Šump up the volume: Heading North to the Beautiful Hill

An average beer, but a lovely place to 'enjoy' it

 With Zbrojovka again playing at home on the Saturday of this weekend once again (Rymarenko ole!), it was down to Sunday to offer me the chance of visiting somewhere new. On this occasion, I opted to take the train north two hours or so to the town of Šumperk, which according to Wikipedia was both industrial and historical in equal measure. For whatever reason, its name on the railway station departure board always stood out to me.

The name itself comes from German origins (Schönberg), roughly translating as 'beautiful hill', which given its location in the Hanušovice Highlands, makes a lot of sense. The football club ply their trade in Divize F, which is the regional fourth tier of the Silesia region, though they switch regional divisions often given their location which could reasonably fit in any one of the three Moravia-Silesia divisions. 

They've also been switching between the fifth and fourth tiers throughout their existence in the Czech system from 1993. They've been solidly fourth tier since promotion in 2016, often finishing clear of relegation danger while not really troubling the top order of whichever regional league they end up in.

For today's fixture, they'd be hosting Valašské Meziříčí (aka Val Mez) who currently occupy 10th place, while Šumperk sit up in 3rd. They've only lost once so far, with that defeat coming on the opening day at Stonava. They've also gone four games without conceding, gaining ten points in the process. That said, a 5-2 win at bottom side Opava B marks one of only two occasions Šumperk have scored more than once this season. Encouragingly, the last match, however, was a 2-0 success at Havířov. 

Meanwhile, the away side have a reasonable home record, yet have only picked up a solitary point on the road at Bilovec. As for the previous meetings between the two sides, oddly enough since their first encounter in 2021, only the away side have been able to win all but one time; a 3-3 draw in 2022. 

Šumperk v Valašské Meziříčí

I set off relatively early compared with last Sunday, taking the 9.21 direct to Šumperk. It was only a couple of hours, which gave me the chance to put more of a dent into Umberto Eco's head spinning novel, The Name of the Rose. I'm surprised I'm managing to stick with it given its relative complexity.

By the time I arrived, it was practically lunch time, so I went into the first place I could find. It just so happened to be an excellent Indian restaurant, where the Mango Chicken was on point. Sadly there wasn't too much else beyond some lovely green parks through which to aimlessly stroll, but I was able to make the time fly before the 3.30 KO.

The stadium was about a ten minute walk from the centre, on the other side of a level crossing in a part of town with not much to offer. Granted there was a temporary fairground next to a petrol station which looked every bit as depressing as it sounds. On arrival at Městský Stadion Šumperk, I was first greeted with a man seemingly putting a trophy in the bin. It transpired he was just emptying its contents, whatever that may have been. For a moment, it felt as if they'd already tired of success having gone unbeaten since the opening day. Warra trophy that is etc...

Anyway, it was 50kc a programme and ticket, and another 40kc for a fairly average beer. Even better was the fact I could drink at the picnic table outside with a pretty decent view of the pitch. Even better than that was the fact the woman at the bar complimented my probably terrible Czech! What a time to be alive.

Not to go all Georgie Thompson on Premier League Years, but the fairground may have been in the stadium backdrop, but the real fun was in the first ten minutes. Tricky winger Michal Guzik caused havoc from the get go for Šumperk, opening the scoring inside two minutes. Around five minutes later, Filip Doležal levelled things from close range, putting Šumperk's impressive clean sheet run to pasture. 

Not much else happened bar a fairly gilt edged chance for either side in the first half. The first of these was from Šumperk, and I put it to you that no better sound exists than a stadium shouting "PIČO" in unison as it flies past the post from close range.

As for the second half, nothing really happened bar the outgoing substitute for the away side calling his manager an idiot (and probably some other Czech swear words I don't know yet). Ultimately it was a fair result with either team enjoying spells of dominance at different points. That said, after such a fun opening ten minutes, it's a shame the game petered out the way it did. It's a point ValMez will be more pleased with, and perhaps a missed opportunity for the home side to close the gap on Bilovec at the top.

Five things you didn't know about Šumperk:

1. Following the expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War, there were discussions of changing the name to something Czech, given that Šumperk is the phonetic equivalent of the German Schonberg. Despite suggestions like Svobodov and Velenov, it remained Šumperk and does so to this day.

A list of the town's former street names under the German occupation

2. Jan Palac is one of Czechoslovakia's most well-known dissidents following his self-immolation against the Soviet occupation aged 20 in 1969. Jan Zajíc followed Palach with a defiant act of self-immolation in Prague soon after, and was a student of the Šumperk Industrial School.

3. The biggest international Blues festival in Central Europe takes places in Šumperk every year - Blues Alive.

4. Some of Czech Republic's (and Central Europe's) most well-known witch trials took place in Šumperk back in the 17th Century - the Northern Moravia witch trials, also known. as Boblig.

5. Known as an industrial town, it's only in recent decades that Šumperk's renowned textile industry was phased out, with silk production ending in 1998, and thread production continuing until 2019. The focus is now on electronics, primarily components for cutting tools.