Winter training friendly - January 2008 - Zlín 2 Dubnica (Slovakia) 2

Winter training friendly in Luhačovice - January 2008

Zlín 2 Dubnica 2

Attendance: 15

Over three years ago, I made the trip to Luhačovice, which is a small spa town in Moravia not too far from Zlín. As it was January, I was desperate for some football because of the winter break, so I was happy enough to sit in the freezing cold weather to watch two teams play in a meaningless training friendly.

I don't remember too much about the game, but I do remember almost no one was there. The local football club played in the 5th tier at the time, and they had excellent facilities for the level. The pitch was rather simple, with a small covered stand, and one small blue stand which looked like it had better days.

The club hosts quite a few winter training friendlies, because of their facilities. This past winter a friendly between Zlín and Trnava in the Tipsport Cup made national news, because of Trnava hooligans. A video can be found here.

April 3rd, 2011 - Čechovice 0 Bělotín 2

April 3rd, 2011

Olomoucký Kraj - 1 A třída, skupina B - 6th tier

Čechovice 0 Bělotín 2

Admission: 20kc

Attendance: 200 (away support of around 10)

A few weeks ago, I made my way to Čechovice, a small village on the outskirts of Prostějov. I usually end up going to one game a year in Čechovice, because it is so easy for me to get to, and the level of play is decent enough.

I was surprised with the size of the crowd, as the hosts aren't playing that well this year, but I suppose the weather had something to do with it. Lots of people were sitting on the benches around the beer stand. Nothing like football and Czech beer.

The pitch was very bumpy, as it had been a long winter, and the play was extremely physical. Both clubs were going at each other really hard, but it was the visitors who came out on top. Last year, they played in the Olomoucký Přebor, which is a 5th tier league, but were relegated.

Facebook page

I've created a facebook page for "Kde je Stadion". I'll be posting information about football in Moravia, but I'm still not 100% sure where I will go with this. As of now, I don't have any real concrete plans. I'll probably post some news about various clubs in Moravia, some pictures from games etc....

The page can be found here, or just search for "Kde je Stadion" on facebook.

How far has football fallen in Prostějov?

Back over 10 years ago, Prostějov had a decent, but old stadium, and a competitive team in the 'higher' divisions. The city even hosted a few Czech Republic international games (non-senior). It really wasn't so long ago that this city was seen as a football town, now those days are over for the time being. It has turned into a basketball and volleyball town, but things may change soon with the possible merger of Kralice na Hané and SK Prostějov. Or there is a possibility of Haná Prostějov climbing the football ladder through promotion, as they currently play in the 7th level of football in this country.

On September 30th, 1997 the Czech Republic U20 side defeated Lithuania U20 in a friendly 2-0. Goals were scored by Jankulovski in the 60th minute and Jarošik in the 67th minute. The Czech Roster on that day featured:

Jindřich Skácel

Erich Brabec

Jan Vorel

Martin Švejnoha

Jan Šimák

Jiří Jarošík

Roman Lengyel

Libor Sionko

Marek Jankulovkski

Petr Smíšek

Martin Raška

Jan Buryán

Petr Papoušek

Jiří Krohmer

Marek Heinz

Quite a few big name players were on the squad that day including Jankulovski (AC Milan), Jarošík (Real Zaragoza), Marek Heinz (played for Galatasary, Nantes), Jan Simak (Mainz), Libor Sionko (played for Rangers, and Copenhagen).

Two years later, the Czech U21's came to Prostějov on August 18, 1999, when they face South Korea U21 in a friendly. A crowd of 1200 (reported by the Czech FA) showed up to watch some future Czech footballing stars lose 4-1. The biggest star on the pitch that day was Park Ji-Sung who has won over 100 caps for South Korea and currently plays for Manchester United. He scored on goal on the day. The only goal for the Czech U21's was scored by Tomáš Došek, who currently plays for FC Brno. The line-up on the day featured:

Jindřich Skácel

Lukáš Došek

Adam Petrouš

Marcel Lička

Roman Lengyel

Radoslav Kováč

Jan Šimák

Tomáš Ujfaluši

Marek Jankulovski

Tomáš Došek

Marek Heinz

Jan Polák

Petr Papoušek

Erich Brabec

Jiří Jarošík

April 2nd, 2011 - Olomoucký Kraj - 1 B třída, skupina A - Haná Prostějov 2 Hustopeče nad Bečvou 1

April 2nd, 2011

Olomoucký Kraj - 1 B třída, skupina A (7th tier)

Haná Prostějov 2 Hustopeče nad Bečvou 1

Attendance: 150 (number reported by a newspaper, closer to 100 I'd say- away support of 4)

Admission: 20kc

Finally, after over a four month winter break Haná was back on the pitch in league play. It is going to be an important three months for them as they close out the season, hoping to gain promotion to the 6th tier.

The visitors on the day were in mid-table, and going into it, I thought it would be a tricky game for Prostějov. As expected, the visitors played a classic counter-attack game. The only thing missing was their build-up in the final third, as they struggled to generate chances on goal. One of the few chances they had actually went into the back of the net (video clip below).

Haná meanwhile seemed to struggle putting anything together. They had a few good plays in the first half, only to be let down by silly mistakes. Thankfully, a 90th minute goal gave them three points, which could prove to be very valuable at the end of the season. They currently sit in first place, one point ahead of Konice "B".

Attendance was reported at 150, but it seemed a little less than that. Most of the people decided to sit and stand on the side of the pitch rather than sitting in the main stand.

March 27th, 2011 - Friendly - Mostkovice 2 SK Prostějov 2

March 27th, 2011

Friendly

Mostkovice (7th tier) 2 SK Prostějov (10th tier) 2

Attendance: 50

Yet another trip to Mostkovice for me last weekend. I haven't had time to get out to many games during the Winter break, so I have to take the chances when I can.

As I have written before, Mostkovice is a village of a few thousand located about 3km from Prostějov. The local football club was relegated last year from the 6th tier to the 7th tier. They started off the season last Autumn poorly, but finished strong. SK Prostějov plays in the lowest tier after reforming last Summer.

Even though they play in the lowest tier, they can compete with some clubs from the 7th tier, as they showed in the friendly against Mostkovice. With their current line-up, they would most certainly get a few wins in the 7th tier. There has been talk of a merger with 5th tier Kralice na Hané, so we shall see what happens over the next few weeks.