It was supposed to be a beauty pageant ending with the fourth title in a row. Star reinforcements returned to Slavia Prague, euphoria reigned in the cabin and the new coach promised a move to the European level. However, reality held up a much harsher mirror. The new four-part documentary series offers viewers an unadorned look into a world where not only points in the table are at stake, but also ridiculous paychecks and biological clocks that cannot be stopped.
At the start of the season, everything seemed lined up to perfection. Sunny days, smiles at training and a feeling of invincibility. Why not, when such names as Kateřina Svitková or goalkeeper Barbora Votíková returned from abroad. The expectations were set clearly – dominance in the league and minimal complications. The coach’s optimism was contagious, and the team seemed on its way to historic success.
But plans are one thing and what’s happening on the pitch is another. Documentaries Linda Kallistová and Tomáš Klein captured the moment when dreams began to collapse like a house of cards. Unexpected losses and hard sobering up came. The players discovered that they were not in for a triumphant march through the season, but an exhausting battle that would test their psyche more than they expected.
Love with the enemy and an empty pocket
The filmmakers were not afraid to open up topics that are preferred to remain silent in the football environment. The viewer thus gets a unique opportunity to look into privacy, which is far removed from the life of the overpaid stars of the men’s league. One of the central motives is the vast difference in financial evaluation.
While men in the same colors decide what car to buy, women often decide how to make ends meet. The documentary shows how one can function in the case of extremely different evaluations, and whether it is even sustainable to engage in sports at a professional level without an adequate background.
Personal dramas enter into it. The series maps the relationship of one of the Slavist players with a successful football player from Sparta. Living together with a partner from a competing camp brings specific situations that no one would deal with in ordinary life, but in the heated environment of Prague they take on a completely new dimension.
When the body says stop
The strongest moments of the documentary are not about goals, but about motherhood. It’s a dilemma that male colleagues will never understand. In the materials, director Linda Kallistová gives a clear example of how unfair the sports environment can be.
“Women’s football has the same field, the same ball, but in many ways the girls have it much harder than the boys. In the series, for example, we follow a player who longs for a baby, but her body and doctors tell her that it does not go together with top sport. This does not happen to men,” said director Linda Kallistová.
They keep sending us to the plate
Despite the growing popularity of women’s football in the world, Czech players still face misunderstanding and stupid comments. The creative producer of ONEPLAY, Erika Hníková, emphasizes that the series has the ambition to change this view and show that soccer players are not just athletes, but women fighting against prejudices.
“Czech women’s football is definitely, indisputably and long-term on the rise,” states Hníková and adds: “In addition to football itself and a unique look behind the scenes, the creators also managed to map the personal lives of the players of Slavia. We will see what prejudices they have to fight against and that, unfortunately, there will still be people who think they should rather be on the sidelines. I am very happy how sensitively and empathetically they are towards everyone depicted the directors approached the situations, and I believe that by being open we can show many women that they are not alone.”
We’re playing, so what
The series does not strive for artificial drama, it bets on authenticity. He alternates humor with physical and psychological pain. Director Tomáš Klein explains that the aim was not only to film a sports medallion, but to probe into the souls of women who do what they love, despite their surroundings.
“We don’t just want to show that girls play great football. We want to show that they play it even though a lot of people keep telling them they don’t. I play football – so what. We alternate authentic moments from inside the team, humor with pain, sports drama with the most intimate moments. We hope to show every viewer – whether they love or despise women’s football – that behind every goal is not only performance, but also the courage to be seen where it’s still a bit out of place in our country, even though women’s football in the West is already breaking records,” concluded Klein.
