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Evening the odds

For the first time, Slavia will play in the Champions League

By František Bouc
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
September 5th, 2007 issue

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Captain Stanislav Vlcek celebrates a goal against Ajax. Slavia won 2-1 to advance to the Champions League.
Arsenal, FC Sevilla, Steaua Bucharest. Many soccer teams all over Europe would like to avoid these high-powered clubs on the pitch. However, Slavia Praha is looking to its upcoming clashes against these teams with joy.
“Whoever we play next, it’ll be the special bonus that the Slavia community has wanted for over the past decade,” said Slavia captain Stanislav Vlček.
After 11 years — and six unsuccessful attempts — Slavia has qualified for the Champions League, Europe’s most prestigious club soccer competition. Slavia will play Arsenal, Sevilla and Bucharest in the league’s first group round, which kicks off Sept. 19.
In the third preliminary round in late August, Slavia upset Ajax Amsterdam, Holland’s most lauded club, with a surprise 1–0 win in Amsterdam. Slavia then secured advancement by beating Ajax 2–1 in Prague Aug. 29. Vlček scored Slavia’s two goals in that game.
“If I didn’t score any goal from now on, I wouldn’t mind,” Vlček said moments after the Ajax match.
And Slavia’s biggest star, midfielder Vladimír Šmicer — who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 — confessed how important qualifying for the league is to Slavia and its fans.
“Everything is special when it comes for the first time,” he said.
Escaping Sparta’s shadow
Qualifying for the Champions League has been a nightmare in the past for Slavia. The club was often on the verge of advancement but incapable of making the final step, much to the glee of Slavia’s crosstown rival, Sparta, which has participated in the Champions League six times over the past decade.
In fact, Sparta’s repeated participation in the Champions League deepened the financial disparity between the two rivals, which together regularly dominate the national Gambrinus liga. Over the past decade, Sparta made about 1 billion Kč ($49 million) for its Champions League appearances, which it folded into the club.
“Income from the Champions League has enabled us to make larger investments into the club’s infrastructure,” said Daniel Křetínský, Sparta’s CEO, including the construction of a modern training center at Prague’s Strahov sports complex.
Also, the increased exposure the club’s players received from playing in the league allowed the club to profit by selling some of its elite players abroad.
“The Champions League has become a gateway to Europe for our players,” said Sparta spokesman Lukáš Přibyl. “When a Czech club wants to interest major clubs in buying a player’s contract, it is essential that player make several appearances in the Champions League.”
While Sparta was building up a training center and looking for sales opportunities, Slavia has often struggled financially. The club plays its home games in the asylum of Strahov stadium because of repeated delays in the construction of its new stadium at Prague–Eden. Several Slavia players repeatedly complained that the club owed them money and even threatened to strike.
This season, however, Sparta and Slavia are swapping roles. While Slavia will cash in on 153 million Kč in Champions League appearance money, Sparta will sit the competition out. The club lost its qualifying match against England’s Arsenal.
The bad blood between the two local clubs was in full view after Slavia advanced to the Champions League.
“Let [Slavia] enjoy the Champions League once in 50 years,” said Sparta captain Tomáš Řepka.
The feud between Sparta and Slavia will also extend to Slavia’s match against Arsenal, which features Czech star Tomáš Rosický, who first played with Sparta.
“I felt kind of nostalgic when we faced Sparta,” he said. “But playing Slavia will undoubtedly fire me up.”

František Bouc can be reached at fbouc@praguepost.com


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