FK Drnovice

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FK Drnovice

FK Drnovice is a Czech football club based in Moravian village of Drnovice near Vyškov. The club is currently playing regional division. It was founded in 1932.

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[edit] History

Until the mid-1980s, the club of this small village with a population short of 2.200 was almost unknown outside the region. In 1977 it played in the 1.B třída, being the 8th level in Czechoslovakian football pyramid.

Everything changed when Jan Gottvald, a Drnovice-born former player took charge of the club in 1982. In those days Gottvald worked as a washing machine repairer and car seller only to became boss of Mototechna, a spare part company some time later.

The club reached Divize, the fourth level, in 1986 and the 2. ČNL, the third division in 1987. 1990 saw the team promoted to Second division . After the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993, both Slovakia and the Czech Republic established own leagues and Drnovice gained promotion to the First Division. Finally Gottvald had made his dream of First Division football in his native village come true.

In their first season, a doping scandal shocked not only Drnovice but entire Czech football. In the so called caramel affair Drnovice players Rostislav Prokop and Milan Poštulka were suspended for two years, the club itself was fined with a ridiculous small amount of 50.000 Czech crowns. As was revealed some time later, manager Jindřich Dejmal had given the players caramels that contained a forbidden substance. Dejmal was sacked by Gottvald immediately, appointing Karel Brückner as new manager.

In 1994 Gottvald sold the club to chemical company Chemapol for not having enough funds to keep the club running by himself alone. Nevertheless he managed to keep his influence in the club. Moreover he became the second most important official in Czech football when he was elected vice-chairman of the Czech FA. He held this position till the year 2000.

To promote their gas stations called Petra, the Chemapol Holding changed the clubs name to FC Petra Drnovice. Chemapol not only financed the club, but also the construction of Drnovice's home ground. It met international standards and even hosted a match between the Czech Republic and Switzerland on August 18th 1999 won by the Czech 3 goals to 0.

In the 1990s, Petra Drnovice finished mid-table in all seasons. In 1996 and 1998 they reached the Czech Cup Final but lost to Sparta Prague and FK Jablonec respectively. In those years, Gottvald lost more and more of his influence and finally left the club after a controversy with the Chemapol CEO in 1998. Only one year later Chemapol surprisingly went bankrupt and sold Drnovice for 15 Million Czech Crowns to Persport that belonged to former tennis player Tomáš Petera. Some month later Petera ceded the club to Jan Gottvald who became chairman of Drnovice again after five years. The 1999/2000 season saw the club reaching its best result in history when it finished third in the Gambrinus liga. This success qualified them for the UEFA Cup the following season. In the preliminary round they beat FK Budućnost Banovići. In the first round they faced TSV 1860 Munich. After a goalless draw at home Drnovice lost 1-0 in the Olympic Stadium in Munich.

Financial problems marked those years. Gottvald had great difficulties to keep the club running. From August 2000 on, the FK Drnovice filed for bankruptcy. In a dubious transaction in March 2001 Gottvald sold the club to a widely unknown company called Corimex. In October he left the club once again. He was accused of financial fraud and other white-collar crimes and imprisoned in February 2002. The clubs financial problems became so immense that it was forced to sell nine players to Marila Příbram only some weeks before the end of the season. Manager Karel Jarůšek resigned as an answer to this move. Finishing only one place short of bottom, Drnovice were to be relegated to Second Division. However, the Czech Football Association denied them the licence. In Summer 2003 Drnovice had to restart from the MSFL, the third level. In February 2003 Drnovice-based company Garimondi purchased by auction what was left of the club and ceded it to Jan Gottvald, who once again took charge of the club after being set free on a 20 Million Czech crowns bail. Gottvald strengthened the squad, Drnovice won the MSFL without any problems. They finished runner-up in the 2003/2004 season in Second Division and were promoted to the Gambrinus-Liga. In the summer of 2004, Swiss-based company Sunstone acquired the club, that finished in 8th place. After failing to find other partners who would help funding football in Drnovice, Sunstone sold all shares to Jan Gottvald and his son Robert for approximately 10 Million Czech crowns, a sum which never was confirmed. Gottvald was unable to find sponsors and did not apply for a Gambrinus-Liga licence for the 2005/2006 season. As of 2006, the club is playing in Second Czech Division and is still facing great financial troubles. In January the crisis reached its peak, as players had not received their salaries since July 2005.

[edit] Names

Established in 1932 as Česká sportovní společnost Drnovice. 1948 renamed Sokol Drnovice. Renamed 1961 TJ Drnovice, 1989 TJ JZD Drnovice, 1990 TJ Agro Drnovice, 1990 FC Gera Drnovice, 1993 FC Olpran Drnovice, 1993 FC Petra Drnovice, 2000 FK Drnovice and 2003 1.FKD.

[edit] Former players

[edit] Former managers

[edit] Statistics

Level/Season 82/83 83/84 84/85 85/86 86/87 87/88 88/89 89/90 90/91 91/92 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06
Level 1                       10. 6. 5. 7. 9. 11. 3. 7. 15.     8.  
Level 2                 14. 6. 2.                     2.    
Level 3           4. 9. 1.                         1.      
Level 4         1.                                      
Level 5       1.                                        
Level 6   5. 1.                                          
Level 7 1.                                              

[edit] External links