Groundhopping24

Those that know me well (or even just generally) will know that I'm an avid Football Manager fan, having played the game in pretty much every iteration (functioning laptop permitting) since the mid 2010s. It's usually the first thing I fire up after a day at work, or during a quiet weekend. There are times the game has inevitably angered me, but overall it has been a constant. In an indirect way, it led me to where I am now, having managed Sigma Olomouc on FM20 during the pandemic. I was self-isolating at home in Glasgow, and managing Sigma got me through it. We weren't even massively successful, and I actually left for Dundee United before the save petered out. But I started taking a slight interest in Czech football, which, a long way after Covid in 2022, allowed a job advert in Brno to catch my eye. I applied, got the job, and the rest is history. Now as I prepare to make the move to Viseu in Portugal, I could probably say the same about this particular job. After all, t...

(Stadion Pasienky - former home of Inter Bratislava) A couple of months ago, I took a look back at the first season of football in the Czech Republic as an independent nation, following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, and where those sides are now . It was a mixed bag, with mainstays like Slovan Liberec, Banik Ostrava and the two big dogs of Prague experiencing a relatively smooth three decades. The same couldn’t be said for the likes of Dukla Praha, Zbrojovka Brno, and many others for whom Czech football has been a cruel mistress. That said, what about the other side of the border? Have things been as tumultuous for those participating in the first independent Slovak league of 1993/94? Well, let’s dive straight in and find out, shall we? Before diving in, however, it should be noted that the split has been a regular fixture in Slovak football since its maiden season, with two groups of six closing proceedings. Essentially, the format was as it currently is today, which makes things...

Following on from last week's attempted four-game weekend in Brno, of which only 50% had been completed, Saturday at least brought with it a chance to get a couple of games in on Saturday, both within the city limits. I had mixed levels of excitement for each game given the form of Zbrojovka, but I attended in hope rather than expectation.  The Good: Tatran Bohunice 2-2 Blansko The wonderful thing about football in the Czech Republic is that, particularly in and around the major cities, you can easily get to a couple of games in a day. In this case, the schedule gave me the chance to return to Tatran Bohunice in the South West of the city, as they faced Blansko. As is often the case at Bohunice, the game kicked off at 10.15, meaning a slightly earlier start than usual was required. At this point in my Czech life, I'm more used to the earlier kick-offs. Tatran's ground is undoubtedly one of the most unique in the division, if not the country. The pitch is surrounded by an in...