SK Slavia Prague
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| Full name | Sportovní klub Slavia Praha - fotbal a.s. | ||
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| Nickname(s) |
Červenobílí (The red and whites) Sešívaní (The sewn-ones) Věčná Slavia (The Eternal Slavia) | ||
| Founded | 2 November 1892, as ACOS (Akademický cyklistický odbor Slavia) | ||
| Ground |
Eden Arena, Vršovice, Prague 10, Prague | ||
| Capacity | 21,000 | ||
| Chairman | Aleš Řebíček | ||
| Manager | Miroslav Koubek | ||
| League | Gambrinus liga | ||
| 2012–13 | 7th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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SK Slavia Prague (Czech: SK Slavia Praha, pronounced [ˈslavja ˈpraɦa]) is a Czech professional football club founded in 1892 in the city of Prague.
They play in the Gambrinus liga—the highest competition in the Czech Republic. Alongside Sparta Prague, they are considered one of the top Czech clubs and the rivalry between the two clubs is important in Czech football. Slavia has won 17 titles, several Czech cups and the Mitropa Cup (Central European Cup) in 1938. Their most recent success was winning the Gambrinus liga in the 2008-09 season. Slavia also won the Gambrinus liga in the 1995-96 season, when they also advanced to the UEFA Cup semi-finals. They qualified for the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time in their history.
In addition to their men's squad, Slavia Prague also has reserve, youth, women's, and futsal teams.
History
Slavia were founded in 1892 in Vinohrady, Prague as a sport club, where cycling dominated. In January 1896, a new sport came to the club—football. On 25 March 1896 Slavia won their first-ever match 5-0 (some sources are saying 6-0). The rivals were AC Prague. Four days later, Slavia played against Sparta 0-0 and this match is the start of traditional rivality between these popular Czech clubs. On 5 April 1896 Slavia won 2-1 over ČFK Kickers and ended 2nd of 4 in this tournament. The great era for Slavia started in 1905, when Scottish manager and former Celtic player John William Madden brought new tactics and views on football from his home country. He managed to set up an early golden age for the club that lasted 25 years. Johnny was the first Slavia manager, before him there were only team captains who had something like managers' rights. Under Madden Slavia won 134 domestic matches out of possible 169, and 304 internationals out of 429 between the years 1905 and 1930. In 1930 Madden retired from Slavia and professional football at the age of 66, though he remained in Prague for the rest of his life.
In the 1934 FIFA World Cup the Czechoslovakia national football team included 8 Slavia players, which means that Slavia were the top Czech club in that age. The second gold period came when Slavia bought Josef Bican from Admira Vienna. With this famous footballer Slavia won titles in the years 1940, 1941, 1942 and 1943. In 1951 Slavia finished in 11th position and it was a big break. Poor results continued during nineteen-fifties and sixties when Slavia were relegated twice. They were promoted back in 1965.
A new age and comeback to the top began in 1990, when lots of young, budding players, including Vladimír Šmicer and Patrik Berger, were brought to the club, mostly by rich Czech-American businessman Boris Korbel. In 1996 Slavia won their fourteenth title after 49 years.[1] During this season, Slavia played in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup and four players of this team had big importance for the silver-medal winning Czech team from Euro 96.[2][3]
Slavia participated in the qualifiers for the UEFA Champions League five times (1996, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005), being eliminated each time until finally qualifying for the group stage in the 2007/2008 season. The club qualified for the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League following a 3-1 aggregate victory over Ajax Amsterdam in the Third Qualifying Round. For the group stage, Slavia were drawn in Group H along with Arsenal, Steaua Bucharest and Sevilla. They started with a 2-1 win at home against Steaua and a 4-2 loss to Sevilla. Next came two matches against Arsenal; Slavia were dismantled 7-0 at Emirates Stadium, but in the second leg they managed to steal a point for a 0-0 draw. In Bucharest came a 1-1 draw, which qualified the Czech team for the UEFA Cup round of 32, from 3rd place in group H, in spite of a home 0-3 defeat against Sevilla.
In the seasons of 2007–08 and 2008–09, Slavia were back-to-back Czech champions, although they did not play in the Champions League group stage due to elimination in qualifying by ACF Fiorentina (0-2 on aggregate in 2008/09) and Sheriff Tiraspol (1-1 on away goals rule in 2009/10). In the 2009–10 season the club managed only 7th place in the league.
In October 2006, the construction of the new and long-awaited stadium at Eden for 21,000 spectators began. The stadium was opened on 7 May 2008 with an exhibition match against Oxford University.[4]
Today
In the autumn of 2010, the club found itself in crisis due to its economic problems. It was discovered that Slavia owed £3,600,000 to the club's former owner, ENIC Sports Ltd (English National Investment Company). As a result of this, major cost-cutting was needed to service this debt and it was confirmed that the squad would need to be purged. As a result, it was confirmed that Tunisian players Hocine Ragued and Tijani Belaid would leave the club in the winter of the 2010/11 season, as Slavia could no longer afford their comparatively large wages. In addition to these departures, midfielders Petr Trapp and Jaroslav Černý also left the club mid-season, the former claiming that Slavia had not paid his wages for three months.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the turmoil off the field was echoed in Slavia's performance on the field. At the start of January 2011, 17 games into the league season, Slavia were 14th in the Gambrinus Liga with just 16 points, having won just three times since July 2010. The club finished the season above the drop zone, to stay in the top flight for another season.
On 5 May 2011, the cup match against Olomouc was cancelled due to protests of fans against the financial situation of the club.[5]
Ownership
Until spring 2011, 31% of the club was owned by ENIC Sports Ltd, who also have significant or controlling stakes in Tottenham Hotspur and AEK Athens. 61% was owned by a Czech company Key Investments with unclear ownership, who did not own the share itself, but managed it for an unknown owner. The remaining 8% were held by minor stockholders. Until that date the club has been controlled by two Czech businessmen Tomáš Rosen and Petr Doležal.
In Spring 2011 shares managed by Key Investments were bought by Natland Group and share of ENIC Group was sold to former Minister of Transportation of the Czech Republic Aleš Řebíček. Řebíček owns 98% of company since he bought share of Natland in summer 2011. The remaining share (approx. 2%) is owned by minor stockholders.
Historical names
- 1892 - SK ACOS Praha (Sportovní klub Akademický cyklistický odbor Slavia Praha)
- 1893 - SK Slavia Praha (Sportovní klub Slavia Praha)
- 1948 – Sokol Slavia Praha
- 1949 – ZSJ Dynamo Slavia Praha (Základní sportovní jednota Dynamo Slavia Praha)
- 1953 – DSO Dynamo Praha (Dobrovolná sportovní organizace Dynamo Praha)
- 1954 – TJ Dynamo Praha (Tělovýchovná jednota Dynamo Praha)
- 1965 – SK Slavia Praha (Sportovní klub Slavia Praha)
- 1973 – TJ Slavia Praha (Tělovýchovná jednota Slavia Praha)
- 1977 – TJ Slavia IPS Praha (Tělovýchovná jednota Slavia Inženýrské průmyslové stavby Praha)
- 1978 – SK Slavia IPS Praha (Sportovní klub Slavia Inženýrské průmyslové stavby Praha)
- 1991 – SK Slavia Praha (Sportovní klub Slavia Praha - fotbal, a.s.)
Club symbols
- White colour - the symbol of fair play and Olympic idea. What a Slavia Prague club official calls the 'cleanliness of sportmanship'and challenges them to an honourable fight in which opponents are not enemies but recognised rivals.
- Red colour - the symbol of heart which strengthens and encourages and overcomes fatigue and disappointment.
- Red star - the symbol of hope and good mind that demonstrates every person has not only one side, but that it was necessary to look for harmony between will and sentiment, force and fitness, enthusiasm and disappointment.
- The fact that the jersey is half white and half red should symbolize the dichotomy of life. The red and white colours are also considered to be Slavic colours.[6]
Players
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad
- As of 24 July 2013.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable former players
- For all players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:SK Slavia Prague players
The best known Slavia player of all time is perhaps forward Josef "Pepi" Bican, one of the most prolific goalscorers in the history of football. Other famous players include forward Antonín Puč, goalkeeper František Plánička (both of them members of the Czech national team in two World Cups) and midfielder František Veselý. Other big names in club history are: Čestmír Vycpálek, Jan Košek, František Svoboda, Alexander Bokšay, Vlasta Kopecký, Ota Hemele, Jiří Hildebrandt, Jan Lála, František Veselý, Luboš Kubík and Ivo Knoflíček.
Players for Slavia in the 1990s include Vladimír Šmicer (2005 UEFA Champions League winner), Patrik Berger, Karel Poborský, Radim Nečas, who became the most expensive player in the league in 1992,[7] Radek Bejbl, Jan Suchopárek, Ivo Ulich, Pavel Kuka, who ended his career in 2005 and Croatian player Slađan Ašanin. Notable players of the 2000s include Radek Černý, Pavel Horváth, Martin Vaniak and Mickael Tavares or young players like Tomáš Necid, Marek Suchý, Michal Švec. Among current notable players are forward Stanislav Vlček, midfielder Adam Hloušek and defender Ondřej Čelůstka and Martin Latka.
Current technical staff
- Head Coach: Michal Petrouš (caretaker)
- Assistant Coach: Ivo Knoflíček
- Goalkeeper Coach: Juraj Šimurka
- Fitness Coach: Pavel Čvančara
- Youth Coach: Daniel Šmejkal
Managers
As of 14 September, 2013. Only competitive matches are counted.
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Honours
- Mitropa Cup winner 1938
- Czechoslovak League – 1925, 1928/29, 1929/30, 1930/31, 1932/33, 1933/34, 1934/35, 1936/37, 1946/47
- Czech League – 1939/40, 1940/41, 1941/42, 1942/43, 1995/96, 2007/08, 2008/09
- Czech Championship – 1897 spring, 1897 fall, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901
- Bohemia Championship – 1918, 1924
- Championship ČSF – 1913, 1915
- Bohemia Cup – 1922, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1932, 1935, 1941
- Charity Cup – 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912
- Czech Cup – 1941, 1942, 1945, 1974, 1997, 1999, 2002
- Intercup – 1970, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1992, 1993
The 1913 Championship ČSF title together with all Czechoslovakia and Czech league titles are today considered as official titles of Czech leagues.[8]
References
- ↑ Jeřábek, Luboš (2007). Český a československý fotbal - lexikon osobností a klubů (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic: Grada Publishing. p. 163. ISBN 978-80-247-1656-5.
- ↑ SK Slavia Praha - official site
- ↑ SK Slavia Praha - official site
- ↑ "Czech champions Slavia too strong for Blues". Retrieved 13 Nov 2008.
- ↑ "Zápas ukončete, přikázal velitel policejního zásahu, říká delegát". Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ↑ Slavia Prague - The cleanliness of sportmanship
- ↑ "Záložník Nečas pomůže Chrudimi". idnes.cz (in Czech) (Mladá fronta DNES). 3 February 2003. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ↑ http://www.sportovninoviny.cz/zpravy/fotbaliste-slavie-maji-treti-cesky-a-celkove-17-titul/377598 (Czech)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to SK Slavia Praha. |
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