The Prague Lions advanced from the four-member group to the play-offs by participating in the quarter-finals, which no Czech club had previously achieved.
Miloš Kočka, club director, team manager and team leader, also comments on current successes in an original interview for Seznam Médium.
What does the Champions League mean for VK Lvi Prague in the role of reigning Czech champion?
It is a very demanding process with a lot of work, worries, emotions – positive and sometimes negative. But all this belongs to top international competitions.
Was it difficult to profile the player squad for the matchup with Europe’s top players?
Thanks to the financial conditions we have, we have been putting together a team for two years. And the effort has crystallized in such a way that we can hopefully be competitive. It’s probably not enough for the very top elite teams, but it is for Belgian Maaseik and Romanian Galati.
An interesting fact was that Czech representatives Adam Bartoš and Josef Polák played in the Maaseik jersey in the UNYP Arena in Prague in the position of rivals in the Belgian club’s jersey. How did you see it?
It was obvious that even the Czech club can torment and defeat the Belgian champion. Adam Bartoš had to substitute twice, we defended him well. Josef Polák made us more angry at times, he defended well, but in the end Maaseik gave way to our performance.
Argentinian coach Juan Manuel Barrial has been leading Lvy Prague for the second season. He replaced Tomáš Pomro, who previously won silver with the team in the extra league. What would you say about this earlier exchange?
Tomáš Pomr finished in second place, but I wouldn’t call it an appeal. It was the decision of the club’s management, its president. Tomáš Pomr is still part of the management and has started doing other work. Barriel took over the team and won the title. Foreign coaches are also in other Czech clubs and apparently fulfill their expectations.
The basic axis of your team consists mainly of the Canadians Schouten and McCarthy, the Cuban Elian Estrada, the Argentine Crer, the Dane Madsen, the German Thiel together with the Czech representatives Jakub Janouch, Milan Moník and Daniel Čech. How does it work?
Foreigners raise the level of the extra league and give Czech players the opportunity to learn something from them. We can’t close the movement of players, that’s how it is in every sport. Prague is an attractive city for foreign volleyball players. Prague is still pulling, that’s true. On the other hand, living in Prague is more expensive and the overall cost of living is higher. Therefore, the demands of the players are higher than, for example, in Karlovy Vary or České Budějovice.
