Viktoria Plzeň stands in the way of The New Saints as they hope to stop the Welsh side from progressing in the UEFA Europa Conference League, but who are the Czech side?
In 2009, If you asked most people with a basic knowledge of Czech Republic about the town of Plzen, the first thing most likely to come to mind would be the Pilsner Urquell brewery, where the original Pilsner beer originated over 150 years ago.
The reason 2009 is mentioned is that you might also talk about Viktoria Plzen, a football team which has enjoyed recent success both on the domestic and European scenes.
This Thursday, the Czech side stand in the way of TNS and the next round of the European Conference league and here’s a preview of the West Bohemian club.
History
Viktoria were founded by a state railway official in the town of Plzen in 1911 and although they were originally amateur, the club enjoyed early success in Spain where on their first foreign trip won six out of their nine games on tour. On their return it was decided that the club should turn professional and entered the national league.
For much of their existence, Viktoria have been a yo-yo team, spending equal amounts of time in the second and first tier of the Czech league and apart from finishing runners-up in Czechoslovak Cup, they have enjoyed little success. This was until 2010.
A change of president in 2010 saw Tomas Paclik appoint Pavel Vrba as the new coach and with this brought the most successful period in the club’s history. After winning the Czech Cup in 2010, the club won their first league title in 2011 and have been a dominant force in domestic football since then. Five league titles in eight years and good performances in Europe have cemented Viktoria’s place as one of the leading Czech sides.
Stadium
The original stadium, Stadium Mesta Plzen, was opened in 1955 for regional gymnastic events known as the Spartakiad and was very much in need of reconstruction when work began on modernising it to meet UEFA criteria.
The stadium is now an all-seater with a capacity of 11,700 and is situated a stones throw from the city centre and the local brewery.
It has been renamed the Doosan Arena.
Manager
After the success Pavel Vrba, the club have not quite found a suitable replacement. In March this year, the owner of the club Adolf Sadek lost his patience with Adrian Gula and replaced him with former national team boss Michal Bilek.
It’s worth noting that since Pavel Vrba left the club in 2013, the club are now on their eighth coach, so only time will tell if Bilek is the right fit for Plzen.
Recent Success.
Well, as mentioned above the club have enjoyed an incredible amount of success since winning the cup and their first-ever title.
Speaking to Plzen fans, they now see themselves as one of the top three clubs in the country, and qualifying regularly for Europe is seen as a success for the club. With Slavia Prague dominating the domestic scene at the moment this is the best they can hope for.
They finished fifth last season and that was the first time they had fallen out of the top two in 10 years.
Road to Europe.
Viktoria finished in fifth place in the Fortuna Liga and thus qualified for the European Conference League.
European Preparation
A change of manager has brought a new system to the team. Michal Bilek has brought in Modou N’Diaye from second league Taborsko and his job has been to protect the back four. With a defensive midfielder in the team, Plzen are now stronger at the back, but upfront they are not creating as many chances as in previous years.
The team are unbeaten both in the league and in Europe at the time of writing. Two wins in the Fortuna Liga and two wins in Europe. Not a bad start to the season for a team missing 9 players through injury.
Player to look out for
Adriel Ba Loua, a tricky winger from the Ivory Coast who was signed from Karvina last season.
However, he hasn’t started a game under the new manager. Czech Under-21 player Pavel Sulc has had a good start to the season and big things are expected of him.
Ultimately though, if the New Saints were to be wary of one player, it would be Modou N’Diaye who has come from nowhere to become a fixture in Plzen’s midfield.
Fun Fact
Current Sports Manager and former Czech International Daniel Kolar, once scored twice for Cardiff City against Merthyr Tydfil in a trial game at Penydarren Park.
(Featured Image: Vachovec1)
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