Part 15 of 32: The Czech Interview
For part 15 of the series, I interviewed Sam Beckwith. Sam moved to Prague in 1996 and started working as a journalist there. These days, she works for an online city guide called Prague TV and also freelances for the British football magazines World Soccer and When Saturday Comes.
I thank Sam for agreeing to the interview.
Tell us a bit about the Czech football history and the football culture which exists.
The Czechs have a remarkable football history - especially when you consider that the country’s population is only 10 million, and was only 15 million before the Czech-Slovak split.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Sparta Praha and Slavia Praha were among Europe’s best club sides, and both won the Mitropa Cup, the Central European forerunner of the European Champions Cup.
Czechoslovakia’s greatest achievement was winning the European Championship in 1976, beating West Germany in a penalty shoot-out. (Antonin Panenka scored the decisive penalty, cheekily chipping German goalkeeper Sepp Maier from the spot.)
The Czechoslovaks were also World Cup finalists in 1934 (where many people feel that a dodgy ref favoured hosts Italy) and in 1962 (losing to Brazil), and won football gold at the 1980 Olympics.
Following the 1993 “Velvet Divorce,” the Czech Republic reached the final of Euro 96 and, of course, the semi-finals of Euro 2004.
For all the national team’s success, however, the current first division (the Gambrinus Liga) isn’t in great shape. There have been massive match-fixing scandals over the past couple of years, and attendances are very low.
Tell us a bit about the Road to the World Cup – the qualification, and the emotions the fans went through at the time.
It was a tough group and a difficult campaign. Being drawn against the Netherlands again was particularly harsh, after facing them in both qualification for Euro 2004 and at the tournament itself. This time, the Dutch had the upper hand, winning both games 2-0.
The low point was probably the 2-0 loss to Romania. The Czechs had a lot of injury problems and were totally outplayed, and it began to look like they might not qualify.
The turning points were probably, the 4-1 win over Armenia, four days later, which steadied nerves, and the 3-0 win in Finland, which guaranteed the Czechs a play in the playoffs.
The return from international retirement of Pavel Nedved, after a lot of misunderstandings and media speculation, was a massive boost ahead of the Norway games.
The games in Oslo and Prague were tough, but the Czechs were the better team in both, I thought, and deserved to qualify.
What style of football does the national team play?
The traditional Czech style of play is known as “ceska ulicka” (Czech Alleyway) and involves a lot of skills and tricks. That style of play seems to be alive and well in the current squad, which differs little from the one that went to Portugal. There’s also a lot of pace in the team, and some great passers of the ball.
What do you think your country’s prospects are at the World Cup?
The Czechs have a very difficult group and I think that a lot will depend on the opening game, against the USA. If they don’t beat the USA, and have to get a result against Italy, I think there could be trouble. Another worry is that if the Czechs finish Group E in second place, they’ll probably play Brazil in the Round of 16.
Despite all these worries, however, my gut feeling is that the Czechs will do well, and will reach the quarter-finals or the semis. The final’s not out of the question either.
Who will be the most important player for your country?
Nedved. He annoyed a lot of people after Euro 2004 by not making it clear whether he’d retired from the national team or not, and then not being able to decide if he wanted to come back or not, but when he did finally return, against Norway, he proved how much the Czechs needed
him. He’s a bit of a prima donna but he brings a mental toughness and a will-to-win to the side that’s otherwise lacking.
Which player in your country’s side would you most like to get rid of?
To be honest, no one. Some players - right back Zdenek Grygera springs to mind - can be inconsistent but I don’t think there’s anyone in the squad who isn’t there on merit.
Who are the players to watch from the other countries?
There are so many, it’s hard to choose. Everybody loves Ronaldinho, and I’d like to see Ghana’s Michael Essien have a good tournament - though not against the Czechs, of course! Thierry Henry will be dangerous for France, Ruud van Nistelrooy is a great striker, and I’m a fan of another Dutch player, Rafael van der Vaart.
What will be your excuse in the event of failure?
Either a difficult group, or being drawn against Brazil in the Round of 16, or key players getting injured in the later stages of the tournament. (Nedved, Jan Koller, Tomas Galasek, Karel Poborsky and Vladimir Smicer are all in their thirties.)
Have you got the right manager?
Absolutely. I think Karel Bruckner proved that at Euro 2004, and by getting the Czech Republic to their first-ever World Cup finals since the 1993 split. Whatever happens in Germany, I think he’ll go down in Czech footballing history as one of the greats.
What advice would you give him?
Just keep on doing what you’re doing!
Which team do you most want to beat?
Talking as a fan of the Czechs, it’d be nice to see them beat the Netherlands again, after losing to them twice in qualification - but I’d rather they avoided the Dutch altogether. Beating Italy in the group stage would be a big boost, and everybody wants to beat Brazil, just because they’re the best team there. Like a lot of European countries, the Czechs have a bit of a grudge against the Germans, but beating them at Euro 2004, with virtually a reserve team, took some of the sting out of that.
Which opposition player will get the most stick?
I can’t think of anyone.
Where will you watch the matches?
In Prague, unfortunately. I don’t have tickets, and can’t really afford to take time off work. I’ll either be watching in a pub, drinking Czech beer, or at home (probably also drinking Czech beer.) If the Czechs make it to the final stages of the tournament, they usually show Czech games on Old Town Square, on a giant screen, so I’m hoping I might end up there.
How keenly will the World Cup be followed in your country?
Very. It’s the first time that Czech footballers have played at a World Cup since 1990, and the performance at Euro 2004 has raised expectations. It’s going to be huge. The Czech Republic shares a border with Germany too, and is in the same time zone, so there’s bound to be a
lot of Czechs at the tournament and huge TV audiences at home.
Who will be the player of the tournament?
The obvious choice - Ronaldinho.
Who will win the Golden Boot?
My heart says Jan Koller. My head says Ruud van Nistelrooy or Thierry Henry.
Which team will disappoint the most?
Preparations don’t seem to be going well for Germany. I can also see potential problems for France, perhaps relying too much on a past-his-prime Zidane.
Who will be the surprise team of the tournament?
I think the USA are very under-rated, though I hope they don’t prove it against the Czechs.
For some reason, I’ve also got a feeling that Tunisia will do well.
Finally, Who will win the World Cup?
As you’ve probably guessed, I’m backing Brazil to win it, just because of their sheer talent. If not them, Argentina and the Netherlands are also both strong, and the Czech Republic, England and Italy are in with a shout.
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I hope you enjoyed part 15. Follow up questions for Sam can be e-mailed to me. Also, feel free to contact me if you would like to be interviewed or know a friend who would like/could be interviewed. Specific questions for specific countries which might pop in your mind in due course may also be sent.
For the rest of the interviews, check out the World Cup interview series page.
Tags: Czech Football, FIFA World Cup 2006, Football Interview Series.
