About the budget for the next season
“Cleaned up by the costs of transfers and youth, we plan to budget the club’s expenses at a level exceeding 130 million crowns. It was essential, and we said it with Honza Nezmar as the new general manager, that as majority shareholders my wife and I would not insist on a positive balance of the transfer policy in the first two seasons. Most of the time, clubs want to sell for more than what they spend on signings, which we will not ask for. In other words, if we manage to sell well, we are ready to invest all the money back into buying new players. If we were to add these items, the budget would increase by tens of millions of crowns, but it is always a current decision and I consider it an investment, not an operating expense.”
“Certainly our priority is to maximize the number of the club’s core players in the squad. Of course, I can’t completely rule out that we will never have players here on loan, because in certain situations and under certain circumstances it is the only possible and, frankly, the right choice. The club will certainly not need to get rid of its best players every six months or year. Of course, in some situations it is unsustainable, but we will do our best to make this club very successful and, on the contrary, a destination that players want to come to, not a destination that they want to leave.”
“At the first meeting with Mr. Karl, when Honza Nezmar and I arrived there, Mr. Karl grilled Honza in a very funny way about the fact that Honza went to AC Milan alone to score, Slovan could have been in the Champions League, but he didn’t score a goal. I know it’s presumptuous for a club currently in seventh place to say such a thing, but based on a combination of Honzo’s historic debt, some ambition of mine and our love for the Champions League anthem, the Champions League jingle should be played here one day.”
Listen to the answers of the new majority shareholder Ondřej Kania to the fans’ questions #FCSL:
— FC Slovan Liberec (@FCSlovanLiberec) April 4, 2024
About the planned rebranding
“In general, it follows from our analysis and strategy that some minimal refresh is needed. For purely practical reasons – for various partnerships and new communication platforms to make the logo work better. We are convinced of that. I understand that football and football clubs are seen as something that has been attended by generations of the same family and the relationship with the brand is significant. However, if we really want Slovan to be successful, we have to help a little to make the club more attractive for sponsors and revive merchandising as well.”
About the threat of Ještěd disappearing from the club logo
“The issue of a purely Ještěd transmitter in the club’s logo is much more complicated than I originally thought. Our analysis revealed that the club had a contract with the architect’s heirs, who still hold the rights, until April 2019. The contract was terminated, even though it was for a fee of one thousand crowns per year. Which in hindsight, if our information is correct, is pointless. At the moment, we are in a situation where administrative proceedings or possibly legal disputes are underway, the result of which may indeed be a situation where the club will be forced to remove the Ještěd transmitter from its logo everywhere.”
About the specificity of the Czech football environment in negative ways
“There are a number of people I don’t compare myself to who have achieved great things in life and if you asked them afterwards if they would do it again, they would say no. Ignorance and lack of experience is our greatest weapon. I consider it to our advantage. I must say that it is of course a complicated subject. We’ll see. There are some things that seem strange to me both in this season and in recent times. I can promise that we will definitely never kiss anyone’s ring, we will never bow down to anyone, either out of fear or any other emotion. If we see that something is happening, that someone is putting some kind of inadequate pressure on us that is over the edge, we certainly don’t keep it to ourselves. I think this is needed. But I think that compared to what was here x years ago, we are completely different. It can be seen in everything. However, progress must continue.”
About visiting matches at Sparta, of which he is a fan
“Only if Slovan plays there, which I’m really looking forward to, and if Sparta plays in the Champions League, which I sincerely wish for them, as well as Slavia. I wish success in Europe to all Czech clubs, because in the end it helps everyone else tremendously. The fans don’t appreciate this, which is logical, they shouldn’t, but we who manage and own the clubs should. If Sparta plays in Europe, I’ll be happy to go there. I have to say that my big motivation is to come to Sparta among the people and win there. I probably don’t need more motivation.”
Invitation to the first match in the new era with Slovácko
“I would like to ask everyone to come on Saturday. I hope it works out because it would be awkward to start with a loss. Of course we all see and feel that from fourth to tenth place it is very confusing, all teams are very inconsistent. Slovan is in a situation where he won in Pilsen in a phenomenal way. And with all due respect to Slovácko – you can see regression in him. I think we should have a chance and the boys should be motivated enough to want to play great football and get a great result. I think that the worst lot is behind us, even though Ostrava is waiting for us, and it is quite realistic to place at least in seventh place.”
