He studied under Professor Miroslav Koubek, the current coach of the national team, then he himself was put in charge of a class full of young rascals, which he is supposed to advance to the university level. So far, Jan Trousil is visibly moving forward in Pardubice, gaining a reputation as a coach. “I always went step by step, already as a player,” he simplified his journey in an interview for the Upside Down League. Annual iSport Premium at a discounted price >>>
It was a theme, wasn’t it. When Miroslav Koubek finished his memorable engagement in Pilsen, the name of Jan Trousil, the bard’s assistant, was also in play. But he himself did not feel the shift, moreover, the big club quickly focused attention on the more seasoned Martin Hyský. “I didn’t think at all that I would be able to take over such a club at that moment,” recalls Jan Trousil at the beginning of autumn last year.
Why not? It was said that you could be Miroslava Koubek’s crown prince.
“Already at the beginning, we talked about Mr. Koubek going there for a year, that he would be a bridging coach, and I had the same idea as an assistant. We were in Viktorka for a long time, but in order for a person to take over a team like this, to train it, he has to go through a smaller club, where he can verify that his things work. From the beginning, I told Mr. Šádek that I don’t have such thoughts, that I will need a gradual step, to make sure that I really have what it takes.”
Are you so self-critical of yourself?
“If you do your job well, big clubs will find you. I know what abilities I have, opportunities that I didn’t have at that time in Pilsen. I had a similar situation as a player, I had to get into the league gradually. In Pilsen, there are representatives, big egos, the role of the head coach is terribly difficult. You must first surround yourself with people who will respect your tactics, system, be loyal to you, attached to you.”
Is that why you have Tomáš Polách?
“When I finished in Pilsen, I had two phone calls with offers right away. But I knew that before I took one, before I even talked to those people, I approached Tom, my football brother. I asked him if he would go with me if I got a league offer. At that moment, I knew that I had a person I could trust one hundred percent.”
But you already had experience. Was it difficult to manage the Vyškov international project?
“At the age of forty, I transferred to Vyškov, there was the third league. After the autumn, we had enough points and they offered me to be a playing coach. It was a smooth transition, but I quickly found out that it was not possible to combine it. We did it at a low cost, we got into the second league, but there was a threat that we would finish, put a trap on the door. There were no funds.”
However, suddenly a company appeared that wanted to bring foreign players to the Czech Republic.
“They were like Santa Claus. They said they wanted to buy the club and that’s how it all started. We did everything ourselves, it was a huge school.”
Did you have to change your behavior? As a player, you frowned a lot on set.
“It’s hard to be bad at former teammates. (smiles) But I also learned it from the fact that a lot of Africans came to us and called the whole process father. If you yelled at them from the beginning, they wouldn’t have opened up, they wouldn’t have been so good on the field. It was important that we got guys into the league who are now playing an excellent role in it: Ben Kanakimana, Alex Alégué, Momo Tijany, Cheick Souaré. Sometimes I had to yell, but they were so intelligent that they knew why, so I didn’t have to frown so much.”
Did you have to change your behavior because of the current generation of players? Lubricants complain – often justifiably – that it is not very durable.
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