Czech coach will work with U.S.

A Czech coach will help determine the United States' soccer success at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa this summer.

"We'll have a good chance to win against both Slovenia and Algeria, and we will challenge group favorite England for sure," Luboš Kubík told The Prague Post.

Only about two weeks after receiving an offer from U.S. head coach Bob Bradley to work as an assistant, Kubík now fully recognizes himself as a member of the U.S. team. As a result, the United States has become "we" in the Kubík's speech, and U.S. players have become "our boys."

"My prime focus will be scouting our boys based in Europe," Kubík said. "I was on holidays in Bradenton, Florida, when Bradley rang me with the offer. ... I did not hesitate a minute."

Kubík had already worked with the U.S. team in the 2006 Beijing Olympics - that squad failed to advance past the first round - and thus already knows Bradley.

"In fact, he knows me quite well," Kubík said of Bradley. "He used to coach me at Chicago Fire in the late 1990s ... Even at that time, he was coming to me, and we were discussing game strategies."

Despite his modest coaching résumé, Kubík is still well-recognized internationally. He first drew attention in 1988 when he defected to the West. Kubík and his then teammate Ivo Knoflíček left Slavia Praha's training camp in West Germany and soon after joined England's Derby County, controlled by Czechoslovakia-born media tycoon Robert Maxwell. The 1989 Velvet Revolution reopened Kubík's door to the Czechoslovak national team, and he played in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Six years later, Kubík was a member of the Czech team that advanced to the final of the Euro '96 championships in England.

In the meantime, at the club level, Kubík played with Fiorentina in Italy, in France with FC Metz and later with German Bundesliga's FC Nuremberg. Returning home in 1995, Kubík seemed to be approaching the end of his career, but an offer from Major League Soccer's (MLS) Chicago Fire in 1998 rejuvenated him as a player. He soon became recognized as one of the best defenders in the league. While helping the Fire to win both the MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup in their inaugural year, Kubík was named MLS Defender of the Year for his role in marshalling Chicago's defense. He started 31 games for the Fire, scored seven goals and had eight assists - tremendous numbers for a defender. In 1999, Kubík continued to be a valuable attacking force from the back, registering five goals and eight assists, and was named in the MLS Best XI for a second time. He struggled with injuries in 2000, playing in only 13 games, but was effective when able to play, scoring three goals and tallying six assists.

Chicago Fire traded Kubík to the Dallas Burn during the 2001 off season. Kubík's final year was again hampered by injuries, and he only managed to play 11 games for Burn. Kubík retired at the end of the 2001 MLS season and returned to the Czech Republic.

After retiring as a player, Kubík had a brief spell working as a sports manager for second-division Hradec Králové and, in the summer of 2006, was appointed manager of the Polish side Śląsk Wrocław. However, he was sacked in October 2006 after just 11 league games in charge.

Kubík became manager of the English League Two side Torquay United in the fall 2006. Torquay struggled under Kubík, winning just twice in 15 games, and he left the club after three months.

Since then, he again worked as a sports manager with Hradec Králové.

"It's true I do not have any major coaching experience. In fact, I was not quite keen on taking up a coaching job in the Czech Republic," Kubík said. "But they've discovered my skills in the United States, and I'm eager to help them out in South Africa."

František Bouc can be reached at
fbouc@praguepost.com