RAJNOCH’S GLOSSARY: Chytil can be Slavia’s number one striker. I’m already looking forward to the spring title fight
The World Cup absorbed me, I managed to watch a lot of matches and I have to say that I was excited about everything. It was probably the best championship I’ve seen. Amazing quality, wonderful fans and it just proved that, despite the unconventional dates and circumstances surrounding the host country, what a football phenomenon it is. It was a wonderful fill-in for the winter, when otherwise football is not discussed so much in the Czech Republic. But a few interesting things have already happened, things are starting to move and there are interesting moves.
I’ll start with coach Vrba, who moved to Zlín. I read an interview with him and I haven’t felt such energy from him for a long time. At the club, he has Petr Jiráček, whom he knows very well, and a very experienced team. It is known that Vrba can do it with such players, and despite the fact that I was very critical of the composition of the squad and the performances, I believe that these experiences can play a big role in the fight for salvation and Vrba has a chance to lift Zlín.
The leader of Pilsen was Květa, who has had a wonderful season in Bohemka. I am very curious how he will fit into coach Bílek’s system. I saw the potential in him already when he was in Příbram. It is clear that he is a player who swallows tasks and needs some freedom. The second newcomer in Victoria is Otter. Typologically, he is a different player, a boy seasoned by England who can work in a large space. I believe that he can fit in well in the Pilsen team. And even if there have not been many returns from abroad recently, it could work out in his case, because he gets space and gradually gets into the game after serious injuries
On the other hand, Čermák left Pilsen for Bohemka, and here too I perceive that this can help the player, that he will flourish under coach Veselý. There is a lot of talk about how Viktorka’s leadership would behave if an adequate offer came for goalkeeper Staňko. It will be difficult, but I say for myself that Staněk deserves to move on. Plzeň would definitely do well. I’m not saying that right away, but she would find a solution.
Slavia let go of Sora. He had a different value in the summer, but he didn’t play much in the fall, so the seamers got a smaller severance package. They believed they would collect more, but it was still a great buy for them. She was buying players for some thirty million, so she made an excellent deal.
Talovjerov and Van Buren return to Vršovice in the winter from their loan spell in Liberec. In Slovan, both were the cornerstones of the lineup. I believe that Jindra Trpišovský will use Talovjerov as a stopper. Slavia have had a problem at the back and are getting goals from mistakes and lack of emphasis, thanks to which both should help. I think the arrival of Hronko will also help the stitchers. He is a tremendously honest player who gradually moves and grows in the game. He will continue to develop his potential in Slavia. He belongs to the category of workers and will definitely find a place in Slavia.
And then there is a comet named Mojmír Chytil. He is rising, he humbly walked the path through hosting, he worked on himself. Maybe it was expected that the preparation would start already in Slavia, but it didn’t happen. He is said to be ill and everything between Sigma Olomouc and Slavia is working out. A possible trip to Prague somewhere in a pendolin is healing for me. I would bet that he will be in Slavia by the end of the week, he is the right type of player for coach Trpišovský’s style. For me, he is Slavia’s number one striker. Van Buren has also scored some goals, but he can easily play from the sideline.
Sparta has made three foreigners so far, and for some the names are not entirely convincing. For myself, I see it as purchases for the future, it is not straight into the basic set. Players will get used to a new environment, a new competition, a new game system. But it’s a chance for them to prove themselves, they haven’t been used that much in their clubs. To sum it up, at the moment it is impossible to say who of the elite three has strengthened the best. You will find pros and cons everywhere and it will be interesting to see who ends up taking the championship.
I was also interested in the end of striker Libor Kozák in Slovácko. It was kind of clear from the beginning that the connection wasn’t ideal. The club calmly agreed with the player, I think it was a divorce of reason. And perhaps Kozák will move to nearby Zlín, where he needs a potential player and a place in the lineup under coach Vrba. In any case, I’m already looking forward to how it all starts again at the end of January…
Jan Rajnoch
Former Czech professional footballer who has fifteen starts for the national team at the end. The Sparta native, who started as a defensive back-up position or a defender, also played in the top competition for Bohemians, Mlada Boleslav, Liberec and Olomouc, and also tried out for foreign clubs in Germany (Cottbus) and Turkey (MKE Ankaragücü, Sivasspor and Adana Demirspor). He is currently a football expert on O2 TV, head of OFS Praha Západ, plays for Real TOP Praha and club Jíloviště in class IA.