Tag: Bilek

Czech Republic manager Michal Bilek recently quit the national team in the middle of the World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign. The football Association has moved in to appoint Josef Pesice as the interim manager until the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign. Czech Republic have been on a very poor run of form in recent years. Despite having a very talented squad that includes the likes of Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech and Arsenal midfielder Thomas Rosicky, there have been unable to make any inroads compared with teams in and around them.

This led to the manager Michal Bilek quitting his job only recently. This left the national team without a manager ahead of crucial qualifying matches against the likes of Italy. Pesice has been appointed as the interim, and he will be hoping to secure the job on a permanent basis. Pesice is not new to the national team job because he has been the assistant to the former manager even in the last match for Bilek – against Italy. Czech Republic lost the match 2-1 after an error from Cech. The Chelsea goalkeeper was quick to acknowledge his error, which led to the goal.

Czech Republic are currently fourth in the table with just nine points. They are four points below the final qualification spots.

“I have asked Josef Pesice to perform the job of head coach for the (qualification) games in Malta and Bulgaria,” said Czech FA head Miroslav Pelta after confirming the appointment. “I had to palm the first ball away, this is my fault. We have to win in other games,” said the Chelsea goalkeeper after the match against Italy. Czech Republic took the lead in the 19th minute through Kozák, but Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini equalised after 51 min. Milan striker Mario Balotelli scored the winner shortly afterwards.

Czech Republic were in danger of losing their coach Michal Bilek after the match against Armenia. The coach said that he would have no other option but to offer his resignation if the Czech Republic were to lose the match. The team came into the crucial World Cup qualifying match against the Armenians on the back of the disappointing 3-0 defeat against Denmark. This has left the hopes of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in tatters. As a result of the defeat, Czech Republic are in the third position of the table. Only the teams finishing in the top two places will have a chance of qualifying.

Italy continue to lead the table after having dropped just two points from the five matches played so far. Bulgaria are realistically the main competitors for Czech Republic. After the 2-0 win against Almeria, Bilek was able to look ahead to the hugely important World Cup qualifying match against Italy in June. Czech Republic have had the fortune of having several world-class players like Pavel Nedvěd, Jan Koller, Tomáš Rosický, and Petr Cech over the years. However, Bilek has said that it is increasingly becoming difficult for the small nation to produce world-class players on a consistent basis.

“It’s true we’ve had several world stars in recent years. But in a small country like the Czech Republic, it’s not possible to constantly produce this type of player. It depends on many factors. But we already have some young players who can become future stars. The Czech national team has proved several times it can recover after failures. We’ve already dropped quite a few points in these qualifiers, but the situation can still be rectified,” said Bilek. Czech Republic made an appearance at the recent Euro 2012, but they were extremely poor in the competition.