Czech Republic World Cup Blog » World Cup 2006

The Opposition Speaks

WC Bob — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 21:13:33 +0000

How the Czech Republic fare will depend greatly on whether (Jan) Koller recovers. He makes space in which his team-mates can attack. Without him they’ll have to rely on speed.

USA coach Bruce Arena

“Are we ready yet to win a World Cup? I don’t think so, but I think we’re ready to compete with the best countries in the world. We’ve demonstrated that,” the U.S. coach said Wednesday. “My expectations are very similar to 2002. Our goals are to advance. If we can do that, and get to the round of 16, anything can happen.”

Is the Czech Republic Overrated?

WC Bob — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 22:35:40 +0000

Since I am merely a guest blogger until Wendy returns from her much deserved vacation, I can stir up a little trouble, get you all to hate me and then leave for higher ground. With that plan fully in place, I’m ready to tell all the Czech Republic fans out there that your team is not the second best team in the world. FIFA has been telling your otherwise for a long time now, but we all know that those computer generated rankings are not the most accurate.

The Czech Republic is a fine team and probably deserves to be in the top ten, but at this point I challenge any of you to justify the team’s number two ranking. I don’t think you can do it, but go ahead an tell me why I am wrong.

Cech Checks Out OK

WC Bob — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 15:29:18 +0000

It looked a bit gruesome when it happened, but the injury to keeper Petr Cech is not that bad. During Chelsea’s match with Everton, the Czech number one collided with his own teammate William Gallas and went down hard. “I went for the ball and I felt the pain and at first I thought my leg was broken,” Cech was quoted as saying on Chelsea’s official website on Tuesday. “I had quite a big cut on my leg and I had 10 stitches. It was painful but there is nothing serious so it is good news for me. Everyone is positive about it and I think I will be ready for the next game.”

Good news indeed. I don’t know about you, but the next few weeks I will be holding my breath that no one gets injured.

Fulham Interested in Skacel

WC Bob — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 15:48:21 +0000

If manager Cris Coleman has his way, Rudi Skacel might be headed to Fulham next season. Coleman reportedly is interested in acquiring the Czech midfielder, who has been loaned to Hearts this season from Marseille. Skacel has had a very nice year in Scotland, scoring 16 times in 31 matches. In my opinion, a move to the Premiership would be a great thing for Skacel who at 26 years old is really just hitting his prime.

This is the Worst of Baros

WC Bob — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 15:42:58 +0000

Milan Baros might just be his harshest critic. The Aston Villa striker says that this has been his worst season in England despite scoring 12 goals in 26 starts. Baros said: “It’s been frustrating for me because I’ve had some injuries which have held me back. It’s never easy to be out of action because you want to be in the team and making a difference on the pitch.

“Villa fans have definitely not seen the best of Milan Baros this season. Injury hasn’t helped but you’ve also got to bear in mind this is my first season at the club.

“It hasn’t been my best season. I would say it’s been my worst season in England. I will try to do my best in the future and hopefully things will improve.”

The good news for Czech fans is that he has regained his fitness and is coming along nicely just in time for the World Cup.

Baros in Good Form

WC Bob — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 16:46:47 +0000

While our intrepid Czech blogger Wendy takes a very well deserved vacation I’ll fill in with a post about her favorite player Milan Baros. The magical one looked absolutely outstanding today by scoring a double in Aston Villa’s 3-1 win against Birmingham. He’ll have a lot of pressure riding on him this summer, but I think Baros is poised to have an outstanding World Cup. Anyone want to venture a guess as to how many World Cup goals he will score? I think he’s going to end up with five or six.

Czech Team Nickname?

Wendy — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:47:50 +0000

Apparently the only reference to a nickname for the Czech football team is “The Locomotive”.

Let’s hope they perform better than a Skoda.

2006 Czech Republic World Cup Squad

WC Bob — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:01:46 +0000

1 GK CECH Petr – (Chelsea, ENG)
2 DF GRYGERA Zdenek – (Ajax, NED)
3 DF MARES Pavel – (Zenit St Petersburg, RUS)
4 MF GALASEK Tomas – (Ajax, NED)
5 MF KOVAC Radoslav – (Spartak Moscow, RUS)
6 DF JANKULOVSKI Marek – (AC Milan, ITA)
7 MF SMICER Vladimir – (Bordeaux, FRA)
8 MF POBORSKY Karel – (Ceske Budejovice, CZE)
9 FW KOLLER Jan – (Borussia Dortmund, GER)
10 MF ROSICKY Tomas – (Borussia Dortmund, GER)
11 MF NEDVED Pavel – (Juventus, ITA)
12 FW LOKVENC Vratislav – (Austria Salzburg, AUT)
13 DF JIRANEK Martin – (Spartak Moscow, RUS)
14 MF JAROLIM David – (Hamburger SV, GER)
15 FW BAROS Milan – (Aston Villa, ENG)
16 GK BLAZEK Jaromir – (Sparta Prague, CZE)
17 MF STAJNER Jiri – (Hanover 96, GER)
18 FW HEINZ Marek – (Galatasaray, TUR)
19 MF POLAK Jan – (Nuremberg, GER)
20 MF PLASIL Jaroslav – (Monaco, FRA)
21 DF UJFALUSI Tomas – (Fiorentina, ITA)
22 DF ROZEHNAL David – (Paris St-Germain, FRA)
23 GK KINSKY Antonin – (Saturn Moscow Region, RUS)