Wheeling and dealing

The Czech football season might be in the midst of its winter break, but that hasn't stopped the January transfer merry-go-round from getting into full swing. As coaches cast a critical eye over their current squads, owners prepare to open their check books and buy that missing link.

Arguably the biggest signing of the window so far is Stanislav Tecl, who has moved from Vysočina Jihlava to Viktoria Plzeň for a fee of 20 million Kč. The 22-year-old has put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year deal with the 2011 champions after racking up an impressive 10 goals from 11 games this term.

Tecl trained with his new teammates for the first time Jan. 3, linking up with familiar faces Vladimír Darida and Lukáš Hejda from the Czech Under-21s setup. "It was a strange feeling; a bit like your first day at school," the forward said after his first session. "But then I spoke with the guys and managed to relax a little."

Having lost out on Tecl to their title rivals, Sparta Praha are reportedly close to securing the services of Slovan Liberec's highly rated midfielder Lukáš Vácha, while negotiations have resumed with Jablonec over the purchase of the league's top scorer, David Lafata. The 31-year-old had been a target for Sparta last summer, but the two sides couldn't agree on a fee.

"We have identified Lukáš and David as priority signings," Reds coach Vítĕzslav Lavička told reporters Jan. 4. "If both came, I would be very happy with my squad."

And potentially adding more firepower to the Sparta frontline, former Hearts and West Brom striker Roman Bednář has joined the club on trial with a view to earning a permanent contract. Most recently, he endured an injury-plagued spell at Turkish outfit Sivasspor.

Sporting world mourns the deaths of Drobný and Stander

The funeral of former Czech international defender Václav Drobný was due to take place at the Great Ceremonial Hall crematorium in Prague 10-Strašnice Jan. 9. Drobný died in a tragic skiing accident at the end of last year when his sled careered off-piste and crashed into a tree at the Czech winter resort of Špindlerův Mlýn. He was 32.

During a professional career spanning 13 years, Drobný represented the national side twice after impressing at French side Strasbourg. He also plied his trade in Germany with Augsburg and enjoyed a loan period in England at Aston Villa, helping the club's reserves to a second-place finish in the league.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech was among a host of names to pay tribute to the man who had gone on to become a popular television commentator. "I was deeply sorry to learn such sad news," Čech told UEFA.com. "It is a great pity he will not have more time to follow his plans. I would like to express my deepest sympathy to his family."

Meanwhile, Czech Olympic mountain bike champion Jaroslav Kulhavý has spoken of a "great loss" following the death of his friend and teammate Burry Stander at the age of 25 in a training accident. The South African, who came fifth in the event won by Kulhavý, was killed after being struck by a taxi during training near his home in Shelly Beach in the country's Kwazulu-Natal province.

Things can only get better for Kvitová and Berdych

Following a largely disappointing 2012 campaign, Petra Kvitová had hoped this year would serve her better. But unfortunately for the 22-year-old, it has got off to the worst possible start with early exits from her opening two tournaments.

She was dumped out of the second round in Brisbane by Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, before being hammered by Dominika Cibulková in the first round of the Sydney International Jan. 6. The defeats deal a severe blow to Kvitová's preparations for the upcoming Australian Open: She has now failed to win more than one match in each of her last five outings.

"I played really badly and wish I knew what to say, but I don't know," Kvitová said after her 6-1 6-1 loss to Cibulková. "I'm not feeling very confident, but I'm always looking forward to playing Grand Slams, so I hope everything will be better [in Melbourne] than here."

Like Kvitová, Czech men's No. 1 Tomáš Berdych is also struggling for consistency. Top-seeded at the Chennai Open, he went out in the quarterfinals to unheralded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. The 27-year-old has since confirmed he will take part in the eight-man invitational Kooyong Classic as he bids to get more match practice.

Hundreds of NHL players set to head off as lockout dispute ends

Hockey leagues around Europe are bracing for a mass exodus of players after the NHL lockout finally came to an end Jan. 6. Some of the nearly 300 players who had been competing on the Continent while the dispute continued have already started catching flights back to the United States.

A tentative deal was reached between owners and the player's union following a marathon 16-hour bargaining session. The major sticking point was how revenue from games would be split, with both sides agreeing to a 50-50 share. Officials will now plan a 48-game season that could begin as early as Jan. 19.

Among the NHL stars performing in the Czech Republic, Jaromír Jágr says he wants to appear in one more game for Rytíři Kladno - the club he owns - before returning to the Dallas Stars, while Zdeno Chára and Jakub Voráček withdrew Jan. 6 from KHL side Lev Praha's clash with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg to prepare for their departures.

Jonathan Crane can be reached at
jcrane@praguepost.com