Czech Republic At Euros 2012 – Another Attempt At Removing The Choker’s Tag

By Sounak Mukherjee
12 years Ago

The Euros are a credible version of a mirage in a football less desert. The fans of football clubs spend three months amongst depressing tales of transfers which, most often than not, just never materialize. The Euros brings relief to these fans by giving themAi??someAi??football ai??i?? European football, it may not be as flamboyant as what the South Americans offer, but it sure is extremely glamorous and unconditionally technical.

Czech Republic Euros’ Success Flashback

Czech Republic, formerly known as Czechoslovakia (a consortium of many nations), packed some punches when they got the better of West Germany in the 1976 Euros, but it was not until 1996, 20 years on, that they rose to the occasion yet again ai??i?? The NA?roA?A?ks are like sleeping giants, lazy yet elegant, promising yet too indolent to deliver, the so-called perpetual underachievers!

Germany, with their talismanic figure, Jurgen Klinsmann, took to the field, with an extended injury list, devoid of key players to take on Czech Republic. The latter was quite confident despite their loss in the league stages, with the who-and-who of world football packing their line-up ai??i?? Unitedai??i??s Poborsky, Pavel Nedved, Patrik Berger and Vladimir Smicer, to name a few. The game was all about how the Czechs defended against a high-flying German team, at least that was the story of the first-half. The first goal in the game came from the penalty spot as Poborsky was brought down by Sammer ai??i?? Patrik Berger delivering from the spot in style. German hot-shot striker Oliver Bierhoff, a big-game player always, smashed home with a header, 1-1. The match rolled on to the Extra-Time with Golden Goal rules. It was Bierhoff, yet again, this time his shot getting deflected towards goal, a calamitous goal-keeping leading to a German revenge.

Euros Records

As Czechoslovakia ai??i?? Champions in 1976

As Czech Republic ai??i?? Runners-Up (1996), Semi-Finalist (2004)

Czech Republic Team News And Strategy

Euros 2012 Profile:

Goalkeepers:Ai??Petr Cech (Chelsea), Jaroslav Drobny (Hamburg), Tomas Grigar (Teplice), Jan Lastuvka (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk).

Defenders:Ai??Theodor Gebre Selassie (Liberec), Roman Hubnik (Hertha Berlin), Michal Kadlec (Bayer Leverkusen), David Limbersky (Viktoria Plzen), Daniel Pudil (Cesena), Frantisek Rajtoral (Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Sivok (Besiktas), Marek Suchy (Spartak Moscow).

Midfielders:Ai??Tomas Hubschman (Shakhtar Donetsk), Petr Jiracek (Wolfsburg), Daniel Kolar (Viktoria Plzen), Milan Petrzela (Viktoria Plzen), Vaclav Pilar (Viktoria Plzen), Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux), Jan Rezek (Anorthosis Famagusta), Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal).

Forwards:Ai??Milan Baros (Galatasaray), David Lafata (Jablonec), Tomas Necid (CSKA Moscow), Tomas Pekhart (Nuremberg).

Coach: Michal BAi??lek

Last Game ai??i?? Republic of Ireland 1 ai??i?? 1 Czech Republic

In the absence of star attacking midfielder Tomas Rosicky, Jaroslav Plasil occupied the important anchor-man role in the middle of the park. The Czechs under Michal Bilek started with an attacking 4-3-3 formation with veteran striker Milan Baros carrying the flag right in front of the attack, with Jiri Stajner and Jan Rezek decorating the frontline along with the former Liverpool man. The East Europeans were adventurous for most parts of the game, Ireland keeper Shay Given denying them quite a few opportunities. In the 50^th minute, it was Milan Baros scoring his 40^th goal for country; a neat pass from Rezek, after he had made a complete mockery of the Ireland defence. Trapattoniai??i??s men defended the entire game before initiating a last ditch attacking effort during the dying minutes of the game ai??i?? which was awarded with a goal from Simon Cox.

What They Fielded:

Cech; Gebreselassie (Rajtoral 66), Sivok, Kadlec, Limbersky; Petrzela (Pilar 66), Plasil, Jiracek (Hubschman 46); Baros (Kolar 59), Stajner (Lafata 59), Rezek..

Game in Highlights:

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Key Players

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Milan Baros:

Eight years back, the Galatasaray man was the Golden Boot winner, now he is 30 years old and almost in theAi??greyAi??of his career as far as club football is concerned. Baros always had a lot of potential but failed to live up to the expectations in club football, though his international record is quite impressive – 41 goals in 88 outings. The Czech strike-force will be led once again by the former Liverpool man; if he can find his feet, the Czechs can turn a few heads in this tournament.

Petr Cech:

Having just recovered from the excessive celebration of a Champions League Final win, Cech is undoubtedly one of the top keepers in World Football. His skull covered helmet and fluorescent shirts are not a sight a striker really enjoys. The Chelsea man has more caps than anybody in the side and is expected to lead ‘from the back’; well, so to speak!

Tomas Necid:

The 22 year-old striker from CSKA Moscow caught the eye some years back when he scored three in a FIFA WC Qualification match. Since then, he has been in and out of the team through injuries, the recent one keeping him out for almost half a year. Now, after coming back, he has been in the radars of top clubs in Europe, being a consistent performer in the Russian League. If fed well, the tall striker (reminds one of Jan Koller) can cause havoc in the opposition defence. He is expected to be among the top young talents to look out for – the club scouts better be impressed!

Captain And Anchor Man -Ai??TomA?A? RosickA?

The Arsenal midfielder has got back his mojo – feeling 29 in terms of football age. Gone are the days of the team when they had excessive creativity and flair, this is a team which depends on hard work and discipline – Rosicky is the only aberration to the former! He is the creative head of the team, yet extremely hard-working and dedicated. The Little Mozart, as he is affectionately called among his fans, needs to call the shots like he did for Arsenal in the two consecutive months he picked up the best player of the month in the league. His game is all about sudden bursts, the ‘drive’ that can change a game on its head. Rosicky is a bit short due to a recent muscle injury – the entire nation will be praying for their captain to get fit and lift them from mediocrity to serious challengers.

Manager Insight

Michal BAi??lek:

After Ivan Hasek’s sacking due to a shocking failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, it has been Michal Bilek all through for the Czechs. A former attacking midfielder, Bilek will make his team play attacking football with an eye at defensive discipline. He will start with the 4-3-3 formation and will rely on his attacking men to slot in more goals than what they concede – Ai??a dangerous approach, yet can be handy too. A former Sparta Prague player and coach has a big task in hand – question remains, like his predecessors – will he deliver or choke on the big stage?

Euros 2012

Group Matches:

Friday, June 8, 2012 vAi??RussiaAi?? (In Wroclaw)
Tuesday, June 12, 2012 vAi??GreeceAi??(In Wroclaw)
Saturday, June 16, 2012 vAi??PolandAi??(In Wroclaw)

Prediction:

Runners-Up of Group Stages, Quarter-Finalists.

Czech Republic Legends Deep-Dive

Pavel Nedved:

The Juventus and Czech legend was one of the most celebrated players to ever wear the international shirt for Czech Republic. A terrific attacking midfielder, capable of scoring long distance screamers and lifting his team with sudden moments of absolute master-stroke. He was the driving force behind the country’s run in to the Euro 96 Finals against Germany. A creative spark in the middle of the park, Nedved was irresistible and a tireless commander in the Czech’ ranks. The team will miss a player like him in this tournament but will hope that their present captain can emulate the feet of this legend!

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Categories: COVER STORY, Euro 2012
Tags: czech republic