Although the Slavists feared it, it happened – in the possible next round in the fight for the Conference League, the Greek giant Panathinaikos Athens awaits them. Sparta have a more favorable outlook, but they must first overcome Norwegian Viking Stavanger. Alex Král is welcomed in Germany’s Schalke 04. Michel Platini was acquitted by the Swiss court, but he will no longer go on the ice with the hockey masters. Robert Lewandowski is in Barcelona.
A drop of luck in the lottery
As if the boss of Slavia Prague, Jaroslav Tvrdík, shouted it. When setting goals and aspirations for the upcoming football year, he emphasized how important prestige and excellence on the European stage is for the Prague club, he even placed this element above finances. And in order for the red and whites to walk the continent again, a bit of luck in the lottery is needed.
As if the hand of fate heard a sigh from the Czech lands, in order for Slavia to break into the lowest competition of the UEFA Conference League, they must push back the famous Greek Panathinaikos Athens in the next round. Happiness did not hover over Eden.
It’s a challenge worthy of a big team. When successful, prestige rises. If not, the cup year is lost…
Bronze Sparta is in a better position
Eternal competitor Sparta Praha accepted the lot in a completely different way. True, in the first act they have to overcome a much tougher opponent – Norwegian Viking Stavanger (Slavia is about to conquer the Rock of Gibraltar against St. Joseph’s), but then the more acceptable Scottish Montherwell or Irish Sligo Rovers await them on the islands.
It was the lighter opponents in the European journey that should have been the main difference between the second and third place in the final position in the Czech league. But the lot is a lottery that can set its more friendly or gloomy face on anyone.
Good address Schalke 04
The Czech King Alex has found his domain, after breaking away from the Russian engagement at Spartak Moscow and after an unsuccessful loan spell at London’s West Ham United, he will be accepted by the German Bundesliga newcomer Schalke 04, where the Czech footballers have an excellent reputation – mainly thanks to the pair of European vice-champions from 1996 Jiří Němec and Radko Látal, who helped bring the UEFA Cup to the club’s hall of fame in 1997.
The king is welcomed with open arms, an excellent prerequisite for evaluating a new engagement. It’s up to him how he uses it. It remains to be seen if his media image isn’t brighter than his on-field performances.
Don’t go on the ice with gentlemen
Three-time Ballon d’Or winner, former UEFA president and, of course, French football legend Michal Platini was relieved – a Swiss court acquitted him of fraud charges when he had huge sums paid to him by former FIFA president Joseph Blatter for consulting services. The European champion in 1984 declared that he will no longer rush into any position and wants to have peace of mind.
In his epigram, Karel Havlíček Borovský urged that no one go on the ice with gentlemen. And this is doubly true for the Swiss manipulator Joseph Blatter, because he started his powerful career in hockey, for him football was only a means to achieve his grand goals. And the ice treated with ice is very slippery.
Lewandowski in Barcelona
After eight years, its most famous player in modern history, the Polish shooter Robert Lewadowski, is leaving Bayern Munich, heading to the famous Barcelona. He achieved almost everything at the Bavarian club, only missing out on the Ballon d’Or for the best footballer in the world. When he was the clear favorite in 2020 and no one doubted his crowning, the organizer of the poll, the French magazine France Football, did not announce the choice.
Maybe until the new season.
Source: SK Slavia Prague, UEFA
