16 Czechoslovakians #15: Bohemians
After a week’s absence, it was a return to Czech football at the weekend, though it was to be a 2nd visit to the famous Ďolíček – one of Prague’s most charming stadiums. Before it played host to Zbrojovka Brno’s trip to Pardubice back in October, which confusingly was in Prague some 100km away. This time it was to be Bohemians playing host to Zbrojovka.
The last
visit saw a 3-1 win for the away side, and more of the same seemed a tall order
given Bohemians fairly strong start to the season, and by all accounts their
style which is touted as difficult to break down (if you’re not Sparta that is,
who dispatched of them 6-2 the previous week). That said, they were in a bit of
a difficult spell, and Zbrojovka were on the back of a solid performance and win
over local rivals Banik Ostrava.
The day
would begin bright and early with four of us – David, Sam, Fraser and myself – making
the trip east to the capital, with obscure references aplenty throughout the
journey – from Steamed Ham memes to Amy Winehouse’s Czech album ‘Back to
Blansko’. Maybe you had to be there…
We also had company in our compartment in the form of a mother and daughter who insisted on giving us a consstant supplt of sweets. High on sugar, we tried finding somewhere for food and a beer around Náměstí Míru. After an initially expensive beer in one place, we moved onto another place whose name escapes me. Nevertheless, I got to try veal for the first time, served in a beautiful gravy with spinach dumplings. Alongside the dark Kozel, it went down an absolute treat.
We headed
toward the ground and sunk a beer in one of the nearby clubhouses – thankfully
the friendlier one of the two nearest the ground. We’d tried a different one after the game and were roundly
told to do one, which was nice. We met with a fellow English fan of Czech
football, who also happens to run the unofficial English language Bohemians
page. A thoroughly nice chap whose page you should definitely check out, as well as Zbrojovkast obviously.
We got to
the ground with some time to spare and were treated to a pretty decent game. A
goalless first period saw two goals disallowed by VAR for each side – probably
correctly in both cases.
The second half, however, saw two goals from each side not disallowed (also known as allowed), with the hosts scoring first when a low cross was turned in by Erik Prekop. Some lovely work from Jiří Texl allowed Mr Goals himself Kuba Řezníček to keep himself top of the Czech scoring charts, making it 1-1. It finished one each in the capital, with a very pleasant day had all ‘round, barring the Stevenage result which essentially ruined everything. Cheers Boro’…
Who are
ya?
Ever
wondered what the mastermind behind the Panenka pentalty is up to now? Well, Mr
Antonín Panenka is chairman of Bohemians Prague – a club he played 230 times
for from 1967 to 1981. The Green and Whites, or Klokani (kangaroos),
have a long and illustrious history that predates the Panenka by almost a
century.
Formed in
1905, Bohemians’ badge notably includes a kangaroo; a legacy from the club’s
1927 tour of Australia. Two kangaroos were given to the club, which they
donated to Prague Zoo.
Interestingly,
1927 saw the club change name to appeal to the Australians who probably
wouldn’t have known where Vršovice is. They settled on Bohemians, and the rest
as they say is history. It also wouldn’t have happened this way if Slavia
Prague or Viktoria Žižkov had accepted the invitation.
They were
founded as AFK Vršovice, playing at the top tier between 1925 and 1935. The
next forty years or so would involve a fluctuation between the divisions,
before a 22 year period in the top flight from 1973 to 1995. This period saw
the club’s greatest success, winning the Czechoslovak First League in 1983 and
reaching the UEFA Cup semi-finals.
The more
recent period since 1995 has seen a lot of fluctuation between leagues once
again, with 2005 seeing relegation from the 2nd tier. Due to
financial issues, their results from this season were expunged, meaning they
had to fight their way out of the third tier the following season. Despite
finishing 4th, they managed to do so by buying SC Xaverov’s league
place.
They
returned to the top tier on a couple of occasions, but relegation would usually
follow somewhere down the line. They won promotion in 2014 and have remained in
the top flight ever since, finishing upper mid-table at best, and surviving at
worst. If this season is anything to go by, however, Bohemians could well be on
the up.
Bohemka have
a reputation as one of few left leaning clubs in Czech Republic – arguably the
only one – but of course things even then are quite complex. Many fans deem
themselves apolitical, with a right-wing element also creeping into the
fanbase. Fans have even been known to fight amongst themselves.
Regardless
of the tumult in the stands, the club is one of many you should look to tick
off your list if you’re ever in the Czech capital. Forget the bright lights of
Sparta or Slavia – this is where the real football fix in Prague is.
Comments
Post a Comment