INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY
UAE INTERNATIONAL CUP – THIRD-PLACE PLAYOFF
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH, 2009
Czech Republic 0, Azerbaijan 2
Half Time: 0-1
Goals: 25th Javadov, 89th Abushev

Defeat to a team ranked 125th in the world means the Czech Republic finish last in a four-team tournament also involving the United Arab Emirates and Iraq.

Talking after the game, new Czech coach Michal Bilek admitted that his team had lacked quality but pointed out that he’d been giving chances to a lot of new players and didn’t want to rush to judge them.

According to today’s (Thursday’s) edition of the Denik Sport newspaper, Wednesday’s defeat was the fifth most shameful result in the history of the Czech Republic team.

The Azerbaijan defeat ranked behind 1995’s 1-0 loss to Luxembourg, 2000’s and 1994’s 0-0 draws with Malta and 2001’s 3-1 loss to Iceland; Sunday’s game against the United Arab Emirates, which the Czechs lost on penalties after drawing 0-0, ranked sixth.

CZECH TEAM + DENIK SPORT RATINGS
Tomas Grigar (3 out of 10)
—
David Limbersky (3 out of 10)
Jan Simunek (2 out of 10)
Jan Rajnoch (3 out of 10)
Daniel Pudil (2 out of 10) (46th Adam Hlousek, 3 out of 10)
—
Mario Licka (2 out of 10)
Marek Matejovsky (3 out of 10) (75th Michal Svec, unrated)
Mario Holek (4 out of 10) (81st David Rozehnal, unrated)
—
Jan Blazek (2 out of 10) (75th Martin Fillo, unrated)
Lukas Magera (2 out of 10) (63rd Tomas Necid, unrated)
Michal Papadopulos (4 out of 10)

Man of the Match: Vagif Javadov (Azerbaijan)

***********
Sources: iDnes.cz, CT Teletext, Denik Sport [print edition], Wikipedia

DRUHA LIGA (SECOND DIVISION) 2009/10
16TH ROUND
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH, 2009
Dukla Praha 3, Usti nad Labem 2
Hradec Kralove 1, Karvina 0

DRUHA LIGA STANDINGS
AFTER 16 OF 30 ROUNDS
1st Usti nad Labem, 40 points
2nd Hradec Kralove, 34
——————–
3rd Zlin, 32
4th Sokolov, 26
5th Zizkov, 26
6th Vlasim, 25
7th Trinec, 25
8th Most, 22
9th Jihlava, 21
10th Karvina, 21
11th Dukla Praha, 20
12th Opava, 18
13th Caslav, 16
14th Hlucin, 14
——————–
15th Sparta Praha B, 13
16th Vitkovice, 5

Druha Liga Schedule

***********
Source: CT Teletext, Fotbal.cz

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY
UAE INTERNATIONAL CUP – SEMI-FINALS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH, 2009
United Arab Emirates 0, Czech Republic 0
Penalties: 3-2

PENALTY SHOOTOUT
Rozehnal (Czech Republic) — Missed (0-0)
Abdulla (UAE) — Missed (0-0)
Necid (Czech Republic) — Missed (0-0)
Jaber (UAE) — Scored (1-0)
Rajnoch (Czech Republic) — Scored (1-1)
Kamali (UAE) — Scored (2-1)
Magera (Czech Republic) — Scored (2-2)
Abdulrahman (UAE) — Scored (3-2)
Pudil (Czech Republic) — Missed (3-2)

A makeshift Czech team made an unimpressive start to life under new coach Michal Bilek, drawing 0-0 with the United Arab Emirates in Al Ain yesterday, and then losing a penalty shoot-out.

With a raft of regular starters unavailable, the Czechs were further weakened by the late withdrawal of Jaroslav Plasil with a viral infection but Jan Rajnoch, who hadn’t been expected to travel to the UAE until today (Monday), was granted a last-minute visa and was able to play.

Talking after the game, an unhappy Bilek said he was disappointed with his team’s performance, particularly in the second half, when they failed to keep possession in midfield.

The Czechs will now play Azerbaijan in Wednesday’s third-place playoff game, which kicks off at 1:45pm Czech time; the UAE meet Iraq in the final.

Match Report (The National, UAE)

CZECH TEAM + DENIK SPORT PLAYER RATINGS
Jaroslav Drobny (6 out of 10)
—
David Limbersky (4 out of 10)
Roman Hubnik (5 out of 10) (65th Jan Simunek, unrated)
David Rozehnal (6 out of 10)
Daniel Pudil (4 out of 10)
—
Marek Matejovsky (4 out of 10)
Michal Svec (4 out of 10)
Mario Licka (4 out of 10) (79th Lukas Magera, unrated)
—
Martin Fillo (3 out of 10) (62nd Michal Papadopulos, unrated; 83rd Jan Rajnoch, unrated)
Tomas Necid (4 out of 10)
Adam Hlousek (5 out of 10) (62nd Jan Blazek, unrated)

Man of the Match: Majed Naser (UAE Goalkeeper)

***********
Sources: CT Teletext, Denik Sport [print edition], The National, iDnes.cz

ONDRASOVKA CUP (POHAR CMFS) 2009/10
FOURTH ROUND (LAST 16), FIRST LEG
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 2009
Karvina 1, Slavia Praha 0
Half Time: 1-0
Goal: 11th Pavlik
• Slavia’s Tijani Belaid had a 13th-minute penalty saved by Karvina goalkeeper Tomas Kucera
Second Leg: Wednesday, November 25th

—
DRUHA LIGA (SECOND DIVISION) 2009/10
16TH ROUND
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, 2009
Vitkovice 0, Zizkov 1

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 2009
Trinec 2, Hlucin 1
Most 4, Jihlava 3
Opava 2, Sparta Praha B 3
Sokolov 0, Vlasim 0

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH, 2009
Caslav 2, Zlin 3

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH, 2009
Dukla Praha vs. Usti nad Labem (1:30pm)
Hradec Kralove vs. Karvina (5pm)
• November 17th is a Czech public holiday marking the Velvet Revolution

DRUHA LIGA STANDINGS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH, 2009
1st Usti nad Labem, 15 games, 40 points
2nd Zlin, 16 games, 32 points
——————–
3rd Hradec Kralove, 15 games, 31 points
4th Sokolov, 16 games, 26 points
5th Zizkov, 16 games, 26 points
6th Vlasim, 16 games, 25 points
7th Trinec, 16 games, 25 points
8th Most, 16 games, 22 points
9th Karvina, 15 games, 21 points
10th Jihlava, 16 games, 21 points
11th Opava, 16 games, 18 points
12th Dukla Praha, 15 games, 17 points
13th Caslav, 16 games, 16 points
14th Hlucin, 16 games, 14 points
——————–
15th Sparta Praha B, 16 games, 13 points
16th Vitkovice, 16 games, 5 points

Druha Liga Schedule

***********
Sources: CT Teletext, iDnes.cz, Fotbal.cz

ONDRASOVKA CUP (POHAR CMFS) 2009/10
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 2009
FOURTH ROUND (LAST 16), FIRST LEG
Karvina vs. Slavia Praha (2pm)
Second Leg: Wednesday, November 25th

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH, 2009
FOURTH ROUND (LAST 16), SECOND LEG
Teplice 2, Hradec Kralove 1
Half Time: 2-1
Goals: 4th Mares, 25th Vachousek — 35th Dvorak
• Teplice win 4-2 on aggregate

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH, 2009
FOURTH ROUND (LAST 16), SECOND LEG
Sparta Praha 1, Dynamo Ceske Budejovice 0
Half Time: 1-0
Goal: 23rd Jirous
• Sparta win 6-0 on aggregate

—
DRUHA LIGA (SECOND DIVISION) 2009/10
16TH ROUND
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, 2009
Vitkovice 0, Zizkov 1

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 2009
Trinec vs. Hlucin (10:15am)
Sokolov vs. Vlasim (10:15am)
Most vs. Jihlava (2pm)
Opava vs. Sparta Praha B (4pm)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH, 2009
Caslav vs. Zlin (2pm)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH, 2009
Dukla Praha vs. Usti nad Labem (1:30pm)
Hradec Kralove vs. Karvina (5pm)
• November 17th is a Czech public holiday marking the Velvet Revolution

DRUHA LIGA STANDINGS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, 2009
1st Usti nad Labem, 15 games, 40 points
2nd Hradec Kralove, 15 games, 31 points
——————–
3rd Zlin, 15 games, 29 points
4th Zizkov, 16 games, 26 points
5th Sokolov, 15 games, 25 points
6th Vlasim, 15 games, 24 points
7th Trinec, 15 games, 22 points
8th Jihlava, 15 games, 21 points
9th Karvina, 15 games, 21 points
10th Most, 15 games, 19 points
11th Opava, 15 games, 18 points
12th Dukla Praha, 15 games, 17 points
13th Caslav, 15 games, 16 points
14th Hlucin, 15 games, 14 points
——————–
15th Sparta Praha B, 15 games, 10 points
16th Vitkovice, 16 games, 5 points

Druha Liga Schedule

***********
Sources: CT Teletext, SportovniNoviny.cz, Fotbal.cz

In Prague on Wednesday, the Czech national team began preparations for an upcoming friendly tournament in the United Arab Emirates — their first games under new coach Michal Bilek.

With Petr Cech, Zdenek Pospech, Zdenek Grygera, Tomas Hubschman, Tomas Rosicky and Jiri Stajner all unavailable, Michal Kadlec, Jan Polak and Milan Baros injured and Marek Jankulovski now retired from international football, Bilek picked an unfamiliar-looking squad last week and has had further withdrawals since then.

Radek Sirl (back injury), Tomas Sivok (Achilles injury) and Vaclav Sverkos (angina) have all pulled out of the squad, to be replaced by Mlada Boleslav’s Jan Rajnoch and FC Timisoara’s Lukas Magera.

At the four-team tournament, the Czechs will take on the United Arab Emirates national team on Sunday and then play either Iran or Azerbaijan on Wednesday, November 18th.

GOALKEEPERS
Jaroslav Drobny (Hertha Berlin, Germany; 1 cap/0 goals)
Tomas Grigar (Teplice; 1 cap/0 goals)

DEFENDERS
Roman Hubnik (Sparta Praha; 5 caps/1 goal)
Ondrej Kusnir (Sparta Praha; 0 caps/0 goals)
David Limbersky (Viktoria Plzen; 1 cap/0 goals)
David Rozehnal (Hamburger SV, Germany; 58 caps/1 goal)
Tomas Sivok (Besiktas, Turkey; 10 caps/0 goals) — WITHDRAWN
Jan Simunek (VfL Wolfsburg, Germany; 2 caps/0 goals)
——————–
Jan Rajnoch (Mlada Boleslav; 2 caps/0 goals) — REPLACEMENT

MIDFIELDERS
Adam Hlousek (Slavia Praha; 1 cap/0 goals)
Mario Holek (Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine; 0 caps/0 goals)
Mario Licka (Banik Ostrava; 0 caps/0 goals)
Marek Matejovsky (Reading, England; 13 caps/1 goal)
Jaroslav Plasil (Girondins Bordeaux, France; 52 caps/4 goals)
Daniel Pudil (KRC Genk, Belgium; 8 caps/2 goals)
Radek Sirl (Zenit St. Petersburg, Russia; 8 caps/0 goals) — WITHDRAWN
Michal Svec (Heerenveen, Netherlands; 0 caps/0 goals)

FORWARDS
Jan Blazek (Slovan Liberec; 0 caps/0 goals)
Martin Fillo (Viking, Norway; 1 cap/0 goals)
Tomas Necid (CSKA Moskva, Russia; 10 caps/4 goals)
Michal Papadopulos (Heerenveen, Netherlands; 3 caps/0 goals)
Vaclav Sverkos (Sochaux, France; 10 caps/3 goals) — WITHDRAWN
——————–
Lukas Magera (Timisoara, Romania; 1 cap/0 goals)

***********
Sources: CT Teletext, iDnes.cz, Denik.cz, Fotbal.cz

Just a day after retiring from football, Vladimir Smicer has been appointed “manager” (”manazer”) of the Czech national team set-up.

Having been substituted at half time of Slavia’s 0-0 draw with Plzen on Monday, the 36-year-old unexpectedly announced that he was ending his playing career after the game.

There’s speculation that Smicer’s decision, which he attributed to his ongoing injury problems, is actually the result of a falling-out with Slavia coach Karel Jarolim.

Smicer’s new job is a largely administrative role, overseeing the running of the Czech national teams in all age categories; Michal Bilek remains the senior Czech team’s coach (”trener”).

Smicer and Bilek will work with Dusan Fitzel, who has been appointed the CMFS’s (Czech football association’s) new technical director, having held a similar role in Malta.

Despite frequent injury problems, Smicer had a remarkable playing career, making 81 appearances for the Czechoslovak/Czech national team and representing his country at Euro 96, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, scoring at all three tournaments.

An attacking midfielder, Smicer had an uncanny knack of scoring vital goals.

At Euro 96, his late equalizer against Russia kept the Czech Republic in the tournament; at Euro 2004, his late winner completed the Czechs’ remarkable comeback against the Netherlands; and in the 2005 Champions League final, Smicer scored Liverpool’s second in their amazing comeback.

At club level, Smicer played for Lens, Liverpool and Bordeaux but is most closely connected with Slavia, where he began and ended his professional career and won Czech league titles in 1996, 2008 and 2009.

Smicer’s retirement means his good friend Patrik Berger, currently at Sparta Praha, is the only member of the Czech Republic’s Euro 96 squad still playing professional football.

***********
Sources: CT Teletext, Prague Daily Monitor, Tyden.cz, Goal.com, Wikipedia

GAMBRINUS LIGA 2009/10
14TH ROUND
Slavia’s Vladimir Smicer announced after yesterday’s 0-0 draw with Plzen that he was ending his playing career with immediate effect. More later…

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH, 2009
Slavia Praha 0, Viktoria Plzen 0
Attendance: 8,491

Slovacko 0, Sparta Praha 1
Half Time: 0-0
Goal: 50th Holenda
Attendance: 7,122

GAMBRINUS LIGA STANDINGS
AFTER 14 OF 30 ROUNDS
1st Teplice, 32 points
2nd Jablonec, 29
3rd Ostrava, 28
4th Sparta Praha, 26
5th Plzen, 23
6th Mlada Boleslav, 22
7th Slavia Praha, 20
8th Olomouc, 19
9th Pribram, 17
10th Brno, 17
11th Liberec, 17
12th Bohemians 1905, 14
13th Slovacko, 13
14th Kladno, 11
15th Bohemians Praha (Strizkov), 10
16th Ceske Budejovice, 8

Gambrinus Liga Schedule

LEADING SCORERS
1st Marek Kulic (Mlada Boleslav), 8 goals
=2nd Mario Licka (Banik Ostrava), 6
=2nd Michal Ordos (Sigma Olomouc), 6
=4th Petr Svancara (Slovacko), 5
=4th Tomas Dosek (Brno), 5

MOST CLEAN SHEETS
1st Tomas Grigar (Teplice), 8 games
=2nd Jaromir Blazek (Sparta Praha), 7
=2nd Michal Danek (Viktoria Plzen), 7
=4th Michal Spit (Jablonec), 6
=4th Radek Snozik (Bohemians 1905), 6

***********
Sources: CT Teletext, GambrinusLiga.cz

GAMBRINUS LIGA 2009/10
14TH ROUND
Having led Slovan Liberec to a third-placed finish last season, coach Ladislav Skorpil has been sacked following Saturday’s 4-0 home defeat to Sigma Olomouc — the latest in a long run of poor results this season.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH, 2009
Slovan Liberec 0, Sigma Olomouc 4
Half Time: 0-2
Goals: 29th Ordos, 32nd Sultes, 53rd Rossi, 60th Sultes
Attendance: 2,617

Banik Ostrava 2, Kladno 0
Half Time: 1-0
Goals: 33rd Strnad, 76th Reznik
Attendance: 5,206

Teplice 1, Baumit Jablonec 0
Half Time: 0-0
Goal: 48th Spit (own goal)
Attendance: 6,085

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH, 2009
Dynamo Ceske Budejovice 1, Mlada Boleslav 3
Half Time: 1-1
Goals: 44th Ondrasek — 10th Kulic, 51st Kulic, 62nd Fabian
Attendance: 2,616

Bohemians 1905 1, Pribram 0
Half Time: 1-0
Goal: 32nd Kaufman
Sent Off: 68th Hartig (Bohemians 1905), 90th(+3) Kaufman (Bohemians 1905)
Attendance: 5,428

Bohemians Praha (Strizkov) 2, Brno 1
Half Time: 1-0
Goals: 13th Jeslinek, 64th Dobes — 57th Dalmo
Sent Off: 89th Dobes
Attendance: 982

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH, 2009
Slavia Praha vs. Viktoria Plzen (5:30pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Slavia Win

Slovacko vs. Sparta Praha (5:30pm)
Czech TV Coverage: Live on CT2
Sam’s Prediction: Sparta Win

GAMBRINUS LIGA STANDINGS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH, 2009
1st Teplice, 14 games, 32 points
2nd Jablonec, 14 games, 29 points
3rd Ostrava, 14 games, 28 points
4th Sparta Praha, 13 games, 23 points
5th Mlada Boleslav, 14 games, 22 points
6th Plzen, 13 games, 22 points
7th Olomouc, 14 games, 19 points
8th Slavia Praha, 13 games, 19 points
9th Pribram, 14 games, 17 points
10th Brno, 14 games, 17 points
11th Liberec, 14 games, 17 points
12th Bohemians 1905, 14 games, 14 points
13th Slovacko, 13 games, 13 points
14th Kladno, 14 games, 11 points
15th Bohemians Praha (Strizkov), 14 games, 10 points
16th Ceske Budejovice, 14 games, 8 points

Gambrinus Liga Schedule

—
DRUHA LIGA (SECOND DIVISION) 2009/10
15TH ROUND
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH, 2009
Zlin 1, Hradec Kralove 1
Jihlava 3, Dukla Praha 4

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH, 2009
Sparta Praha B 3, Vitkovice 1
Usti nad Labem 4, Sokolov 0
Hlucin 3, Caslav 0
Vlasim 2, Most 0
Karvina 3, Trinec 1

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH, 2009
Karvina 3, Trinec 1
Zizkov 2, Opava 2

DRUHA LIGA STANDINGS
AFTER 15 OF 30 ROUNDS
1st Usti nad Labem, 40 points
2nd Hradec Kralove, 31
——————–
3rd Zlin, 29
4th Sokolov, 25
5th Vlasim, 24
6th Zizkov, 23
7th Trinec, 22
8th Jihlava, 21
9th Karvina, 21
10th Most, 19
11th Opava, 18
12th Dukla Praha, 17
13th Caslav, 16
14th Hlucin, 14
——————–
15th Sparta Praha B, 10
16th Vitkovice, 5

Druha Liga Schedule

***********
Sources: CT Teletext, Fotbal.cz

GAMBRINUS LIGA 2009/10
14TH ROUND
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH, 2009
Slovan Liberec vs. Sigma Olomouc (4pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Draw

Banik Ostrava vs. Kladno (4pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Ostrava Win

Teplice vs. Baumit Jablonec (6:15pm)
Czech TV Coverage: Live on CT4
Sam’s Prediction: Draw

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH, 2009
Dynamo Ceske Budejovice vs. Mlada Boleslav (3pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Mlada Boleslav Win

Bohemians Praha (Strizkov) vs. Brno (5pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Draw

Bohemians 1905 vs. Pribram (5pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Bohemians 1905 Win

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH, 2009
Slavia Praha vs. Viktoria Plzen (5:30pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Slavia Win

Slovacko vs. Sparta Praha (5:30pm)
Czech TV Coverage: Live on CT2
Sam’s Prediction: Sparta Win

GAMBRINUS LIGA STANDINGS
AFTER 13 OF 30 ROUNDS
1st Teplice, 29 points
2nd Jablonec, 29
3rd Ostrava, 25
4th Sparta Praha, 23
5th Plzen, 22
6th Mlada Boleslav, 19
7th Slavia Praha, 19
8th Liberec, 17
9th Pribram, 17
10th Brno, 17
11th Olomouc, 16
12th Slovacko, 13
13th Bohemians 1905, 11
14th Kladno, 11
15th Ceske Budejovice, 8
16th Bohemians Praha (Strizkov), 7

Gambrinus Liga Schedule

—
DRUHA LIGA (SECOND DIVISION) 2009/10
15TH ROUND
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH, 2009
Zlin 1, Hradec Kralove 1
Jihlava 3, Dukla Praha 4

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH, 2009
Sparta Praha B vs. Vitkovice (10:15am)
Usti nad Labem vs. Sokolov (2pm)
Hlucin vs. Caslav (2pm)
Vlasim vs. Most (2pm)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH, 2009
Zizkov vs. Opava (10:15am)
Karvina vs. Trinec (2pm)

DRUHA LIGA STANDINGS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH, 2009
1st Usti nad Labem, 14 games, 37 points
2nd Hradec Kralove, 15 games, 31 points
3rd Zlin, 15 games, 29 points
4th Sokolov, 14 games, 25 points
5th Trinec, 14 games, 22 points
6th Zizkov, 14 games, 22 points
7th Vlasim, 14 games, 21 points
8th Jihlava, 15 games, 21 points
9th Most, 14 games, 19 points
10th Karvina, 14 games, 18 points
11th Opava, 14 games, 17 points
12th Dukla Praha, 15 games, 17 points
13th Caslav, 14 games, 16 points
14th Hlucin, 14 games, 11 points
15th Sparta Praha B, 14 games, 7 points
16th Vitkovice, 14 games, 5 points

Druha Liga Schedule

***********
Sources: CT Teletext, Fotbal.cz