Going Barefoot: Bosonohy 1-4 Cezara

Being back in the Czech Republic means having access to Czech football again, which you can see as a positive or a negative, depending on your stance on Czech football. I was quite excited at the prospect of seeing new places (and old), and attempting to write blogs on all of them (if possible), as well as those I see in other countries.

I'll probably attend fewer Zbrojovka games, both in terms of the A and B teams, and those that I do cover probably won't be written about. I feel I've covered the club to death since getting to the Czech Republic. I will of course cover any away trips to new grounds, wherever they may be.

The first game back would be a local one in the regional fifth tier (Jihomoravsky Prebor) between Bosonohy and Cezava, who I believe are newly promoted to the fifth tier. Not much info exists on them, apart from an article about the Cezava region, which has auto-translated a few place names within to great amusement.

Names include, but aren't limited to:

• Changeling
• Non-snacker
• Nicole
• Body
• Excited

I also later found that they are a merger between Rajhradice and Blucina, which would explain why they had TJ Rajhradice on the back of their seemingly cobbled together blue shirt/red short combination kits.

As for Bosonohy, their translation is also rather amusingly 'barefoot' - imagine a region in Birmingham called Barefoot and that's basically the English equivalent. I knew very little about the region before the game, but I was looking forward to exploring one of the westernmost parts of Brno.

The ground, the game, and any other business

Having spent the week moving around and trying to tie up any loose ends (or procrastinating), the weekend offered a welcome respite in that I didn't have to feel as guilty about lacking any productivity. Moving to a new place, especially an unfurnished one, is tricky but far from impossible. 

I had a few ideas in mind for trips this weekend, but my finances said otherwise - Prague and Krakow were both considered, but will have to wait for later dates. After all, I am attempting to complete the Czech First League this season, so Dukla Prague awaits for me in December.

For now, this would be the fourth ground ticked off in Jihomoravsky Krajsky Prebor, having already done Dosta Bystrc (I'd be heading back there for Zbrojovka B on Sunday), Svratka Brno, and Moravska Slavia Brno. Completing this division might be a possibility too, given the furthest trip would be to Lednice on the Austrian border.

For today, however, it was Bosonohy for a 5pm kick off.  First I had the small matter of Burton Albion 0-0 Stevenage to 'enjoy' thanks to Sky moving it for no particular reason. It wasn't the worst game I've ever watched, but it's not one that I'll remember.

On seeing that Bosonohy was a two hour walk from my place in Zabrdovice, there was some temptation to head down on foot (not barefoot I should add). The excessive heat warning in place told me it probably wasn't such a wise idea, so I only walked as far as the station before hopping on the 8 toward Osova before taking the 69 bus (grow up) to Hosticka - a mere two minutes from the ground. 

I walked around, trying to find an entrance. I found a couple, but I couldn't find a turnstile on which to pay, so I sheepishly asked a man outside where I could pay in probably abysmal Czech. I understood bits and pieces, and my suspicions were later confirmed when some people came around later on with a box requesting 50kc. 

The ground was certainly what you'd expect at this level, but the backdrop of houses and forestry in Bosonohy made for a superb location to watch football. It doesn't feel like you're watching a game in the second city of a country at all, rather it's as if you've dropped into a village.

The game was worth the 50kc and then some, as Cezava raced into an early lead, just as I'd thought to myself it might be a poor game given the 32 degree heat. How wrong I was, as Cezava raced into a lead in the first minute. Bosonohy proceeded to dominate the first half to no avail, before Cezava made it two in the second half.

Three and four weren't far behind, despite the fact Cezava barely had a sniff - Bosonohy heads just seemed to dropped. Incidentally, barring a half-time kick around, nobody played barefoot, though when the fourth went in, they may have been better off doing so. They did pull one back, but there were to be no stirring comebacks.

The highlight would have to be the Bosonohy substitute opting to sip someone's beer as the fourth went in, as well as dropping my sunglasses on the pitch and relying on the kindness of the guy next to me to ask for them back. I thanked him, explaining my limited Czech, before he asked for a beer in return. 

Jsem učitel, nikdy nemám peníze was my response. In any case, if you never have money, there are worse places to spend an afternoon or evening.

Five things you didn't know about Bosonohy:

1. Chances are, the average reader probably knows nothing about Bosonohy, but did you know the region's name translates as barefoot? Even the German name for the region is Parfuss, which means the same. This was originally after the inhabitants ("those who walk barefoot"), with the region located in a relatively swampy area.

2. Hitler's extraterritorial highway from Wroclaw to Vienna was actually meant to pass through Bosonohy. Construction of the highway began in April 1939, but the economic difficulties faced by Nazi Germany during the war meant construction stopped almost exactly two years later in April 1942.

3. Speaking of roads, Brno Circuit originally started at Bosonohy in the early days, back when the first and only Czechoslovak Grand Prix took place in 1949. There were 400,000 spectators along the 18 mile circuit, with two driver deaths and two spectator deaths marring proceedings significantly. 

4. During the Second World War, a leading Czechoslovak anti-fascist resistance figure, Vojtech Luza hid from the gestapo in the house of Jan and Frantiska Secovy in Bosonohy from 1942 to 1943. Sadly in 1944, Luza was killed on the spot by the Gestapo.

5. The club currently find themselves at a relative high point in their recent history, having gained promotion to the fifth tier back in 2012 as champions of the sixth tier. Their highest finish was in 4th in 2019, though more often than not, the club have found themselves in the lower reaches of the fifth tier without being in any considerable relegation danger.