Bad show at athletics championships

The Czechs gave a disappointing performance overall at the 12th annual World Athletics Championships in Berlin Aug. 15-23, claiming only one medal, despite high hopes for javelin thrower Barbora Špotáková and veteran decathlete Roman Šebrle. Špotáková had secured a world record in last year's Olympics but came up with silver this time.

Šebrle delivered a blow to the expectations of the national team with lackluster showing in the decathlon, where he finished 11th after hopes that he would defend his reigning world title. But the 34-year-old showed his age while competing against much younger athletes.

Václav Fišer, the trainer for the Czech national athletics team, said, "I consider their performance very unsuccessful."

And the Web site of daily Hospodářské noviny, Ihned.cz, lamented, "The performance of Czech athletes was the worst in the past 18 years."

One bright spot was Petr Svoboda, who finished sixth in the 100 m hurdles.

Europa League results

Good results for Slavia and Sparta Aug. 21 in the Europa League provided consolation for being knocked out of the Champions League. Sparta picked up a 2-0 away win against Slovenia's NK Maribor despite the absence of Patrik Berger and first-team goalkeeper Jaromír Blažek, while Slavia showed the form they lacked in the Champions League qualifier loss to Moldova's Sheriff Tiraspol to defeat Serbia's Red Star Belgrade 3-0 at home. The game had been considered a high security risk due to the visiting fans' reputation for hooliganism.

Liberec's clash against Romania's Dinamo Bucuresti fell afoul of hooliganism after a pitch invasion forced the referee to abandon the game three minutes shy of regulation time. The Czech side was leading 2-0, having gone to Romania as clear underdogs. Liberec will either retain the 2-0 win or be awarded an automatic 3-0 victory.

Meanwhile, the other Czech teams in the competition fared less well. Teplice fell at home to Israel's Hapoel Tel Aviv with a disappointing 2-1 loss. And, though Sigma Olomouc had stormed past Scotland's Aberdeen in the previous round, it was a different story against another British team, England's Everton. Despite having three penalty appeals turned down, Olomouc ultimately collapsed, losing 4-0.

Elsewhere in soccer...

The aforementioned Champions League moves on without Sparta and Slavia as Europe's top teams take on a different look.

The big spenders were Real Madrid, which kick-started the summer by signing 2007 player of the year Kaka for 68.5 million euros. The next week, Madrid acquired Cristiano Ronaldo for 94 million euros. They continued by signing striker Karim Benzema, midfielder Xabi Alonso and defender Raul Albiol. Madrid's spending-spree during the recession was described by UEFA President Michel Platini as "vulgar." Madrid's arch rivals Barcelona signed Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimović, moving Samuel Eto'o to Inter Milan.

In Italy's Serie A, Juventus bought well with the signings of Brazilian internationals Diego and Melo. In Diego, Juventus hope to have a playmaker to replace retired Pavel Nedvěd. AC Milan feels the pinch of the economic crisis, but signed Dutch goal poacher Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

The German Bundesliga - Europe's most competitive league last season - managed to keep its star players. French star Franck Ribery looks set to remain at Bayern Munich, after the club rejected bids in the region of 50 million euros.

In England, with the possible exception of free-spending Manchester City, teams failed to attract big names. Whether the British club's lack of financial clout this summer will manifest itself in the Champions League is unclear, but one thing is for certain: Attention has shifted from England to Spain.

Cillian O'Donoghue can be reached at
features@praguepost.com