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Menzel

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Everything posted by Menzel

  1. Not exactly. There was a financial crisis in Bohemians in 2005 where the club was saved by the fans, dropping down a few divisions but slowly getting back up to the premier league. During that time FC Střížkov bought the name and the logo, something which has been ruled illegal, but they soldier on regardless. Bohemians fans, busy saving their club, didn't jump ship to it, however. Now the original bohemians have 1905 after their name and are a league above FK Bohemians Prague, they'll meet again in the league if 1905 get relegated as it's unlikely that Bohemians Střížkov would be allowed up due to their stadium. There's of course animosity there, overwhelmingly one-sided towards Střížkov, but most fans of the Klokani are much more concerned with their traditional rivals Slavia, coming from the same area in Prague.
  2. So the big Saturday night game has came and went, on a pretty chilly night in south Moravia. A season-high turnout for Zbrojovka saw 8,200 fans, of which some 500 were away support, converge on stadion Srbská. All in all, it was a relatively easy victory for the visitors, who never really got out of second gear and are now justifiably top of the table. Zbrojovka could never really deal with the wide, passing game that Sparta excel at, Ivorian midfielder Tiémoko Konaté caused the Flinta problems all evening and created a couple of well-worked goals. The breakthrough came on the 13th minute, where a nice one-two split the home defence and allowed Ladislav Krejčí to dispatch an excellent near-post finish. Sparta dominated the first half, restricting Zbrojovka to nothing more than half-chances and were well worth their lead at the break. Any chance for Zbrojovka to get back into the game were dashed before the 60 minute mark - goalkeeper Václav Hladký bundling down Marek Matějovskský in the box, and had to walk as the last man. The penalty was coolly taken care of by Bořek Dočkal to put Sparta 2-0 up. Some ten minutes later and again it was Sparta's dominance on the wing that cost Zbrojovka, the stand-off appraoch allowing miles of space for Sparta's midfield to whip in a low ball finding the unmarked David Lafata to slot home. On the 75th minute Zbrojovka were able to get one back, in what was perhaps a candidate for the club's goal of the season so far. Pavel Košt'ál excellent run from his own half beat several visiting players, and from some 25 yards he opened his body up to lash a shot past the keeper to the cheers of the home faithful. Full time Zrbojovka Brno 1 Sparta Prague 3. There were of course flares (despite everyone being body searched on the way in!) An interesting statistic from the match is that all three of Sparta's goalscorers were playing in the last two European qualifiers for the Czech Republic, hinting at a real rift of class between the two teams. Sparta will of course be up there again this season, looking to defend their league title. Their next Europa League match is another fascinating one, against Slovan Bratislava (who incidentally also have a fan friendship with Zbrojovka). The home side's next game is on Friday, away to Vysočina Jihlava. There is an outside chance I'll be in Jihlava for the week on a work assignment, so if I do end up there I'll take it in. I think it's well worth watching the highlights for Zbrojovka's golazo - you can do so here http://www.synotliga.cz/zapas/5169-bno-spa/videosestrih.html#tabs
  3. Milan Baroš will apparently be starting on the bench tonight for Baník Ostrava at home to second-bottom Vysočina Jihlava. With forty minutes gone in tonight's other game, the infamous Dukla Prague are beating FK Příbram 2-0. Tomorrow's game to look out for is definitely Mladá Boleslav against Viktoria Plzeň - Boleslav are fourth and are fantastic at home and entertaining the league leaders.
  4. I had no idea you were a Czech speaker, nice to hear there's another on these boards. You're right, Zbrojovka is the new incarnation of Boby, you still get a fair few chants around the old team name on matchdays. Interestingly enough, Viktoria and Zbrojovka have a fan friendship going, which I find utterly bizarre for two teams in the same league. I went along to the game which was about 3 weeks ago now if memory serves, and Viktorka away fans ended up mixing in with the Zbrojovaci 'ultras' section. For all my investigations, the friendship seems entirely constructed on a mutual hatred of Sparta/Slavia. Here's a photos from their facebook of the fan display: Would be interested to hear what you were up to in Plzeň for purely nosey purposes. Looking forward to your future contributions!
  5. Jan Rezek's career has sort of gone down the tubes since his stint at Viktoria Plzeň and he's no longer in the side (justifiably). Think he might be playing for some sort of Chinese side the now? Not sure.
  6. Now we're talking! Bohemians are a fascinating wee team in that several businesspeople tried to get them franchised to another part on the outskirts of Prague and they got hauled back pretty much in the same was as St Pauli did, with contributions of fans and the community. The good guys are now Bohemians 1905 and there's still a leagl battle going on with the other side, who sit in the division below, have hee-haw fans and are rightly seen as pariahs. You're right that the Doliček is a cracking stadium, I've yet to see it since the all-seater refurbishment but I plan on going to the Zrbojovka away fixture in November before the winter break. Did erasmus back in 2009 and they were my local team so it would be nice to get back there. The kangaroos are more than comfortable in sixth right now, they've so far been beating the sides they're supposed to and losing to the others, and a good derby win against this year's middling Slavia side. If I get along to it I'll mind and get photos.
  7. I'm sure time will tell once he gets a few more starts. Slovan are usually a half-decent side who can expect a European spot every couple of years. 4th place finish last campaign and they went out in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League. This season they don't seem to get anything working whatsoever, and that lack of ideas could see Luckassen getting more and more starts - most of the squad looks quite young and maybe lacks the experience. Czech league football is very similar to Scotland in fulfilling a journeyman quotient (it's a similar level if you can tenuously equate Celtic most seasons with Viktoria or Sparta say) so there's nothing to say he couldn't forge a career bouncing around the league if he wanted.
  8. As far as I'm aware he's had a couple of starts and a few off the bench for Slovan, their form has seen them only win one in ten though (that was a 6-0 demolition of Baník Ostrava!). Scored the equaliser away to Teplice a couple of months ago at the start of the season. He came off the bench two weeks back when they lost to Zbrojovka, wasn't really getting any service however. Reckon he might be able to do a job in the league, time will tell.
  9. Obviously don't think I'm good enough to blog about this stuff, but thought I would start a wee thread for anyone interested in Czech football, in particular the domestic league. I'll also be writing a wee bit about the fortunes of the Czech national side. Gives me something to do and might also give some folk an idea of the level of the game in far-flung central Europe. Many of my posts will be about Zbrojovka Brno, my local club playing in the Synot Liga, the top level of Czech football. Saturday night sees an interesting game against the hated Sparta Prague, and I'll definitely be trying to cover that. I'd also recommend @Synotliga_EN on twitter which does English-language updates of games. ---- Due to the international break, which was fruitful for the Czech national side with wins over Turkey and Kazakhstan, there was no top league football this weekend. I therefore took the opportunity to travel across the city to take in SK Líšeň against Prostějov in the Moravian-Silesian Football League, the third tier of Czech football alongside the Bohemian Football League. At the end of the season, one team from each gets promoted to the II Liga, the equivalent of the Championship over here. The start of the day saw Líšeň, who by some distance are the "second team" in Brno behind Zbrojovka, lying third-bottom of the league with 7 points from 10 matches, facing a strong Prostějov side, featuring several players with higher level experience, second on goal difference. A half-decent crowd of around 400 saw the encounter. Unfortunately for the home team, they were thoroughly outclassed by a strong visiting side who never looked like giving up their lead, which came on the 9th minute as a nice through-ball resulted in a neat top-corner finish for Lukáš Zelenka, who gave Líšeň problems all afternoon. A defensive error gave Zelenka his second around the 20th minute mark, where a nothing ball was failed to be taken care of by a haphazard-looking defence, allowing the dynamic midfielder to slip in and poke the ball past Bureš into the net. The only significant chance by Líšeň arrived on the half-hour mark, a quickly taken throw was then drilled into the box by David Krška, yet from only a few yards out Jan Sedlák's shot was high and a yard wide of the goal. The chance to seal the encounter, and Zelenka's hat-trick, came minutes later, but the one-on-one was dealt with well by Bureš, forcing an early shot which went wide of the keeper's right hand post. After several reasonably-priced pints provided by the pitchside bar, the second half was a relatively meaningless affair, with the home team coming into the match a lot further, without creating any clear-cut chances and any real threat of scoring. Prostějov, perhaps sensing this, took their feet off the gas and endeavoured to keep as much possession as possible. Their third, perhaps undeserved given the nature of the half, goal, arrived in the 92nd minute. Líšeň, who after for the last ten minutes bizarrely chose to open themselves up to get a goal (why they din't attempt this earlier is a puzzler) failed to deal with a quick break from the visitors on the right flank, leading to a cross which the unmarked Karel Kroupa calmly lifted over the keeper. 3-0 will of course be disappointing to the home team, but perhaps not as much as the manner in which the team played. This being my first time watching Líšeň this season, I can't comment on if this is how the side have been playing in general, but eight losses from eleven is poor form. They will no doubt hope to get something out of Saturday's game away to FC Hlučín, currently 6th of 16 in the table. Highlights of the match are available on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05zc_nmbD48#t=350 Hopefully things can turn around this year for struggling Líšeň, who maintain a nice ground in a leafy part of Brno and are very much a club grounded in the community. A lot of work is necessary if they are to repeat their claim to fame, a memorable run in the Czech Cup 2007-2008 where their defeat of Slavia Prague 4-3 is still one of the greatest upsets in Czech football of the last few decades. If I have time before Saturday, I'll post a preview to the Zbrojovka-Sparta game, as well as other games to look out for in the Synot Liga. If there are any questions I'll try my best to answer them, hope you enjoyed reading and would appreciate comments. Cheers!
  10. Nae chuffed at this. Our biggest vulnerability and other sides know this. Hope this isn't because Milne thinks that we got third and a cup last year that we can just leave the position to chance and not give funds to get a quality LB to plug the gap.
  11. Standard north-east fare here http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/local/aberdeen-student-attacked-by-gull-in-street-1.513209
  12. Good to see the Cameroon Commonwealth Games team supporting the dons tonight
  13. Just like that poor run towards the end of the season has apparently clouded yours. Worth remembering those 'few flashy goals' resulted in points being won for the team.
  14. Unless I'm having a massive WHOOOSH moment, his contract was cancelled, so...
  15. Some guys over at Donstalk are saying that the Arabs have approached Shinnie with an offer as well?
  16. Looks like a couple of promising signings there, both seem to have bags of experience. McInnes, rightly, seems to be prioritising suring up the defence which is a good move IMO. Couple more shrewd signings and that'll probably complete our business for the summer.
  17. Chuffed at this. Club's twitter saying it'll be a two year deal. Very happy tying down a quality defender for next season.
  18. Hope to catch you in Austria next year Eednud!
  19. Sure thing. If you expect it to be a week long party with copious drinking you're absolutely spot-on. Most of the nights outside of when we were at the semis or final was spent in the fan village, which this year took over a 'fan mile' through central Copenhagen and the Fan Cafe, which is open for two weeks for fans if you get your wristband in advance. These places all include things such as fan meetups, performances from the acts (both in this years' and from previous years), quizzes, movie screenings and so on. The whole centre of town was buzzing for it. There's also separate LGBT events each year, this year being a Pride Square near the village which had loads going on. There was even a beach party at the harbour with saunas and all that stuff, not my thing really but my pal had a whale of a time there. The venue itself was hosted on a separate island, but they did well with buses and a river ferry to get everyone in and out. Every night at the cafe there's DJs with the usual Eurovision music and song remixes, the Huset which hosted it was over three floors so there was something going on in each. Ended up meeting Soluna Samay who sung for Denmark in 2012 alongside quite a few participants from this year. Already looking forward to Austria 2015. I'll attach a few photos to give you an idea: Vilija, who was knocked out in SF2, giving a performance on Monday at the fan cafe TwinTwin at the Eurovision Village doing a set on Wednesday Conchita Celebrating after the first semi final and Scott Vernon's hat-trick over United
  20. Just back from Copenhagen. What a week!
  21. But in all seriousness, I really enjoyed Sakis at the 2009 contest, though I'm a bigger fan of the studio version than the live performance. My top five would be: 5. Brainstorm 'My Star' - Latvia 2000 (youtube.com/watch?v=N1y9xhmMSDk) I was eleven and allowed to vote for this song, even though the bassist was wearing a Man United top on stage. Made up for it by Reynars' dancing and bizarre wardrobe outfit. Latvia to this day haven't come close to sending a song of this quality. 4. Telex 'Eurovision' - Belgium 1980 (youtube.com/watch?v=TMfw9k5O94w) Telex apparently tried to attempt to come last with a song satirising the contest. Had a career outside of music circles by being a very good early electronic band. The stunned reaction of the crowd when being awared 10 points by Portugal is brilliant. As is throwing glitter out of his pockets. 3. Teach In 'Ding-A-Dong' - Netherlands 1975 (youtube.com/watch?v=REHS12tsj7c) Awful outfits but very good disco song with a catchy chorus. Sung in English during the brief period between languages rules. One of only a handful of entries that has won the contest from singing in first spot. The Dutch haven't won since, posters that have seen the last ten or so years will understand why. 2. France Gall 'Poupee de cire, poupee de son' - Luxembourg 1965 (youtube.com/watch?v=s5aeeSmkPwQ) Written by that creepy basturt Serge Gainsbourg and has been covered in recent years by Belle & Sebastian and the Arcade Fire. Eurovision aside it's a tremendous song. I wish Luxembourg would come back to the contest. 1. Paul Oscar 'Minn hinsti dans' - Iceland 1997 1997 was the first Eurovision I watched, and despite Iceland's song about a gay man on his deathbed saying he regrets nothing of his life ('My Final Danse') coming a lowly 20th, it's my favourite ever entry. One of the first songs of a 'dancier' nature, one of the first with an openly gay singer (a year before Dana International opened up the contest further for LGBT people) and bizarre but enthralling dance routine, it's both mad and amazing at the same time. Obviously did this because I've been like a kid on Christmas eve before the flight. Anyone sad enough to delve into the weird parts of the internet can probably find updates of the trip on @3urovisionSam. I am aware I am a complete anorak so judge away.
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