Fallout over loss to Lithuania

The fallout continues from the once-celebrated Czech national soccer team's shocking 1-0 defeat in a Euro 2012 qualification match against Lithuania.

"It's a huge disappointment. We lost to a team that we should have been able to beat," said frustrated head coach Michal Bílek after the match.

The loss not only undermined the Czechs' chances to qualify for Euro 2012, but perhaps more importantly, it further delayed the eagerly expected recovery of Czech soccer.

Should the Czechs fail to qualify for the Euro 2012 finals, it would be the first time since 1996 that the national team missed the European Championship tournament. In order to qualify, however, the Czechs need to finish within the top two teams in their five-member round-robin group. While there are virtually no doubts that the group will be dominated by 2010 World Cup winner Spain, the Czechs were expected to fight for the runner-up spot with Lithuania and Scotland. Liechtenstein has been considered the group's underdog.

"If we fail to beat Scotland in the next qualifier [Oct. 8 in Prague], the qualification will be virtually over for us," said team captain Tomáš Rosický.

Will the coach survive?

Striker Milan Baroš, who failed to score on a penalty shot at the end of the first half against Lithuania Sept. 7 in Olomouc, tried to downplay the critical situation.

"It's not good, but it would have been worse if we had lost the last game in which the possibility of advancement was at stake," he said. "Now, we've still got opportunities to make up for the upset."

However, the larger Czech soccer community remains disillusioned. Following a runner-up performance at Euro '96, Czech soccer has slumped since the 2006 World Cup. The retirement of star players such as Pavel Nedvěd, Karel Poborský and Jan Koller cost the Czechs a spot among the world's elite at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Bílek took over the team in July 2009, and he was expected to build a new team that could qualify for Euro 2012.

Bílek's campaign at the helm has been largely unsuccessful, however. In seven games under his guidance, the national team has lost five games including matches against Lithuania, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan.

"I do not think the loss [to Lithuania] is a disgrace," said defender Tomáš Hübschmann.

Czech Football Association (ČMFS) President Ivan Hašek said he was not shocked either.

"I knew the game would be tremendously difficult for us, and I was afraid," he said.

To make things worse, Bílek seems not to know where to guide the national team. He insisted that his selection of players and game strategy were the right ones.

"I still believe that we chose a good strategy for the game against Lithuania. Perhaps we expected the opponent to commit more fouls near their goal, which did not happen," Bílek said after the game against Lithuania. He quickly added that "no major changes in the players' lineup are to be expected before the game against Scotland."

Normally, the poor record and the upset in the early qualifier would lead to the coach's dismissal. However, Bílek still enjoys Hašek's support.

"I still have faith in him. It's up to him to shake it up soon and to start winning again," Hašek said.

Key Czech players are now mostly backups at their foreign clubs, something that Hašek said is at the root of the national team's problems.

"The problem is that apart from goalie Petr Čech, other players have been merely shadowing their teammates in foreign clubs. As a result, no one is capable of leading the national team on the pitch," Hašek said.

While opposition against Bílek is mounting, some experts say the coach is not the one to blame.

"The coach is not the root of the Czech team's decline," said soccer coach Josef Csaplár. "In fact, it's like blaming a driver for losing a Formula 1 race when his car failed to accelerate, its brakes gave out and its engine was leaking oil."

František Bouc can be reached at
fbouc@praguepost.com