Pudil looks forward to a belated farewell: Maybe it will catch up with me again. Žižkov will also light up the stars from England

Will you play for both teams?

Last year I played all the time for Real, so I will start for Sheffield on Saturday. And depending on the course of the match, I might change the jersey. I am already looking forward to it and I would be happy if at least a thousand people came to Žižkov and a good amount was collected for charity.

How complicated is it to organize a farewell on the route Sheffield-⁠Prague?

It’s not exactly cheap and it’s stressful to get it right. I thank the people from Viktorka, for example the chairman of the board, Milan Richter, lent us the stadium for more or less nothing. A few weeks ago I went to see Žižkov, the grass is fantastic there. The people who bought a place in the team also helped us a lot. We already did it this way last year and this model has proven itself.

Thirteen of us are going straight from Sheffield, we booked a bus to London. Two guys will join us at Luton airport and others will come to Prague from Belgium or Switzerland. We will be there on Friday evening, on Saturday morning I will go to watch Viktorka’s match in the ČFL against Pardubice B and then it will be time for our match.

Will you be nostalgic?

She attacked me already two years ago, when I played the last game of my career. For Viktorka in the asylum in Prosek, where I started as a boy in the ČKD Kompresory team. The circle closed. I was a bit taken aback and there were tears. I’m sorry that I couldn’t say goodbye earlier due to the coronavirus restrictions. But last year in England it was already pleasant and now we will have a revenge. Maybe it will rub off on me again in that company. The boys from Sheffield will arrive, as well as hockey players from the national team: Pinc, Pavelec, Tlustý… I really appreciate everyone who accepted the invitation. After the match, we’ll have a few beers and it’ll be fine.

Did you lure the fighter from Ostrov to Czech beer?

They were the ones who, right after last year’s match with Real, came up with the idea that a rematch should be played in Prague. There will be a lot of interesting players coming through Sheffield: our captain Glenn Loovens, Ross Wallace, Almen Abdi, Miguel Llera, Lee Peacock… I didn’t have to persuade anyone, the guys made me very happy.

Are you also happy with the ninth league in Hallam, where you have completed your first season?

It’s nice that I can keep in shape and watch my optimal weight. After the end of Žižkov, I had a break for a few months, because I spent the last two years of my career in the Czech Republic and did not have as much time for my family. But I soon started to miss football.

So how did you come to Hallam, the second oldest club in the world from the western edge of Sheffield?

When I took my son to school once, I met a gentleman there, a Sheffield fan. He is eventually revealed to be the owner of Hallam. We sat down and made a fair deal. Every time a few days before the game I write if I’m free and I go for it. The Ninth League is more than enough for me, plus our Sandygate is the oldest stadium in the world.

Even after your career, your life revolves around football, you work as a TV expert and write glosses for Sport.cz every week. Is this how you imagined it?

I enjoy it very much. I have played football all my life and I know something about it. I also work for a community program in Sheffield Wednesday, coaching children every afternoon. It fulfills me and I am thinking of trying to open a smaller football academy. But only after the farewell. Hope everyone likes it.