Rosicky: we’ll give Ireland a reality Czech
Tonight’s fixture is an all-or-nothing occasion for the Czech coach. Win, and they are all but qualified for the European Championships. Lose, and he is all but out of a job.
Feted as one of the continent’s most exciting teams as recently as Euro 2004, the Czechs are a more pedestrian, defensively-minded team these days since the retirements of Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky and Vladimir Smicer.
Problems on the pitch were compounded by more off it last March when five players allegedly invited six prostitutes to their hotel for a party just hours after losing lost 2-1 to Germany earlier in the day.
The laboured win over San Marino last Saturday has added to the pressure on the coach’s shoulders but he will have found solace in the words of his chief playmaker Tomas Rosicky, who dispensed with the usual pre-match banalities yesterday.
“It has been said that the Irish team think that the Slovakian team is a better one than the Czechs,” said the Arsenalplayer.
“We will see about that on the pitch. We will play (to win). It is a big game for both sides but we see this as our big chance to qualify for the finals.”
Bruckner was effusive in his praise for the Irish midfield and attack — though no mention was made of the defence — but Rosicky seems distinctly unimpressed by tonight’s opponents.
Undefeated in nine games, Ireland’s 4-0 win away in Denmark was the most eye-opening result in that time, but a conversation with club colleague Nicklas Bendtner has persuaded the Czech talisman otherwise.
“I still have not seen the game when Ireland hit four past Denmark but Nicklas told me that the Irish were really lucky,” said Rosicky. “He said that whenever they took a shot, they scored. And we all know friendly matches are totally different to competitive qualifying games.”
The good news for the beleaguered Bruckner is that Milan Baros should return from the injury which forced him to sit out the game against San Marino.
The Olympique Lyon striker was described as 80% fit after training on Monday and went through another session last night. A final decision on the team will be made today.
Baros may have tanked during his time in England with Liverpool and Aston Villa but he is a prolific scorer at international level, where he boasts 31 goals from his 58 caps.
With his regular partner Jan Koller suspended, Baros’s input will be even more vital.
Bruckner has four possible replacements for the giant Monaco forward though none of them are particularly appealing.
Marek Kulic scored against San Marino but has been criticised for his poor form at Sparta Prague while Stanislav Vlcek helped Slavia Prague reach the Champions League group stages. The two outsiders are the untried Martin Fenin and Libor Dosek, who is built like Koller and is used to playing as the target man. Bruckner may go with none of them and instead ask Rosicky to play in the hole behind Baros alone.
“We have lots of options and we will try and choose the best one,” said Bruckner. “We have proved that this team can play more than one system, we don’t only play 4-4-2 and we can change things around, depending on our opponents.”
A draw would leave the Irish needing other results to fall their way but Bruckner is eager to strip away the trimmings and concentrate solely on the game itself.
“The situation in our group could yet change,” said Bruckner. “We must only concentrate on our own results and how we can affect the standings. We can’t worry about everyone else.”
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