At the start of this season, Sparta Praha seemed to have a surefire recipe for success in the Gambrinus liga.

It had a killer history, with nine of the league's past 11 titles. And it possessed a budget three times larger than the league average. Winning the country's soccer championship seemed as difficult as opening a can of soup.

"Even my cook would be able to guide Sparta to the title this season," said former Czechoslovak international Ladislav Vízek, who now has a pub in Prague.

But the recipe failed. Sparta is trailing badly this season. Languishing in ninth position in the 16-team division, Sparta lies 15 points behind leader Slovan Liberec. And the Prague powerhouse claims only a five-point advantage over the bottom two teams in the relegation zone.

It was one of Sparta's worst starts to the season ever, causing the club's vice president, Daniel Křetínský, to ask for fans' forgiveness.

"All of our fans deserve a big apology," Křetínský said. "What we have gone through over the fall season was a huge debacle and disgrace."

SMS dismissal

Signs of trouble for Sparta appeared early, despite predictions from Vízek and other experts that the team would win yet another domestic league title with ease.

But Sparta's fans, and many of its players, had not reckoned with controversial head coach Jaroslav Hřebík.

Hřebík took over in January 2005, replacing the popular František Straka. Fans immediately targeted Hřebík. His disputed training methods, based on uncompromising drill, were gaining increasing disapproval among Sparta players. The team's results reflected the players' unhappiness.

In this tense atmosphere, instead of sweeping aside opponent after opponent as predicted, the team lost four of its first eight games.

The previous season, Sparta only lost a total of six matches.

The team had a similar start in 1996, when it wallowed at the very bottom of the league after the opening seven rounds but managed to recover to finish second by the season's end. Midfielder Martin Frýdek, who played for Sparta that season, said the current crisis was worse.

"Then we could just go to a pub with the whole team to talk things through ... but things appear to be more complicated now," he said.

One complication arose when one of Sparta's stars, Czech national team midfielder Karel Poborský, resigned as captain in late September, citing differences with Hřebík.

"The captain needs to be an extended arm of the coach, and I could not work like that any more," Poborský said at the time.

Poborský's public criticism of Hřebík earned the midfielder an almost immediate dismissal from Sparta, despite his internationally respected reputation. Poborský's résumé includes 111 national team appearances and spots on major European clubs such as Manchester United, Benfica and Lazio.

The day after resigning as captain, Poborský received an SMS from Křetínský. The club's vice president informed him that he was no longer wanted at Sparta.

Poborský transferred to second division's České Budějovice, a club where he is a minority shareholder, and kept his spot on the national team.

His unexpected dismissal outraged most fans and fellow Sparta players.

Midfielder Lukáš Zelenka was fined 100,000 Kč ($4,080) for telling the media he supported Poborský.

"I knew that I would most likely be sanctioned, but I could not be silent anymore," Zelenka said.

Interrupted meditations

In order to downplay the controversy surrounding the organization, in mid-October Křetínský hired former long-time Sparta striker Stanislav Griga as the man to replace the unpopular Hřebík.

Griga, who coached Slovan Liberec the season before, was meditating in India. He negotiated his contract with Sparta via cell phone and fax from an Indian phone booth.

"The Indian operators would always have broad smiles on their faces whenever I entered the booth. ... They may have never made so much money on one person," Griga recalled.

Griga's appointment improved the mood among the Sparta community, but not the results.

Apart from struggling in the Gambrinus liga, Sparta also lost four out of six games in the Champions League, the most lucrative and prestigious European club championship.

"The crisis was worse than we could imagine," Griga said. "Many players may have been considered as local stars, but they were not able to cope with the pressure at difficult times."

As a result, Griga insisted on bringing new faces to the Sparta lineup over winter break.

So far, Sparta has signed three Slovak players: Radoslav Zabavník, Michal Hanek and Tomáš Kóňa.

"We know what to expect from them; they are no risk for Sparta," Griga said.

Griga, a Slovak, seems to be turning to his countrymen to revitalize the club. He eyed another Slovak, Middlesborough striker Szilárd Németh, who moved to England after a disappointing campaign with Sparta in 1995. Griga released assistant coaches Jaroslav Šilhavý and Boris Kočí during the winter break, enabling him to bring in Slovak coach Róbert Paldan.

Even with a 300 million Kč seasonal budget, the cost of buying new recruits often exceeds the income made from selling players. But given the current crisis, Křetínský said Sparta management was ready to spend more money to strengthen the squad.

"This time, we're ready to ignore our policies and make some bigger investment in the club," Křetínský said. "We want to push Sparta back to the top as soon as possible."

For this season, instead of plotting an assault on the league leaders, Griga's ambition is to lay the foundation for the team's recovery during the league's winter break.

"We need to save what can be saved and then start working from scratch again," Griga said.

Who's who at Sparta

Daniel Křetínský

Vice president: Brought in controversial head coach Jaroslav Hřebík last February and kept him at the helm, ignoring the team's deterioration. When team captain Karel Poborský gave up his captaincy in protest, Křetínský dismissed the player via SMS

Jaroslav Hřebík

Former head coach: Took over from popular coach František Straka last February and immediately became a target of fans' disdain. Later, his controversial training methods earned criticism from key players and Hřebík found it more and more difficult to communicate with them

Karel Poborský

Former captain: Played with European giants Manchester United, Benfica and Lazio before captaining Sparta for two seasons (his 12 million Kč [$490,000] contract made him the highest-paid player in the Gambrinus liga); friction with Hřebík's got him dismissed, then he transferred to second division České Budějovice, a club in which he's a significant investor

Stanislav Griga