World Soccer - UK (2020-04)

eyewitness

supporter liaison officer.

Slavia only picked up two points in this

season’s Champions League – one of

which was at Camp Nou – but along with

city rivals Sparta they are the heartbeat

of Czech football. The loss was double-

edged for Trpisovsky, who grew up

watching games at Dolicek with his

Bohemians-supporting father.

Trpisovsky began coaching in his early

20s after injury ended his modest playing

career. He spent nearly two decades in

charge of teams in the lower leagues

before getting his chance in 2013 with

second-tier Viktoria Zizkov, where he

made an immediate impact, winning

36 of 70 matches, before being handed

the chance to coach in the top flight at

Slovan Liberec two years later.

While at Zizkov, Trpisovsky had

recruited young defensive midfielder

Tomas Soucek on loan from Slavia. At

Liberec, Trpisovsky again brought in

Soucek on loan and the pair took the

club into the Europa League group stage.

Slavia were watching and their Chinese

owners Sinobo, who had bankrolled a

first league championship in a decade

in 2017 with older players, decided to

change strategy.

“Slavia came with their money and

they took five players and our coach,

even our press officer,” sighs Tomas

Carnogursky, general factotum at^

Slovan Liberec and now also the PR.

“Slavia’s new owners changed

everything in Czech football. In the

past it was our strategy to buy talented

players from Slavia and Sparta as they

had enough older players and these

young players could not get in the first XI.

“Then, after two or three years, they

became better players and we sold them

back. Now Sparta and Slavia have big

squads and they loan out lots of players.”

A couple of years ago Slavia were said

to have 70 players on contract, with

swathes sent out on loan and unable to

play in games against their parent club.

The growth of loans also favours Slavia

and Sparta in other ways. In their first

game after the restart this season, Sparta

• who are owned by Czech billionaire
  Daniel Kretinsky – entertained Slovan
  but were disjointed and squandered
  possession. The game’s best player,
  Romania international Alexandru Baluta,
  created both goals for Tomas Malinsky in
  a 2-0 win – Slovan’s first win at Sparta
  since 2012. Baluta is on loan from Slavia.
  Last season Slavia’s hard-running
  side knocked out Sevilla on a run to the
  Europa League quarter-finals and won

“Slavia’s new owners changed

everything in Czech football”

Tomas Carnogursky

Passion...Sparta

Prague (below)

fans light up the

stadium against

Slovan Liberec

Upset...Bohemians

(in green) ended

Slavia’s run