INTERVIEW-Czech coach Vrba says fresh blood key to success
ByReuters
Published 26/11/2014 at 15:18 GMT
The Czech Republic's perfect start to Euro 2016 qualifying has been underpinned by previously overlooked domestic league players who are the key to reaching the finals, national team manager Pavel Vrba said on Wednesday.
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The surprising Czechs, who top Group A with 12 points ahead of Iceland on nine and Netherlands with six, made their intent clear with a 2-1 win over the Dutch World Cup semi-finalists in Vrba's first competitive match in charge in September.
The ex-Viktoria Plzen coach, who took over at the start of 2014 after the Czechs failed to reach this year's World Cup in Brazil, put their success down to relying on players who feature regularly for their clubs whether at home or abroad.
"I gave the opportunity to players nobody believed in because they play in the Czech league," the 50-year-old Vrba told Reuters in an interview.
"Both Plzen and Sparta (Prague) have proved that they are able to play against the top teams in European competitions so I showed trust in players who play regularly either abroad or in the Czech league," he said.
Among the players who have blossomed under Vrba's watch are Sparta midfielder Borek Dockal, who bagged three goals in the first three qualifiers, and his team mate David Lafata, who at 33 years old has found renewed vigour leading the Czech attack.
Vrba, who had a brief playing career in the Czech top flight as a defender, continues to rely on ageing maestro Tomas Rosicky, also 33, to pull the strings in midfield.
But future success requires blooding new players who can increasingly take on influential roles for the team, he said.
CLUB REGULARS
What was most important, he added, was that players were playing regularly for their club teams -- a concern for Arsenal's Rosicky and goalkeeper Petr Cech at London rivals Chelsea who have struggled for playing time this season.
"Neither of the two is satisfied with the situation, that is clear," Vrba said. "I know that Tomas probably wants to meet manager (Arsene) Wenger to clear the situation to see what the club plans for him."
"As for Petr, the meeting has already happened, a deal emerged and we will see if it is fulfilled by the management."
Under Vrba, who won two league titles with Plzen who he led to the Champions League group stage for the first time, the Czechs have exceeded all expectations by beating the Dutch, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Iceland in their first four qualifiers.
Vrba said he had been able to bring in players who shared his philosophy for attack-minded football with tough-tackling midfielders who were not afraid to move the ball up the pitch.
While the Czechs will no longer take anybody by surprise, Vrba vowed that they would become even more dangerous as the players continue to gel and gain the confidence that they can grab a spot at the European Championship in France.
"I know that a lot of the national associations were satisfied to have the Czechs in their qualification group, so our situation might be a bit different from what it has been in the past half-a-year of qualification," Vrba said.
"I am glad the team is showing some ethos, some strength and I am convinced that it can achieve more than it is currently showing, that the coherence and team ability is rising with every new game and that this will continue."
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