It is hard to believe nowadays that a team like Sparta Prague have played more Champions League matches than Chelsea and Liverpool put together. Sparta are one of the perennial clubs that always seem to make the group stages draw, before putting up a plucky fight before finishing bottom of their group. Last season has been no exception. Drawn in a group with Arsenal, Ajax and FC Thun, Sparta managed to throw away an opportunity of at least a UEFA Cup spot by drawing their final home match with the Swiss unknown team. This season the best they could offer was a place in the UEFA Cup.
It is also amazing to think that 90% of the best Czech players playing in Europe today have at some point in the past pulled on the famous maroon shirt of Sparta. Players such as Paved Nedved, Thomas Repka, Petre Cech, Karol Poborsky (Currently at the club in a second spell), Thomas Rosisky and Vladimir Smicer have all won honours with Sparta before going on to ply their trade in the bigger European leagues.
The club were originally formed in 1893 as the Athletic Club Kralovske Vinohrady, although they soon adopted the name Sparta. They adopted the dark red colours after the then club president travelled to London and saw Arsenal play in the coloured kit they wore during the 2005/06 season. The club took their place in the first Czechoslovakian league in the 1922 and won the inaugural title as well as six more before the outbreak of World War Two.
When football returned to Central Europe in earnest in the early in 1950’s, Sparta again became one of the power houses. They took the title again in 1952, 1954, 1965 and 1967 along with a few Czech Cup wins in that period. As the Cold War was at its peak during the 1970’s and 1980’s, the clubs fortunes suffered dramatically, and they even suffered their only ever relegation in 1975. However, success soon returned to the Letna stadium when the club captured their first title in 17 years in 1984. From that point onwards the club were virtually unbeatable domestically, capturing the Czech Title every year from 1984 to 1993 with just one exception. When Czechoslovakia split to form two new countries, Sparta continued their dominance in a smaller league.
Apart from a blip in 1996 and 2004 (when they won the Cup instead) they won every title. Unfortunately Europe provided a road too far. They had their most successful campaign in 1992/93 when they finished 2nd in the final qualifying group. This was the last season that the format was like this and the following season this position would have seen them compete in the Semi-Finals. The great teams during this period included such stars as Pavel Nedvĕd, Petr Čech, Jan Koller, Tomas Repka and Tomas Sukhravy. Today the club are in a transitional period. Repka has returned to his spiritual home with his cult-status from his five years at West Ham intact and under the leadership of Michal Bilek they hope to regain the title.
The Stadium – The Toyota Arena
Capacity - 20,565 All Seater
The Toyota Arena is a perfect example of the Czech attitude to football. Functional but with little thought of ambition. It is amazing to think that the modest Toyota Arena is also the home to the Czech Republic team, as this is the biggest football stadium in the country – a country that is currently ranked by FIFA in the top 5 in the world! The stadium is a complete box style stadium, made up of two tiers of seating. The pitch has perimeter fencing and a small moat around to deter pitch invaders. One of the strange aspects of it is that on the main stand (west) upper tier, the concourse runs along the front of the seats, meaning that if you are unlucky enough to be sitting in the first few rows, your view will be constantly obstructed by people walking to and from refreshment stands and toilets.
How to get to the Toyota Arena The stadium sits to the north of the river, high above the city centre. By far the easiest way to reach the stadium is to get the Green Metro line A in the direction of Dejuikă to Hradcany. From there you can either get any eastbound tram or walk 5 minutes or so down Milady Horakove for the stadium. A taxi from the city centre will cost around 400Kr (£9) and take less than 10 minutes.
How to get a ticket for the Toyota Arena The only time the Toyota Arena sells out are when the national team are in town playing a big country, and when Sparta host one of Europe’s big guns such as Arsenal or Manchester United, as they have in recent Champions League campaigns. In fact the game in October 2005 against Arsenal was memorable for the fact that the home capacity was significantly reduced due to racial chanting during the previous home match versus Ajax.
Around the Toyota Arena The ground is located at the top of a hill to the north of the city centre, and opposite the entrance to the huge Letna Park. Next to the stadium is a big McDonalds, which is split on two levels. The lower floor is open to the public from the outside of the stadium, whilst the upper floor doubles up as a concession stand for ticket holders on a match day, linked to the stadium concourse by a walkway. There is very little else around the stadium apart from a couple of car dealerships, so it’s best to stick to the city centre for your pre match enjoyment before heading up to the stadium.
Prague - Slavia Prague
Prague’s forgotten relation in terms of football is Slavia. They have always played second fiddle to Sparta up the road in terms of history, status and tradition, but things may be about to change. The club can at least point to a longer European campaign that Sparta in 2005/06, after Slavia made it to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup, whilst Sparta crashed out a full two months earlier in the group stages of the Champions League.
The roots of the team can be traced back to the end of the 19th century when they were founded by a group of Czech students in 1892. The club was regularly the leading team in the country during the first part of the 20th century, and this was reflected in the 1934 World Cup Final when the club supplied 8 members of the national team that lost the 2nd World Cup Final to Italy. The hero of the time was undoubtedly Josef Bican who scored 643 goals at an average of 1.75 goals per game in an amazing career that spanned over two decades.
After the soviet regime in the early 1960’s lead to relegation of the team, Slavia bounced back in to the top division in 1965 finishing third in the league. However, the title was to elude them until 1996 – a wait of over 49 years. Since then the club has not been able to repeat the feat, but has won the Czech cup on three occasions in 1997, 1999 and 2002. The club’s European pedigree stretches back to the 1960’s but it wasn’t until the campaigns of 1995/96 that they made a mark in European club competition. A run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup saw them beat RC Lens and AS Roma before finally losing 2-0 to Bordeaux. The following season the club made its debut in the Champions League, losing 5-1 to Grasshoppers of Zurich in the qualifying rounds. In fact the club have yet to make it past the qualifying stages of the Champions League.
This season fortunes have been mixed as the title race has become much more open and Slavia are one of half a dozen teams competing for top spot. Unfortunately they could not overcome Tottenham Hotspurs in the UEFA Cup 1st round, losing 2-0 on aggregate.
The Stadium – The Evzena Rosickeho (Strahov) Stadion
Capacity: 19,032 All Seater
The stadium is very much in the traditional of many grounds in Europe with a running track separating the stands from the pitch, which means that the view from behind the goals tends to be a bit of a strain – especially low down in the stands. All of the stands are covered, although the stadium does suffer from having a real lack of character. Their previous stadium, known as the Eden in Vrsovic has now been demolished. This old stadium has a capacity of 16,000 but had a wooden grandstand that had to be closed due to fire safety in the mid 1980’s.
In the early 1990’s when the club were taken over by Investment Company ENIC, Daniel Levy (he of Tottenham Hotspur fame) promised to move the club to a new stadium by the end of the millennium. Unfortunately, delays in finding a suitable site meant that the Strahov wasn’t opened until 3 years later in December 2000.
Originally, Slavia started off in the Letna Stadium alongside city rivals Sparta. In 1953, the communist regime decided that Slavia had to move out and found their home in the Eden stadium in the Vrsovice area of the city. The plan was always to build a new stadium for the club, specifically on the lines of FC Basel’s St Jakob Park’s stadium back around the Eden region.
The Strahov is actually located next to site of one of the world’s biggest ever stadiums. The Old Strahov was completed in 1948 and occupied more that 15 acres with a capacity of over 220,000. It was used predominantly for Communist rallies and concerts but it was also used occasionally for Slavia games. Nowadays, the land is in a constant state of flux, with plans seeming to be submitted on a weekly basis to change this land into something more useful.
How to get to the Evzena Rosickeho Stadion The stadium can easily be reached from the city centre by taking underground line B to Andel and then take bus 217 from the station stop (Na Knizeci) right to the stadium. Alternatively, Bus number 176 runs from Karlovo Namsky which runs direct to the stadium.
If you are in the area of the castle then take tram 22 or 23 from Malostranska underground station in the direction of the castle. Alight at the Malovanka stop, cross the road and walk up the hill until you reach the stadium. The walk should take no more than 10 minutes.
How to get a ticket for the Evzena Rosickeho Stadion Tickets may be bought from the ticket office at the Strahov stadium during the week, from 9am to 12pm and then 1pm to 4pm. On match days the tickets are sold at the office close to the Entrance A3 as well as from the ticket booths around the outside of the stadium from 2 hours before kick off. There is also a ticket booth in the Calcio Cz Fan Shop in Myslikova in the centre of Prague.
The only games that sell out at Slavia are unsurprisingly the derby games versus Sparta Prague. So if you plan to catch this game it is advisable to buy your tickets in advance. You can also email the club to reserve a ticket at vstupenky@slavia.cz or by ringing +420 25721 3290. At the moment the club do not have the facility to buy tickets online.
Around the Evzena Rosickeho Stadion The stadium is located out to the west of the city on top of the Hradcany hill. Around the stadium there is little else apart from trees and greenery. The stadium is located next to the site of the original Strahov stadium, the massive 220,000 spectator capacity stadium that is now being converted into something more useful.
It is hard to believe nowadays that a team like Sparta Prague have played more Champions League matches than Chelsea and Liverpool put together. Sparta are one of the perennial clubs that always seem to make the group stages draw, before putting up a plucky fight before finishing bottom of their group. Last season has been no exception. Drawn in a group with Arsenal, Ajax and FC Thun, Sparta managed to throw away an opportunity of at least a UEFA Cup spot by drawing their final home match with the Swiss unknown team. This season the best they could offer was a place in the UEFA Cup.