Czech, Slovak soccer may merge

Ten years after their split, Czechs and Slovaks are considering merging professional soccer leagues and creating a top division comprising the top clubs from each country.

"It's a matter of a few years for the project to materialize," said Czech Soccer Association Vice Chairman Miroslav Kříž.

In fact, representatives of both national soccer associations have already entered into negotiations over forming a joint soccer league.

"Should things go our way, the Czech-Slovak soccer league could be launched as of the 2012-13 season," said Karol Belaník, chairman of the Slovak Union of Soccer Clubs.

A joint Czech-Slovak league has been discussed for about a year. So far, a negative response from soccer's European governing body, UEFA, has been seen as the main obstacle for the project. However, Belaník said, the Slovaks were ready to start lobbying in UEFA circles.

"Slovak Soccer Association Chairman František Laurinec is a member of the UEFA executive board. ... He's been trying to set the grounds for negotiations," Belaník said.

He added that, in contrast to the past, UEFA seems willing to discuss the project. However, Czechs and Slovaks fear UEFA would reduce the number of spots for Czech and Slovak teams in European Cup competitions.

"Still, we agreed we would not give in only because of the threat of losing two spots in the European Cup," Belaník said, adding that the national associations would not pursue the project if UEFA expresses disapproval.

Representatives of the Czech and Slovak soccer associations agreed the joint league would have 18 teams: 12 would be Czech and six Slovak. The last two teams in the standings would be demoted to national leagues, and the top two teams from the national leagues would be promoted to the joint league each season.

The joint Czech-Slovak league is expected to increase fan turnout, and it would make soccer more attractive for sponsors.

Czech and Slovak soccer clubs support the project, Kříž said.

Difficult to beat

The Czech Davis Cup team is off to an impressive start. The Czechs quickly dispatched with Belgium 4-1 during matches in Bree March 5-7.

Radek Štěpánek and Tomáš Berdych were considered the top team going into the weekend, after advancing to the Davis Cup finals last year. The pair secured an easy win over Belgium in the opening three matches, in which they did not drop a single set.

"We weren't lucky enough to see one of them unable to play," Belgian nonplaying captain Reginald Willems joked. "When Berdych and Štěpánek team up together, it's difficult to beat them."

In the first singles match, Berdych overpowered Olivier Rochus in a major way, breaking him in every set opener and forcing him to routinely trail by at least one break.

In the second singles, it was just another day at the office for Štěpánek, who squared off against Xavier Malisse, to whom he had lost only three weeks earlier. Štěpánek played - as he put it himself - "very clever tennis, varying the spins," keeping his opponent guessing at all times.

Berdych and Štěpánek joined forces in the doubles game, in which they outclassed Steve Darcis and Olivier Rochus. After dropping no points in the tiebreaker of the opening set, the Czechs dominated the game and secured an easy win.

Substitute players Jan Hájek and Lukáš Dlouhý each faired differently in the final singles round. While Hájek lost to Darcis, Dlouhý - who won two Grand Slam doubles titles with India's Leander Paes last year - beat Christophe Rochus.

In the quarterfinals, the Czechs will take on Chile July 9. The Czech team's nonplaying captain, Jaroslav Navrátil, said the biggest challenge will be to fight off not only the world's No. 10 player, Fernando Gonzales, but also the passionate crowd.

"Fans in South America are quite passionate and loud. It'll be a difficult task to get used to such conditions," Navrátil said.

František Bouc can be reached at
fbouc@praguepost.com