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SK Slavia Prague

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"Slavia Praha" redirects here. For the women's football team, see SK Slavia Prague (women). For the ice hockey team, see HC Slavia Praha. For the basketball team, see USK Praha. For the rugby team, see RC Slavia Prague.

Slavia Prague
Full nameSportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal a.s.
Nickname(s)Červenobílí
(The Red and Whites)
Sešívaní
(The Stitched)[nb 1]
Slávisté
(The Slavists)
Founded1892; 132 years ago (1892) as ACOS (Akademický cyklistický odbor Slavia)
GroundFortuna Arena
Capacity19,370[1]
OwnerPavel Tykač
PresidentJaroslav Tvrdík
Head coachJindřich Trpišovský
LeagueCzech First League
2023–242nd of 16
Websiteslavia.cz
Current season

Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, pronounced [ˈslaːvɪja ˈpraɦa]), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in the Czech Republic since its independence in 1993.[2]

They play in the Czech First League, the top division in the Czech Republic. They play the Prague derby with Sparta Prague, the most prominent rivalry in Czech football. Slavia has won 21 league titles, 11 Czech cups, and the Mitropa Cup in 1938. The club has won seven league titles since the foundation of the Czech league in 1993. They have also reached the semi-finals of the 1995–96 UEFA Cup and qualified for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time in their history. In 2019, Slavia reached the quarter-finals of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League and also qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League group stage for the second time in their history. They once again reached the Europa League quarter-finals in 2020–21. In the title-winning 2020–21 Czech First League season the team completed an entire season undefeated and set a Czech record for the longest top-flight unbeaten league run at 54 games between 2020 and 2021.[3]

In addition to their men's squad, Slavia Prague has reserve, youth, and women's teams.

History

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Slavia Prague was founded on 2 November 1892[nb 2] by medicine students in Vinohrady, Prague, as a sport club aimed at increasing sport activity among students. The club initially focused on cycling, and expanded to football in 1896.[4] On 25 March of that year, Slavia won their first match against AC Prague 5–0. The captain of this team was Karel Freja.[4] Four days later, Slavia played against Sparta Prague, with the match finishing 0–0, this match being the start of the rivalry between these two clubs.[5][6]

SK Slavia Prague team in 1901

In 1905, Scottish manager and former Celtic player Johnny Madden brought new tactics and views on football from his home country to the club. He managed to set up an early golden age for the club that lasted 25 years. Under Madden Slavia won 134 domestic matches out of a total of 169, and 304 internationals out of 429 between the years 1905 and 1930. In 1930, Madden retired from Slavia and professional football at the age of 66, though he remained in Prague for the rest of his life.

In the 1934 World Cup, the Czechoslovak national team included eight Slavia players. The second golden period came when Slavia bought Josef Bican from Admira Vienna. Slavia with Bican won titles in 1940, 1941, 1942 and 1943, while many football players were at war. In 1951 Slavia finished in 11th position in the league. Poor results continued during the 1950s and 1960s when Slavia were relegated twice, in 1961 and 1963. They next played in the top level of football in 1965.

In 1996, Slavia won their 14th title after 49 years.[7] During this season, Slavia played in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup and four players of this team had big importance for the silver medal-winning Czech team from UEFA Euro 1996.[8]

Slavia participated in the qualifying rounds for the UEFA Champions League five times (1996, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005), being eliminated each time until finally qualifying for the group stage in the 2007–08 season following a 3–1 aggregate victory over Ajax in the third qualifying round. For the group stage, Slavia were drawn in Group H along with Arsenal, Steaua București and Sevilla. They started with a 2–1 win at home against Steaua and a 4–2 loss to Sevilla. Next came two matches against Arsenal; Slavia lost 7–0 at the Emirates Stadium, but eventually draw 0–0 in the second leg. In Bucharest came a 1–1 draw, which qualified the Czech team for the UEFA Cup round of 32, from third place in Group H, in spite of a home 0–3 defeat against Sevilla.

In October 2006, the construction of the new and long-awaited stadium at Eden for 21,000 spectators began. The stadium was opened on 7 May 2008 with an exhibition match against Oxford University.[9]

In the 2007–08 and 2008–09, Slavia were back-to-back Czech champions, but did not play in the Champions League group stage due to elimination in the qualifying rounds by Fiorentina (0–2 on aggregate in 2008–09) and Sheriff Tiraspol (1–1 on away goals rule in 2009–10). In the 2009–10 Czech First League, the club managed only seventh place in the league.

In the autumn of 2010, the club found itself in crisis due to its economic problems. It was discovered that Slavia owed 112 million Czech koruna to the club's former owner, ENIC Sports Ltd (English National Investment Company).[10] As a result, major cost-cutting was needed to service this debt and it was confirmed that the squad needed to be purged.[10] In addition to the players sold, midfielder Petr Trapp left the club mid-season, claiming that Slavia had not paid his wages for three months.[11]

On 5 May 2011, the first leg of the cup semi-final against Olomouc was suspended after the first half at a score of 1–1 due to Slavia fans invaded the pitch in protest against the deteriorating financial situation of the club.[12][13] As a result of this action, Sigma were awarded a 3–0 win.[14]

In September 2015, CEFC China Energy Company bought the team. Since November 2018, the club owners have been the Sinobo Group and CITIC Group.

Since December 2023, the club is owned by the Czech businessman Pavel Tykač, who bought the club from Chinese owners for reported 2 billion Czech crowns.[15]

Historical names

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  • 1892 – SK ACOS Praha (Sportovní klub Akademický cyklistický odbor Slavia Praha)
  • 1893 – SK Slavia Praha (Sportovní klub Slavia Praha)
  • 1948 – Sokol Slavia Praha
  • 1949 – ZSJ Dynamo Slavia Praha (Základní sportovní jednota Dynamo Slavia Praha)
  • 1953 – DSO Dynamo Praha (Dobrovolná sportovní organizace Dynamo Praha)
  • 1954 – TJ Dynamo Praha (Tělovýchovná jednota Dynamo Praha)
  • 1965 – SK Slavia Praha (Sportovní klub Slavia Praha)
  • 1973 – TJ Slavia Praha (Tělovýchovná jednota Slavia Praha)
  • 1977 – TJ Slavia IPS Praha (Tělovýchovná jednota Slavia Inženýrské průmyslové stavby Praha)
  • 1978 – SK Slavia IPS Praha (Sportovní klub Slavia Inženýrské průmyslové stavby Praha)
  • 1991 – SK Slavia Praha (Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal, a.s.)

Club symbols

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Flag of SK Slavia Prague.

The club's colours, red and white, were chosen as standing for the heart and blood, and fair play and sportsmanship respectively. The inverted five-pointed star was intended to symbolise "new hope, forever strengthening the mind and uplifting the spirit."[4] The name "Slavia" is a Latin term used in older literature to denote the lands inhabited by Slavs.[16]

Supporters and rivalries

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Slavia's greatest rivals are Sparta Prague, with whom they contest the Prague derby. A local Vršovice derby is also contested between Slavia and Bohemians 1905, whose stadium is situated a kilometre from Eden.[17]

Slavia is widely misconceived as being a Jewish club among other fans, particularly Sparta fans, and its fans and players are often subjected to anti-semitic abuse. However, the club was not founded by Jews nor did it have any Jewish history. Football historian Vladimír Zapotocký commented in an interview that were this the case, the Nazis would have shut the club down during the wartime occupation, as they did with DFC Prag. The association stems from a friendly match played against West Ham United in 1922, when Slavia insured the match against adverse weather conditions, and the match was later cancelled due to rain. They then agreed with West Ham to play the fixture the next day, while also collecting money from the insurance company for cancelling the fixture. A week later in a Prague derby fixture, Slavia were greeted onto the pitch by chants of "vy židi!" ("you Jews!") from the Sparta fans.[18]

Since 2021, there is a fan coalition with Sportowe Zagłębie (Zagłębie Sosnowiec hooligans).[19]

Cooperations

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In May 2018 a strategic cooperation with Chinese club Beijing Sinobo Guoan for both professional and youth level football started.[20]

Players

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Current squad

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As of 12 September 2024[21]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Czech Republic CZE Ondřej Kolář
2 DF Czech Republic CZE Štěpán Chaloupek
3 DF Czech Republic CZE Tomáš Holeš
4 DF Czech Republic CZE David Zima
5 DF Nigeria NGA Igoh Ogbu
6 MF Norway NOR Conrad Wallem
8 MF Czech Republic CZE Lukáš Masopust
10 MF Greece GRE Christos Zafeiris
11 FW Czech Republic CZE Daniel Fila
12 DF Senegal SEN El Hadji Malick Diouf
13 FW Czech Republic CZE Mojmír Chytil
14 DF Cameroon CMR Simion Michez
17 MF Czech Republic CZE Lukáš Provod
18 DF Czech Republic CZE Jan Bořil
19 MF Liberia LBR Oscar Dorley
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF Czech Republic CZE Alexandr Bužek
21 MF Czech Republic CZE David Douděra
22 MF Czech Republic CZE Lukáš Vorlický
23 MF Czech Republic CZE Petr Ševčík
24 GK Czech Republic CZE Aleš Mandous
25 FW Czech Republic CZE Tomáš Chorý
26 FW Slovakia SVK Ivan Schranz
27 DF Czech Republic CZE Tomáš Vlček
28 MF Czech Republic CZE Filip Prebsl
31 GK Czech Republic CZE Antonín Kinský
32 MF Czech Republic CZE Ondřej Lingr
33 DF Czech Republic CZE Ondřej Zmrzlý
35 MF Czech Republic CZE Matěj Jurásek
36 GK Czech Republic CZE Jindřich Staněk

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW Nigeria NGA Muhamed Tijani (at Plymouth Argyle)
— DF Syria SYR Aiham Ousou (at Royal Charleroi)
— DF Slovakia SVK Michal Tomič (at Bodø/Glimt)
— DF Romania ROU Andres Dumitrescu (at Sepsi)
— FW Czech Republic CZE Daniel Šmiga (at Zlaté Moravce)
— DF Czech Republic CZE Albert Labík (at Teplice)
— FW Czech Republic CZE Filip Horský (at Teplice)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Greece GRE Giannis Fivos Botos (at Karviná)
— DF Czech Republic CZE Denis Halinský (at Slovan Liberec)
— DF Czech Republic CZE David Pech (at Dukla Prague)
— DF Czech Republic CZE Miloš Pudil (at Vlašim)
— MF Czech Republic CZE Adam Pudil (at Vlašim)
— FW Czech Republic CZE Erik Biegon (at Vlašim)

Reserve squad

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All time best Slavia's eleven selected by fans at the 125th club anniversary[22]
For the reserve squad of SK Slavia Prague, see SK Slavia Prague B.

Notable former players

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For all players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:SK Slavia Prague players.

The best known Slavia player of all time is perhaps forward Josef "Pepi" Bican, one of the most prolific goalscorers in the history of football. Other famous players include forward Antonín Puč, goalkeeper František Plánička (both of them members of the Czechoslovakia national team in two World Cups) and midfielder František Veselý. Other big names in club history are Karel Jarolím, Ivo Knoflíček, Vladimír Šmicer, Karel Poborský, Patrik Berger, Vladimír Coufal and Tomáš Souček.[4][23]

Player records in the Czech First League

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Further information: List of Slavia Prague records and statistics
As of 5 September 2024.[24]

Most clean sheets

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# Name Clean sheets
1 Czech Republic Radek Černý 86
2 Czech Republic Ondřej Kolář 80
3 Czech Republic Jan Stejskal 42
4 Czech Republic Martin Vaniak 39

Ownership and finances

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Under the Czech jurisdiction the club's legal form is a joint-stock company (updated 1 August 2020) with the largest shareholder being the Chinese real estate Sinobo Group,[25] which has on 11 November 2018 purchased a majority stake from CITIC, at the time holding 99.98% of the 212,074 stocks worth of CZK 1.514 billion (Annual report from 30 June 2018). CITIC remains to be a minority shareholder and the companies did not reveal the distribution of the shares.

According to their chairman Jinhui Zhou, the Sinobo business model is a combination of real estate development and sports activities.[26] In a similar business model, Sinobo owns 64% of the shares in the Chinese club Beijing Guoan where the 36% minority belongs to CITIC. Sinobo also holds the naming rights of the arena, the Sinobo Stadium.

The Chinese investment activity in Slavia has firstly started in September 2005, when a private conglomerate CEFC acquired 59.97% shares of the club through its Czech subsidiary CEFC Group (Europe) Company a.s. from Aleš Řebíček for CZK 27 million. Through the course of the years, the share has increased to 67% and 80%, and on 22 November 2016 CEFC has capitalized its loan into the equity and increased their shares to 99.96% which made them the sole owner. In early 2018, it turned out that CEFC had serious financial problems and CITIC bought the club and arena. In late 2018, CITIC transferred Slavia's majority stake to the Chinese company Sinobo Group.

Slavia's financial results for the 2017–18 season show group revenue of CZK 837.4 million, with a profit before tax of CZK <366.7> million.

Financial data in CZK millions[27]
Year 2020-21 2019-20 2018-19 2017–18 2016–17 2015–16 2014–15
Revenue 942.133 837.390 430.070 204.806 137.909
Net Income 156.0 [28] <219.208> <366.376> <263.442> <117.099> <61.503>
Assets 1,024.278 605.796 610.835 386.571 211.416
Employees 114 108 125 115 118

Management

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The club's current manager is Jindřich Trpišovský, who joined the club in December 2017 from Slovan Liberec. He replaced Jaroslav Šilhavý, who was appointed in September 2016 and moved on to manage the Czech national team. There have been 65 managers in Slavia's history. The club's first professional coach, Johnny Madden, was appointed in 1905, serving in that position until 1930. He remains the club's longest-serving coach in terms of both length of tenure and number of games overseen.[citation needed]

Managerial record of Jindřich Trpišovský in Slavia
From To Record[29]
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
22 Dec 2017
As of match played 15 July 2020
 84 60 15 9 171 50 +121 071.43

Former coaches

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Only competitive matches are counted.

Honours

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Type Competition Titles Seasons
Domestic League Czech First League 7 1995–96, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
Czechoslovak First League 13 1925, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1946–47
Bohemian Football Union Championship 1 1913
League titles not counted by Czech FA[30] Czech Championship 10 spring of 1897, fall of 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1915, 1918, 1924, 1948
Domestic Cup Czech Cup 7 1996–97, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2022–23
Czechoslovak Cup 2 1940–41, 1941–42
Domestic cups not counted by Czech FA Charity Cup 4 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912[31]
Central Bohemian Cup 8 1922, 1925–26, 1927, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1934–35, 1940–41[31]
Liberty Cup 1 1945[31]
European Mitropa Cup 1 1938
Coupe des Nations Runners-up (1) 1930

In European football

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Main article: SK Slavia Prague in European football

Progress in UEFA competitions

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Accurate as of 26 October 2023
Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD W%
UEFA Champions League 46 13 12 21 34 63 −29 028.26
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 8 3 3 2 11 9 +2 037.50
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 150 56 40 54 194 178 +16 037.33
UEFA Europa Conference League 25 12 6 7 52 32 +20 048.00
Total 229 84 61 84 291 282 +9 036.68

Club records

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Czech First League records

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Notes

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  1. ^ Sešívaní means "stitched together", referring to the home kit with a red half and white half which were traditionally sewn together.
  2. ^ In 2020, the Odbor přátel (coalition of fan organisations) has uncovered that the club was actually established on 14 November 1892, the traditional date being erroneously reported in the year 1902 by an article commemorating 10 and then repeated from this article.

References

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  1. ^ "Fortuna Arena" (in Czech). SK Slavia Prague. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Historická tabulka". Fortuna Liga. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  3. ^ "NEPORAŽENÍ 582 dnů. Série, na kterou se nezapomene". Slavia.cz. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d Běrný, Aleš (2 November 2012). "Přesně před 120 lety založili studenti Slavii, klub funguje dodnes". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Historie Zápasů – 1896". Slavia Prague (in Czech). Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  6. ^ "O derby. Proč a jak dlouho se nemáme rádi". Sparta Prague (in Czech). Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  7. ^ Jeřábek, Luboš (2007). Český a československý fotbal – lexikon osobností a klubů (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic: Grada Publishing. p. 163. ISBN 978-80-247-1656-5.
  8. ^ "Statika". Slavia Prague. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007.
  9. ^ "Czech champions Slavia too strong for Blues". Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
  10. ^ a b "Konec sporů: Natland se dohodl se zástupci ENICu a uhradil dluhy Slavie". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). 15 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Fotbalista Trapp se po dvou letech vrací ze Slavie zpátky do Plzně". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  12. ^ "Zápas ukončete, přikázal velitel policejního zásahu, říká delegát". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2011.
  13. ^ "Slavia Prague match abandoned after fans storm pitch". Eurosport. Yahoo!. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  14. ^ "Ondrášovka Cup: Ředitel Lubas potvrdil očekávanou kontumaci" (in Czech). Football Association of the Czech Republic. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  15. ^ "Tykač koupil Slavii i Eden. "Z osobních důvodů", vzkázal". Minutové Zprávy (in Czech). 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  16. ^ Kollar, Jan. Sláwa bohyně a půwod gména Slawůw čili Slawjanůw.
  17. ^ "A look ahead: Here comes SK Slavia Praha". Union Berlin FC. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  18. ^ "ZAUJALO NÁS: Kde se vzal pokřik jude Slavie?". Supporters.cz. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  19. ^ "Bitka Slavia Praha + Zaglebie Sosnowiec vs Baník Ostrava + GKS Katowice + Spartak Trnava (pohled SKS)". 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Slavia Prague seals cooperation with oldest Chinese football club". 19 April 2018.
  21. ^ "Soupiska A-tým". slavia.cz. SK Slavia Prague.
  22. ^ "Historické jedenáctky". slavia.cz. SK Slavia Prague. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  23. ^ "Fourteen years red and white". slavia.cz. SK Slavia Prague. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  24. ^ "Detailed stats". Fortuna liga.
  25. ^ "Slavia má oficiálně nového majoritního vlastníka. Čínskou společnost Sinobo". www.isport.blesk.cz. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  26. ^ "Luxury apartment builder Sinobo to focus on mix-use projects". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  27. ^ "Veřejný rejstřík a Sbírka listin - Ministerstvo spravedlnosti České republiky". Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  28. ^ "Zábava za všechny prachy. Majitelé "S" musejí kluby dotovat, platy vzrostly". www.isport.blesk.cz. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Jindřich Trpišovský | CSFOTBAL". www.csfotbal.cz. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  30. ^ "eFotbal.cz » Česká liga : Slavii nebylo přiznáno deset historických titulů, Spartě čtyři. Vzniká iniciativa, která chce, aby t". eFotbal.cz. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  31. ^ a b c Czech Republic - List of Cup Finals Archived 17 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine RSSSF
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