Fukal: Commenting on the Chorý case is difficult. I speak my mind – and immediately face vulgar attacks

Sparta won in Pilsen after eleven years and ended the opponent’s streak of 35 meetings without defeat. We can discuss that Viktoria was not in optimal form, that fatigue accumulated and therefore did not perform as usual for her. But above all, Sparta consistently went after the goal.

There is talk of a change in formation, with which Sparta caught the opponent by surprise. That is, for three defenders, either in the 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 system. But above all, the change occurred in the heads, Letenští believed that they could be successful even against the league leader on his ground. Coach Priske explained how, after the debacle in the derby, they carefully prepared for changes, what they tried out during the break. Some will argue why they didn’t do it earlier. I don’t know, I’m not in the cabin. But the rule still applies – better late than never.

It was all about Sparta. If she didn’t win, she would almost certainly be ineligible to even think about fighting for the title. This way, she still has some options, although it is still very difficult for her, because she is chasing two teams, Slavia is also ahead of her. However, she helped herself mentally.

The goal came at the worst moment for the home team – in the 82nd minute, when there is not much time left for an equalizer or even a turn. And after the standard, which is otherwise a great Pilsen weapon. That shouldn’t have happened to Viktorka, it was a mistake. The blow came out of nowhere.

I admit that Pilsen has a much more demanding program in the fall, fatigue sets in, and health problems multiply. Someone calculated that the home team had ten duels more than the visitors. But Viktorka wanted to go to the Champions League, she wants to play these matches, she wants to become visible in Europe and possibly sell a player. It’s her choice, you can’t make excuses for it.

It is not only for me that it is very difficult to comment on the Chorý case, whether his foul was intentional or not. I, Franta Straka, Ivan Hašek will give my opinion, we immediately face attacks, sometimes even quite vulgar ones. But we didn’t do anything wrong, we just said what we thought.

In the case of Choré, VAR failed miserably. After all, there are people who are responsible and are paid for it! They should have asked the referee to come and have a look, then he would have given some kind of verdict and it would have been done. The commission would either support him or punish the referee for a bad judgement. It would be after discussions.

Something else happened in the match between Slavia and Baník. I don’t know exactly what the methodology is for using VAR, again I’m just saying – paid people sit with him. However, solving a foul in the half, if there is no potential expulsion, probably does not fall into it. And the goal was scored after sixteen seconds, when several passes and fights took place. The referee should have stopped the game immediately, that didn’t happen and I wouldn’t discuss it anymore.
Otherwise, it’s always round and round.

Milan Petržela is the new record holder in the number of league games, he reached an incredible number of 465. I remember him when he came to Jablonec on loan as a youngster, he was a bit overconfident, he thought he owned the world. But then he showed what kind of player he is, where he moved in his career, up to the German engagement and the national team.

What is admirable about him is that he set the record as an offensive player. It’s something else with a defender, when he can build on experience and reading the game. I myself have over 400 matches with the German Bundesliga. But Milan, as an attacking type, had to maintain his speed, agility, he still had to be something interesting in order to get priority over the younger wolves. At the same time, he was constantly getting kicked by opponents, it is almost impossible to believe that he avoided injury.

His record has a great legacy in that it shows how the Czech league is not in vain, and then serves as an example and idol for the youth. It is a challenge for them to surpass him, just as Jarda Šilhavý was a challenge for Milan, who held the record in front of him and there was a belief that no one could surpass him. In addition, he will increase it with each subsequent match, and I believe that he will even surpass the 500 mark.

After the victory of České Budějovice over Brno, the surprising coach Jiří Lerch declared that they returned to what worked under David Horejš. I don’t know what he meant by that, how it was trained under the sacked Jožka Weber. If it is about emphasizing the basic values, i.e. combativeness and discipline, or did he mean something else.

For me, Budějovice is a club that needs peace in order to be able to fulfill its purpose: training excellent players who can enrich the best Czech clubs and the national team. Just remember the names Poborský, Němec, Sivok, Lafata, Vácha, Vozábal, Lengyel, before them Straka, Drahokoupil and others. For that, the coach needs to be able to do his job, while someone is always talking to him. And that there are always many who claim this right. When he is calm, Budějovice will be a traditional worthy participant in the top competition.