RAJNOCH’S GLOSSARY: I see future stars not only in Sparta and Slavia. Cicilia did not suit me in Pilsen

The first thing that comes to mind is Miloš Kratochvíl from Jablonec. I don’t want to underestimate Jablonec, I believe that under coach Horejš he will move up the table in the new year of the league, but for me Kratochvíl is a player for European cups. He is great in the eight or ten position, he has been performing well for a long time and I can imagine that someone from the top Czech team will reach for him. In addition, he is at an ideal football age, so he could move to a team such as Slovácko or Ostrava. Or Pilsen could reach for him.

I expect a lot from Novák, who was currently on loan at Žižkov, but he will play in Bohemians. To me, he is, in an exaggeration, a street footballer, an extraordinary player, cheeky, but able to surprise with an unconventional solution to offensive situations. I think that if coach Veselý matches him in Bohemka, it will be a huge plus for both sides and the player will have potential not only for the Czech league. He has excellent movement, a great left hand, he can really surprise when solving the final and pre-final phases. The only question for him is whether he can adapt to modern football. So that there is teamwork and responsibility towards the back on his part.

When it came to the Spartans B, I was interested in Okeke, a skillful kid playing the number six position. Now Sadílek has come to Letná for this post, but for me Okeke is a very interesting footballer, only he is hampered by a lot of injuries. If he avoids health problems, he should be among the stars of the second league. He is an athletic type of player, he can collect balloons. He will really shine, he just needs to be healthy.

In my opinion, goalkeeper Jakub Markovič also has a future. He saved the league for Pardubice in the spring, he can do it with his feet as well. He is a regular player for Slavia and I think that in the future he will easily be the number one goalkeeper even for the team. Matěj Valenta has already returned to Eden. He went the right way, headed to another club, but in his contract he had the option to buy back to Slavia. In two years he has made tremendous progress in Budějovice and I am very curious to see how he will fight for a place in the lineup.

Many other guys will be seen as well. For example, I believe in Pikul from Opava, who could be a decoration of the second league with the potential for the highest competition. Its biggest pluses? The choice of space, the technique, it is not a classic winger, he looks for space, that is extremely important. Working with space, when a footballer has game intelligence, it can move him further – for example to the first league.

A breakthrough year could await Firbacher in the Hradec jersey. He is a tall, powerful player with excellent finishing, he has good orientation in the box. It’s about time he started pushing himself more and had a more interesting career ahead of him.

But for now, in the summer it’s mainly about playing, the clubs are preparing at home, or have gone to a training camp in Austria. I really enjoyed riding there, the summer Alps, it was beautiful. Various team building events are part of it, the group is bonding, this is important for teams at all levels. The break for the cup representatives is slowly getting shorter, I’m curious what will happen next.

The champion Pilsen is still being watched a lot, where it was considered that they would engage Cicilia in the attack, who did not part with Slovácko on good terms. He may be an interesting player in terms of football, but if you watch him more, there are other things around, and I’m not surprised that Pilsen eventually gave up on him. Viktorka has always had a strong team spirit, and that is probably why the Pilsen club was worried about hiring Cicilia. I say for myself that I wouldn’t go after him…