the champion team’s defender Jan Suchopárek when coach Cipro is mentioned. “He wore it because it was said to bring luck and we won,” reveals the superior’s impeccable superstition. “He completely wore it out, because we kept winning,” Suchopárek recalls the cult year 1995/1996.

He recognized his ability to prepare and lead the team. “He didn’t fit into the cabin in any way, he let the players express themselves. And he knew how to lighten the atmosphere, there were a lot of stupid things he came up with,” reveals Cipro’s psychological traits. “On the pitch, he was an offensive player, he wanted to play offensively, and that’s what he wanted from us defenders,” says the 1996 European vice-champion, now coach of the Czech under-21 team.

“And that jacket is definitely hanging in the closet somewhere,” he has no doubt.

As an already respected coach, he was quite susceptible to criticism. When something unpleasant or unflattering appeared in his address, he reacted immediately. “I don’t read the goal, but this didn’t work out,” he lashed out at the author of the article he didn’t like. His co-workers confirmed that he goes through all the newspapers in the morning and knows what was written where.

He watched everything. “What kind of expert do you have there if he doesn’t know how Sturm Graz plays,” he wondered at the analysis of Slavia’s opponent in the preliminary round of the UEFA Cup in autumn 1995, which was published in the weekly Gól.

He was completely turned off when he was named as one of the culprits for the worse results in the league in the fall of 1997, because he is unable to properly motivate the newly formed team. He declared that no one would speak to the journalist who dared to criticize him.

He did not keep his resolution. He calmed down very quickly and was able to discuss everything comfortably over a glass of wine. And he admitted in retrospect that he was sometimes a little short-tempered.

In May 2020, the life of the pensioner, who is most looking forward to his grandchildren, changed fundamentally. An insidious enemy – cancer – attacked, but the operation was successful and he believed that beautiful moments with his loved ones would come again.

He fought for a long time, moments of depression mixed with hopes, he refused to give up. “Call me, I’m glad if someone remembers me,” he urged journalists. He always had something to say, he continued to follow what was happening in football. And his beloved Slavia made him happy with other titles and performances on the European stage.

“I didn’t call him much, I was afraid that I would find out something I didn’t want to know,” confides friend and former teammate Lubas. “Now I won’t hear Franta anymore,” he accepts in a shaky voice the terrifying news that has hit Czech football.