Kozel on Liberec Departure – iRni

For years you played for Slavia, but then you trained Prague Dukla for several years. Where does it pull you more?
I am very close to both clubs. I played in Slavia for a long time and I started my coaching career, but it has been a long time. I also created a relationship at Dukla, I spent over six years there. I remember the best club as Dukla, only in the best. My football life was influenced by both clubs and I am grateful for it.

Listen to football coach Luboš Kozl in the show Na Place

And your heart is what?
Currently Jablonec. With coaching life you will replace several places and the closest to you is the place where you are.

After a career in Slavia, who ended up very young at the age of 32, he was thinking about being a coach for a long time. When did you do a coaching license?
I think I always had talents to learn and similar activities. I have never been a big football talent, I came from the village and at the age of 18 I played a regional championship. During the engagement in Benešov I got into the viewfinder of larger clubs and by transferring to Slavia I began to think that I could make a living with football.

In addition, I was finishing the Faculty of Education, so I was rather aimed at teaching and playing football somewhere. I ended the gaming career because of my knee problems when I underwent surgery of crushed ligaments on both legs. Over time, I knew that the gaming career would not be long and the pain limited me.

I was actually directed by Jan Říčka, who is currently working for Victoria Plzeň, and when I had the opportunity to train, I listened to it and I did an assistant B-team.

On the set

Czech actors and enthusiastic sports fans David Novotný, Ladislav Hampl and Pavel Nečas talk to guests mainly from the sports environment. Listen every Wednesday from 10.00 at Radiožurnál Sport or on the server iRozhlas.

This year Slavia won the title of Chance League in a really clear way. What do you say? Did you actually be happy?
This year it was really deserved, the lead was clear. They did not celebrate the title for three years, and they wanted to get him very much to see in Europe – the league had favored over the cups many times. But I would not solve Slavia more than our season, which we ended a little sad. In the last match we did not play Europe, but otherwise it was a good season.

How do you perceive the current system, when the league is divided into the superstructure after the end of the regular season?
I know there are many different opinions, but there are few games today. We are still trying to have more matches, one of the reasons is that there is a lot of money in football. I agree with the superstructure, I think that 36 matches a year can do and I respect it.

But the question is how the fancy system can be as close as possible. If there is a little play at the end, it is only good for fans. The one who does not work will be criticized and the one who will help with the superstructure will certainly not frighten. For example, this year it helped us significantly.

Jablonec finally finished fifth. How do you remember the dramatic match with Slavia, when you turned the score from 0: 2 to 3: 2? There were various speculations as to whether it was agreed, but for example our expert Pavel Horváth denied it and talked about nonsense. What was the match?
I reject any agreement and the like. Slavia had a certain title, evaluated that they could give some players rest and did not play in our strongest line -up. But such matches are full in the season, I think of Olomouc, which saved the players for the league cup. If you score three goals in the last ten minutes, it looks in any way, but for me it was one of the best career experiences. We appreciate the winnings.

Do you regret that you did not reach a single point in participation in the European Cups? Will you reveal how you felt in the cabin after the end of the season?
We mainly focused on reaching the first six. When there was an opportunity to be the fifth, we certainly wanted to a place higher, because there was a possibility that even fifth place would guarantee advance to Europe. Unfortunately, I have to admit that in the final of the cup we cheered Sparta, because Sigma win would not help us.

But Sparta absolutely couldn’t do it and we were very disappointed. But in the league we met our goal, we were able to win on Baník and Sparta. During the superstructure we withdrew the twelve -point lead of the teams ahead of us, but we did not manage the last round in Pilsen.

You worked in Liberec before engagement in Jablonec. Immediately after jumping to Jablonec, you also made a better result than your rival. How was your departure?
The contract ended. I was there for three years and during the last season there was a change of owner. Mr. Ludvík Karl in the club worked for almost thirty years as the main owner and with the change came new ideas of the future that one must respect.

Although I had the opportunity to stay – if we played the location in the first six, ie one of the conditions, the contract would be extended by a year. I was sorry that the owners wanted to make the changes right away, and they are doing better when the team is not so successful. We felt they didn’t stand behind me in Liberec. We lacked a single point with all the first six, but we should have won it ourselves. I respected the end of the contract, but the aftertaste remained throughout the implementation team.

You left Liberec in May and already in June as a new coach, Jablonec introduced you. Can you admit that you felt a desire for satisfaction? Have you ever said that they got rid of you in Liberec and then almost did the European Cups next to the European Cups?
Satisfaction is a strong word, but I felt something like that after the first match in Liberec, where we won with Jablonec 5: 0. This has never happened in history and it was an experience. The fact that we ended up in front of Liberec is nice, but we have confidently looked at the teams ahead.

The Court of Appeal confirmed Miroslav Pelt for manipulation of sports subsidies five and a half years in prison. Pelta, the owner of Jablonec, is known to breathe for football and just for Jablonec to refer to the impossible. What will happen to Jablonec during his prison?
I guess I don’t have such competences to comment on such problems, moreover. It is a big intervention in the functioning of the club, but there is some time in prison. Mr. Pelta is doing a lot now to keep the club with the same ambitions we had this year.

What is the magic of a successful coach?
I think the coach must be immediate, but at the same time communicative. The journey of each coach to success is different, there is no instructions that would apply to everyone. I always try to communicate with the players, were fair to them, and I want players to believe what I say. The coach should look into the eyes, whether he has a worse or better time.

Are you going with your players?
Now at least, but when I started, so because of the age difference yes. I used to train the players I still played with, so it was clear there. Now the difference between me and the player 20 to 30 years.

How did the cooperation of Luboš Kozl work with Miroslav Pelta? Where did his football career start? What was the engagement in Hungary? How to deal with players during the outflow of emotions? Listen to the whole interview of Radiožurnál Sport with Luboš Kozl, coach Jablonec.

Pavel Nečas, Rej

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