Daily Franta for a better day. Daily Franta for a better day. The first thing Lyon fans found out about the new signing for nearly ten million euros was the identity of her cat. When, after the transfer announcement, they flocked to Pavel Šulec’s Instagram profile, they were greeted in the stories by the cat Franta, whom the Czech representative, together with his girlfriend Natali, had once adopted from the street.
Every other day, another photo was added. And more. After a win, after a loss, after a draw. No matter what happened, Franta was at his place with iron regularity and wished everyone a better day. Even after a few weeks of the season, part of the fans didn’t really know what position Pavel Šulc actually plays for and what exactly he has to help the club with. But everyone knew whose moment was reliably waiting for them in stories.
A few months later, all of Lyon no longer knows Franta, but also his mistress. And he knows that he can be relied on for many other things as well. We don’t even have to wear rose-colored glasses with the Czech tricolor to be able to say that Pavel Šulec has become a star in recent weeks that the entire Olympique has fallen in love with.
So much so that when French President Emmanuel Macron appeared at the Davos summit wearing aviator goggles to protect a red eye a few days ago, Lyon fans’ accounts were flooded with “Everyone wants to be like Schultz” memes. Stylish glasses and a mullet on his head belong to the native of Karlovy Vary just like the cat Franta. If the Élysée Palace starts flooding the web with pet photos anytime soon, we know exactly where it got its inspiration.
After all, you can’t avoid Šulc lately. Front page of L’Équipe. A great goal that took football Europe by storm. Praise from demanding coach Paul Fonseca and Lyon’s untouchable captain Corentino Tolisso. And also a comparison to Thomas Müller. If Pavel Šulec’s shares could be bought, it would now be for a record amount. Luckily for him, Olympique, which was up to its ears in debt, managed to do it in time.
Price decides
Throwing the defender. Klička to the goalkeeper. Sweeping the gallows from an angle as sharp as a pencil in a responsible student’s pencil case. The goal, which the Czech representative recently contributed to the home win over Brest, was almost not Šulc’s. We cannot know for sure, but Pavel Šulc from the beginning of this season would probably prefer to look for one of his free teammates with a pass into the void in a similar position. Like Endrick, Real’s prodigy with a price tag higher than the rest of the attack combined.
It is even more complicated to imagine how Pavel Šulc would handle a similar chance from February 2022. The player, who scored three goals in nine minutes on the pitch in a draw at Sparta, was criticized by coach Bílek and the fans.
He proved to himself and everyone else that he can score goals there, under the guidance of the popular coach David Horejš, whom he had already met during his engagement in České Budějovice. As in the following two seasons in Pilsen, this time already as a key player. With a record of 42 competitive goals in two years, it was clear that going abroad was on the table.
The transfer to Lyon, which took place in the summer for 10 million euros including bonuses, can only be described as a rather unexpected scenario even in retrospect. We could find many reasons. For example, the historical one: Czech footballers and Ligue 1, it’s not a very proven combination. When someone went to France once in a while, it was more defensive players, from Jaroslav Plašil to Tomáš Koubek.
