NewsMen ANo goals at Ďolíček
Unable to capitalise on almost 20 minutes of numerical advantage against Bohemians
AC Sparta Praha board has relieved Vítězslav Lavička of his coaching duties in the first team. Zdeněk Ščasný was appointed as a new manager until the end of the season and will be introduced to the team and media on Thursday.
The club’s board is not satisfied with fulfilling the goals set before the start of the season, as well as performance on the pitch. After an unsuccessful campaign in the Champions League and elimination from the Europa League, Tuesday’s elimination from the Czech FA Cup is the third unfulfilled goal. Winning the Czech title is in question as well, as Sparta are currently five points behind their opponents.
Vítězslav Lavička became the manager in June 2012, winning three trophies last season. During his time with the club, Sparta played the Europa League’s group stage twice, advancing to the play-off round once.
“I would like to appreciate Vítězslav managed to change our style of play and improved it to a higher level, as well as integrated a number of our young players. Our display in domestic competitions in the last season will be definitely marked as one of the best eras in the club’s modern history,” said the chairman of the board, Daniel Křetínský.
“I would like to say thanks to the playes, team staff, all my colleagues in the club and – of course – the fans for all that we went through. I’m not a coach anymore, but I’m still a Spartan,” Vítězslav Lavička said.
The board expects Zdeněk Ščastný to give the team a new impulse and improve the general performance. His main for the remaining part of the season is to fight for the title.
Zdeněk Ščasný used to both coach and play for Sparta before. In 1998 and 1999 he won the Czech title twice as a coach, in 1984 and 1985 twice as a player.
