The key to Prague on Letná. Dočkal: I wish more Spartans in the national team
After 14 matches, the negative series was broken and the joy returned to red. There was great relief for Letná. “It’s about time. We wanted to make people happy, we perceived how they experienced it, “said Sparta Captain Bořek Dočkal in the bowels of the Old Town Hall, where the government of the metropolis was officially confirmed in the presence of Mayor Zdeněk Hřib.
He was present when Sparta pushed Slavia in the derby in March 2016 and subsequently did not go to the Old Town Hall for the key to Prague for many years. After years of suffering, however, Bořek Dočkal dusted it off again.
Equip you with the last handover of keys for Sparta from 2016?
“I do not remember it at all. I remember the first derby after coming to Sparta, but I have another in the fog. We already wanted to break the series and make all the Spartans happy. We saw for ourselves how people spent the whole week and wanted to beat Slavia. It is now a commitment for us to make it happen again. “
You spiced up waiting for the winning derby with a foreign engagement, but still, was it very long?
“It was a relief to win the derby after a long time. From different angles, it was a key match for us. It’s not just about handing over the keys to Prague, but about how it will help us mentally in the next matches, how we improved in the table and, of course, that we took the body of our biggest league competitor. We are very happy that it succeeded again after years. “
Will it boost the team’s confidence in the next matches?
“I believe a lot. In our game, I just saw the reserves in that we did not fully show the quality we really have. And that’s mainly about the self-confidence we gain by mastering tough matches like those with the Rangers and Slavia. “
How did you celebrate the triumph over Slavia?
“There was a decent celebration, but we could afford it, because we were given time off from the coach to the derby. We enjoyed it, I think it belongs. But on the other hand, it went sensibly and within limits. “
Filip Panák, who is from Silesia and has only been perceiving a rivalry with Slavia in recent years, was also with you at the Old Town Hall. How do the new boys in the team take on the duel with the Vršovice opponent?
“It sucks quite fast. You will have many experiences from each such match. One or two derbies are enough to get into it. Everyone who comes to Sparta wants to win the title with the club and knows that Slavia is our biggest rival, so logically he wants to do everything to defeat himself regularly. “
Doesn’t it occur to you that the derby has become even sharper in recent years and football is rather declining?
“The rivalry has always been and the matches have been fierce every time. Even when I started in Sparta, when we played for the title, and Slavia was on the lower floors of the table, the derbies still had a charge. It was a difficult match and there was not much football in it. It’s more of a fight for every bounced balloon and every inch on the field. “
In recent weeks, it has often been decided when you will return to the game. In the end, you timed it for your 33rd birthday. How are you feeling now?
“From a personal point of view, I wouldn’t appreciate it that much. It was generally the same week for Sparta. We managed two difficult matches, we didn’t get a single goal, and that was important. As for me – I was hoping that the return to the game would be faster. When I thought that I could get involved in the match, the closer he was, the more I pushed to be available, but it just didn’t work. It took time. In this respect, the current national team break helps me a lot to be able to train. “
What do you say to the fact that after a year, the Spartans in the national team are gaining ground again, for example, against the players from Slavia?
“The health condition of Slavists, who now have quite a few absences, plays a big role. I don’t think there was room for them after one lost derby. I look at it more like I want as many Sparta guys as possible to receive an invitation. It revolves around such representations around the representation. Once was the axis of the Pilsen people, then the Spartans, and now it was the era of Slavists. I don’t know if their decline is changing again, but I wish as many Sparta guys as possible go there. “
And aren’t you worried about how the next national team break will be signed on Sparta?
“It simply came to our notice then. The meeting ends sooner, it won’t be so hectic. In addition, we don’t play until Sunday, so we calm down a bit again and we, who had some scars, have room for aftercare. “