After an uninspired qualifying campaign that ended with a series of laboured performances, the Czech Republic has bet on the return of no-nonsense coach Ivan Hasek to recharge the squad aiming for a second-straight quarter-final appearance.
Hasek, who captained Czechoslovakia during the 1990 World Cup and led the national team briefly in 2009, took over a squad in January that seemed stuck in the mud without much hope of repeating its surprise run at the last European Championship.
Former national team midfielder and Sparta Prague coach Martin Hasek said the change has improved the mood of what he called an average squad that had stagnated under Jaroslav Silhavy, who stepped down in December.
“The team is of average international quality but there is a good atmosphere in the squad with the new coach,” said Hasek, no relation to Ivan Hasek.
The Czechs face Portugal, Turkey and Georgia in Group F at Euro 2024 and will need to rediscover the bite they lost towards the conclusion of their qualifying campaign when they lost to Albania 3-0 and scraped by the Faroe Islands 1-0 at home.
Coach Hasek must also decide the fate of three important players -- West Ham United’s Vladimir Coufal, Sparta Prague forward Jan Kuchta and Aris defender Jakub Brabec -- who were photographed outside a nightclub two nights before the last qualifying match.
The 60-year-old Hasek omitted them for his first match in charge and the role the players will have this summer is under question, though Coufal will likely regain his place in defence at the tournament starting in June.
One player Hasek will lean on is West Ham midfielder and team captain Tomas Soucek while he will be weighing up calls to hand a greater role to attacking midfielder Antonin Barak, who plies his trade for Fiorentina in Serie A.
Attack has been an area of concern, with the absence of Bayer Leverkusen forward Patrik Schick from the final rounds of the qualifying campaign due to injury contributing to the Czech goal-scoring drought.
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But fresh from winning a Bundesliga title, Schick seems to have shaken off the injury woes that hampered him over the past year and has bagged a number of critical goals for the Europa League finalists since his return.
If the joint-goal scorer from the last tournament can recapture the form highlighted by a stunning strike from midfield against Scotland, the Czechs and their new boss may surprise once again.
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(With inputs from Reuters and AFP)
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