Czech Republic
Wednesday, 04 Jun 2008 00:00
Czech fans hoping to erase painful memories of 2004 semi-final defeat
The Czech Republic have the ability and the players to go all the way, as demonstrated by topping their qualification group. However, there were signs of a troubling inconsistency and sluggishness in recent performances which does not bode well for their chances.
Group C fixtures
Switzerland v
Czech Republic
Basle, June 7th 17:00 BST
Live on BBC1
Czech Republic v Portugal
Geneva, June 11th 17:00 BST
Live on ITV1
Turkey v
Czech Republic
Geneva, June 15th 19:45 BST
Live on ITV1
European Championship history
Since the split from Slovakia, the Czech Republic have been a major player on the European scene, reaching the semi-finals in 2004 and finishing as losing finalists to an Oliver Bierhoff-inspired Germany at Euro 96.
However, at Euro 2000 they were eliminated in the group stage, winning only one match.
The man in charge
Karel Bruckner has been in charge of the national team since 2002, leading them to the semi-finals four years ago.
He almost resigned during the qualifying campaign after a 2-1 defeat to Germany in Prague - not because of the result but the resulting scandal involving five players (including Tomas Rosicky and Tomas Ujfalusi) and six alleged prostitutes.
Bruckner plans to retire after the finals, having been in coaching for 34 years.
Team forte
The Czech team has a number of quality individuals who, on their day, can provide the magic spark in front of goal to beat any team in the world.
They also have one of the world's best goalkeepers, Petr Cech, who is a formidable barrier for any opposition striker to beat.
Achilles heel
Bruckner readily acknowledges the importance of Rosicky to the Czech Republic's chances, so his absence from the tournament due to injury is a massive blow to the team's chances.
The retirement of Pavel Nedved and other veterans has put a lot of pressure on the younger generation to step up. If they can do so, the Czechs may have a chance.
Player to watch
Jaroslav Plasil will need to build on the promise of his younger years to bring the creativity in midfield that the team will miss due to Rosicky's injury problems.
Up front, Jan Koller and Milan Baros will hope to renew their prolific partnership, but the rising star is undoubtedly Martin Fenin. His performances in the Under-20 World Cup in 2007 earned him a senior call-up and a £3.5 million move to Eintracht Frankfurt but this could be his breakout tournament.
Chances of victory
It is difficult to talk about the Czech Republic as potential winners, hampered as they are by a lack of creativity in the centre - Rosicky's injury woes have severely hampered the team's chances in that regard.
However, the Czechs managed to maul Germany in their own back yard late in the qualifying campaign, without the aforementioned Rosicky. The star of the show that night was Plasil, so if he can conquer the demon of inconsistency then the likes of Baros, Koller and the emerging Fenin could well surprise a lot of opposition defenders.
The perennial dark horses.
Squad
Goalkeepers
1 Petr Cech
16 Jaromir Blazek
23 Daniel Zitka
Defenders
2 Zdenek Grygera
6 Marek Jankulovski
12 Zdenek Pospech
13 Michal Kadlec
21 Tomas Ujfalusi
22 David Rozehnal
Midfielders
3 Jan Polak
4 Tomas Galasek
5 Radoslav Kovac
14 David Jarolim
17 Marek Matejovsky
18 Tomas Sivok
19 Rudolf Skacel
20 Jaroslav Plasil
Forwards
7 Libor Sionko
8 Martin Fenin
9 Jan Koller
10 Vaclav Sverkos
11 Stanislav Vlcek
15 Milan Baros