Czech Republic National Footbal Team in Euro 2008

Karel Brückner (born November 13, 1939 in Olomouc) is the current head of the national football team of the Czech Republic, since December 2001. His sides are known for playing attractive, fast-paced and technical football.^{[citation needed]}

In the Czech League he was the coach for SK Sigma Olomouc before becoming the national side’s coach.

He announced his intention to leave his current position at the end of Euro 2008.

Czechs are expecting their team,a real victory like EURo 96 in England.Brückner was also in the head of team in Euro 2004 , they lost to Greece in the semi- finals.

Image via Wikipedia

History

Before World War I, Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic), while being part of Austria-Hungary, played seven matches between 1903 and 1908, six of them against Hungary and one against England. Bohemia also played a match against Yugoslavia, Ostmark and Germany in 1939 while being the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

When the Czech Republic was part of Czechoslovakia, the national team had runner-up finishes in World Cups (1934, 1962) and a European Championship win in 1976. After Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the national team was reformed, and played its first match against Turkey in 1994.

Now, the Czech Republic is continuing its football tradition, finishing second in Euro 96 and making the semifinals of Euro 2004. They made their first World Cup as an independent country in 2006 and they are currently the sixth-ranked country in the world according to the FIFA World Rankings.

The Under-21 national team of Czech Republic won the European championship in 2002.

Stadia

The most important matches of the Czech national team are held in Prague´s AXA Arena, the home stadium of Sparta Prague. After the construction of Stadion Eden is finished (planned for March 2008), the team will play its home matches there. Other venues include the cities of Teplice, Olomouc and Liberec. The new leaders of the Czech Football Association have announced that they will be building a new state of the art stadium for 50,000 people.

World Cup record

• 1930 to 1994 - See Czechoslovakia
• 1998 - Did not qualify
• 2002 - Did not qualify
• 2006 - Round 1

European Championship record

• 1960 to 1992 - See Czechoslovakia
• 1996 - Runners-up
• 2000 - Round 1
• 2004 - Semifinals
• 2008 - Qualified

Players

Notable former players

This lists players who have played most or all of their international careers in the Czech Republic era. For notable players from the Czechoslovakia era, see Czechoslovakia national football team.

• Pavel Nedvěd
• Patrik Berger
• Pavel Kuka
• Tomáš Skuhravý
• Pavel Srníček
• Karel Poborský
• Miroslav Kadlec