In 2004, the footballing world was turned on its head as golden generations tumbled, undone by the ordinary gifts of grit and guts
Tag: czech rep
This feature is a part of RETEUROSPECTIVE Football is a simple game – 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end … well, you know the rest by…
This feature is a part of RETEUROSPECTIVE Both the Czech Republic and Denmark had fairly remarkable routes to their Euro 2004 quarter-final. The Czechs had shown their muscle during the group stages…
This feature is a part of RETEUROSPECTIVE Scoop, lob, chip, dink: no, not the fuzzy-costumed line-up of an early 2000s children’s television series, but some of the most visually pleasing sights in…
This feature is a part of RETEUROSPECTIVE Plenty was at stake when the Netherlands and the Czech Republic met at the Estádio Municipal de Aveiro on 19 June 2004. Dick Advocaat’s Oranje had…
This feature is a part of RETEUROSPECTIVE A sensational final 15 minutes in Geneva saw Turkey progress as runners-up in Group A ahead of their opponents, the Czech Republic. Things had looked…
This feature is a part of RETEUROSPECTIVE Heading into the fixture on 14 June 1996, Italy had already won their opening match, a 2-1 triumph over Russia on Merseyside. The Czech Republic…
In the midst of his nation changing beyond recognition, Tomáš Skuhravý would become a national hero at Italia 90 and later a legend at Genoa
Named as one of Fiorentina and the Czech Republic’s greatest defenders, Tomáš Ujfaluši was one of the 2000s most underrated players
Despite falling short of the biggest prizes for both club and country, Nedvěd would go down as one of the best players of the decade, a Juventus legend
Despite his injury problems, Patrick Berger was a true joy of a 1990s footballer. A man with a look that could kill, you could say
Boasting Chinese investment, a shrewd manager and a squad full of talent, Slavia Prague have been upsetting the odds in Europe this season
Despite their heartbreak, the Czech Republic class of 2004 is amongst the very best to have not lifted a major international trophy
Ten years ago, on 7 November 2008, Aston Villa wrote themselves a small place in the history of Slavia Prague, one of the Czech Republic’s most successful clubs, with four titles to…
In glorious but fleeting moments, Patrik Berger would show at Liverpool, and for the Czech Republic, why he was one of his era’s finest talents
Illustration by Federico Manasse Football is seldom, if ever, free from political realities. Had it not been for the collapse of Communism in 1989, Pavel Nedvěd’s career would have likely followed the…
It was hard to tell what was more disconcerting – the abrupt sign warning that firearms were banned or the eerie emptiness that enveloped the ground. Although piercing sunshine blazed all around,…
Football has a singular way of introducing its next big stars. Many of the elite footballers you see strutting their stuff at the top today earned critical acclaim and eventual superstardom by…