AC Sparta Prague

Sparta Praha redirects here. For other uses, see Sparta

Praha (disambiguation).

Shortly after World War I, a team was put together that

triggered o the famous period of the twenties and thirties referred to as Iron Sparta. A football league in
Czechoslovakia was established in the mid-twenties and
the club collected title after title. To this day, the fans still
recall the names of the players of that period with admiration: Peyer, Hojer, Perner, Ka, Kolenat, erven.
A few years later, some no less famous names appeared,
such as Hochman, Burgr, Hajn, ma, Siln, tyok,
Kolek and in particular Oldich Nejedl, the top scorer
at the 1934 FIFA World Cup. Shortly before this most
famous era kicked o, Vlasta Burian, the man who later
became the king of Czech comedians, played in goal for
the club.

AC Sparta Prague (Czech: AC Sparta Praha [a ts

sparta praa]) is a Czech football club based in Prague.
It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and
one of the most successful in Central Europe, winning
the Central European Cup (also known as the Mitropa
Cup) three times as well as having reached the seminals of the European Cup (now the UEFA Champions
League) in 1992 and the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in
1973.[1][2] Sparta have also been successful on the international stage, winning the Pequea Copa del Mundo de
Clubes, the predecessor to the FIFA Club World Cup,
in 1969.[1] Sparta have won 36 domestic league titles, the
Czech Cup (formerly Czechoslovak Cup) 27 times, also a
record, and the Czech Supercup twice.[1] Sparta was long
the main source for the Czech Republic national football team, however lately this has ceased to be the case,
as the best Czech players almost exclusively play in foreign leagues. Sparta play at Prague's Generali Arena (also
known as Letn Stadium).

1
1.1

The milestones of the rst golden period of the clubs history are two Central European Cup titles, which in the '20
and the '30s enjoyed the same recognition as that of todays Champions League. Spartas three titles are important milestones in the cups history. After two triumphs
in 1927 and 1935, the third came in 1964, at a time when
the cups importance was gradually falling behind that of
other European cups.
In 1946, AC Sparta toured Great Britain opening with a
22 draw against Arsenal on 2 October.[3]

History
Early years

At the close of 1893, a small group of young people based

around three brothers, Vclav, Bohumil and Rudolf Rudl,
had the idea of setting up a sports club. On 16 November,
the founders meeting approved the clubs articles of association and one month later, on 17 December, the rst
annual general meeting took place. Soon after that, the
Athletic Club Sparta came up with its tricolour, in which
blue symbolises Europe, red is the symbol of the royal
city, though the reason for the yellow is not known any
more.

1.2 Golden years

Golden periods alternated with years when Sparta fans

only nostalgically remembered the good old times. After substantial changes driven by the socialist regime,
bringing frequent changes of the clubs name rather than
achievements to be proud of, the title in 1954 was the last
one before a long period of misery. Only the great era of
At the very beginning of the clubs football history, the the team around Andrej Kvak in the 1960s brought
players used to wear black jerseys with a big S on the back memories of the clubs golden years.
front. They then played for two years in black-and-white There are still many people who recollect the era of
striped jerseys, which they returned to, wearing them as Andrej Kvak, Ji Tich and Vclav Maek. Those
a reserve strip, for two years in 1996. In 1906, club pres- were the days when Sparta hosted the biggest number of
ident Dr. Petk was in England where he saw the famous fans in its history, with the stadium at that time accommoArsenal play with their red jerseys and decided to bring dating almost 40,000. All three of the above-mentioned
one set to Prague. At that time, he did not realise he was heroes were part of the national team that nished secsetting up one of the clubs greatest traditions. Together ond at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile. Other imwith the red jerseys, Sparta players wear white shorts and portant players in these golden years were Josef Vojta,
Vladimr Tborsk and Ivan Mrz.
black socks.
1

1.3

Relegation and comeback

Up until 1975, Sparta was the only Czech club that had
never been relegated to the second division. In this year,
however, due to a number of circumstances, the team
dropped to division two. The club only spent one year
in this division, with the crucial matches for the clubs
comeback to the elite being sold out.

HISTORY

last in the group with the club achieving their worst-ever

return of just one point from the six matches.[4]
1997/98 3rd place in the group stage (Borussia
Dortmund, Parma, Galatasaray)
1998/99 knocked-out in the qualication round by
Dynamo Kyiv

Nevertheless, the club did not win another league title

until the early 1980s. Built around Chovanec, Berger,
Haek, Skuhrav and Griga, the team regained its former status and won ve league titles in a row between
1986 and 1991. In 198384, the team got as far as the
UEFA Cup quarter-nals, falling to Hajduk Split. In the
early 1990s, this successful era was continued by the next
generation of players, such as Siegl, Hork, Nmeek,
Frdek, Nmec and Kouba.

1999/00 1st place in the group stage (Bordeaux,

Willem II, Spartak Moscow), 3rd place in the second round group (Barcelona, Porto, Hertha BSC)

1.4

2002/03 knocked-out in the 3rd qualication

round by Racing Genk

1990s to present

Sparta has accomplished a number of considerable

achievements internationally. Historians still say the
most glorious were the two Central European Cup titles
in the period of Iron Sparta. From a contemporary
fans point of view, the biggest achievement is probably
Spartas performance in year zero of the UEFA Champions League, in 199192. Sparta defeated Rangers,
then Marseille and reached the semi-nal group. Playing Barcelona, Dynamo Kyiv and Benca, Sparta nished
second. As opposed to todays system, only the group
winner reached the nal. Being second in the group,
Sparta was unocially Europes third or fourth best team.
Sparta participated in the group stage of Champions
League between 1997 and 2006. The club enjoyed their
best Champions League performances in the 19992000
and 200102 seasons, reaching the now-defunct second
group stage on both occasions.[4] In 19992000, it actually won its initial group under the management of Ivan
Haek, and was then third in the quarter-nal group. In
that group, Sparta came up against a Barcelona squad
which went on to reach the semi-nals.
In the 200102 season, Sparta was drawn against the
eventual winners of both the European competitions during the course of its run. Feyenoord lost twice to Sparta in
the champions league group stage and managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup, which it went on to win. Sparta
went on to meet Real Madrid in the quarter-nal that year.
Sparta did not qualify for the group stage in 200203,
when it was beaten by the Belgian club Racing Genk in
the third round of qualifying. 200304 saw Sparta take
on two Italian giants; initially the club beat Lazio in the
group stage, but after an initial draw Sparta failed to get
into the quarter-nals past Milan. The group stage in
200405 did not work out at all well for Sparta. After
drawing with Manchester United at the sold-out Toyota
Arena, the other matches were lost and the club nished

2000/01 4th place in the group stage (Arsenal,

Lazio, Shakhtar Donetsk)
2001/02 2nd place in the group stage (Bayern Munich, Feyenoord, Spartak Moscow), 3rd place in the
second round group (Real Madrid, Panathinaikos,
Porto)

2003/04 2nd place in the group stage (Chelsea,

Lazio, Beikta), knocked-out in the eight-nals by
Milan
2004/05 4th place in the group stage (Manchester
United, Lyon, Fenerbahe)
2005/06 4th place in the group stage (Arsenal,
Ajax, Thun)
2007/08 knocked-out in the 3rd qualication
round by Arsenal
2008/09 knocked-out in the 3rd qualication
round by Panathinaikos
2009/10 knocked-out in the 3rd qualication
round by Panathinaikos
2010/11 knocked-out in the play-o round by
ilina
2014/15 knocked-out in the 3rd qualication
round by Malm FF
2015/16 knocked-out in the 3rd qualication
round by CSKA Moscow
Sparta, usually along with Slavia, has always been a base
for the national team; Sparta players contributed to the
biggest achievements of the Czechoslovak and Czech national teams. It all started in 1934, when Oldich Nejedl was the top scorer at the World Cup in Rome;
four years later, seven Sparta players were part of the
national team at the World Cup in France. In 1962,
Kvak and Tich played for the silver team in Chile.
In 1990 in Italy, where the national team got as far as
the quarternal, the teams play was mainly created by
Chovanec, Blek, Haek and other Sparta players, such

3
as Skuhrav, who went on to become a star of the Italian league. Sparta players also contributed to the last big
achievement of the already independent Czech Republic
team in 1996. Kouba, Frdek and Hork returned to
Letn from England with silver medals. On top of that,
the team was coached by Duan Uhrin, who had spent his
best years at Sparta, and Pavel Novotn came to Sparta
two years later. Sparta players also featured in more recent qualication and tournament games of the Czech national team. Miroslav Baranek, Tom Votava, Vratislav
Lokvenc, Milan Fukal, Martin Haek, Libor Sionko, Ji
Novotn, Jaromr Blaek and the outstanding talent of
Tom Rosick helped the team in its UEFA Euro 2000
Colours of Sparta
campaign in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The next era culminating in the bronze medal in the
UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal saw Sparta players leaving
their unmistakable mark in the national team successes.
Zdenk Grygera, Tom Hbschman, Jaromr Blaek,
Karel Poborsk and academy products Petr ech and
Tom Rosick helped Czech football to become recognised as being amongst the elite in Europe and most have
played for elite European clubs. Currently, Sparta is one
of only two teams in the domestic league which supplies
players to the national side. It goes without saying that the
club also supplies players to the countrys various youth
teams.
Historical names:

maroon) colours.[5] Another symbol of Sparta is the big

S (Sparta); thus, Sparta and Slavia Prague are usually
collectively called the Prague S and contest the Prague
derby.
The Czech lms Pro? (Why?), Horem pdem (Up and
Down) and Non Plus Ultras take the culture of Sparta
fandom as one of their subjects.
Sparta Prague has three stars above its crest to signify
winning over 30 national league titles, adding a new star
for every ten league titles. Sparta currently need four
more league wins to add a fourth star.

1893 Athletic Club Krlovsk Vinohrady

1894 Athletic Club Sparta

3 Stadium

1948 Athletic Club Sparta Bubene

1949 Sokol Bratrstv Sparta
1951 Sparta KD Sokolovo

Main article: Generali Arena

Sparta play their home matches at Generali Arena in the

1953 TJ Spartak Praha Sokolovo

1965 TJ Sparta KD Praha
1990 TJ Sparta Praha
1991 AC Sparta Praha
1993 AC Sparta Praha fotbal, a.s.

Club symbols

The name Sparta was inspired by the ghting spirit and

courage of the people from the ancient city of Sparta.
From the very beginning, the colours of Sparta were
blue (symbolizing speed, athletics and sport in general),
red and yellow (the ocial colours of Royal City of
Prague).[5] In 1906, one of the members of the committee brought (from his trip to England) jerseys of the London club Arsenal. From that time, Sparta has typically
played in their red (or, to be more precise, dark red or

Interior of Generali Arena at the start of a match, November

2002

Letn district of Prague. For training Sparta use a football

centre at Strahov Stadium (formerly the second largest
stadium in the world) whose space was rebuilt to eight
football pitches (six elds of standard sizes and two futsalsized). These are currently used as a training facility by
both youth academy and reserve squad.

4
4.1

Players
Current squad 20152016

Note: Flags indicate national team as dened under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

4.1.1

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as dened under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

4.2

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as dened under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

4.3

Womens section

Main article: AC Sparta Praha (women)

REFERENCES

8 Honours
8.1 Domestic
Czechoslovak First League / Czech First
League:
Winners (33): 192526, 192627, 1931
32, 193536, 193738, 193839, 1943
44, 194546, 194748, 1952, 1954, 1964
65, 196667, 198384, 198485, 1986
87, 198788, 198889, 198990, 1990
91, 199293, 199394, 199495, 1996
97, 199798, 199899, 199900, 2000
01, 200203, 200405, 200607, 200910,
201314
Czechoslovak Cup/ Czech Cup:
Winners (14): 1964, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984,
1988, 1989, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2006, 2007,
2008, 2014
(The cup was played between the winners of Czech Cup
and Slovak Cup.)
Czech Supercup:
Winners (2): 2010, 2014

4.4

Notable former players

For all players with a Wikipedia article, see
Category:AC Sparta Prague players

8.2 European
European Cup:
Semi-Final (1): 199192
UEFA Cup Winners Cup:

Current technical sta

Managers

History in European competi8.3 International

tions

Main article: AC Sparta Prague in European football

The following is a list of the all-time statistics from
Spartas games in the three UEFA tournaments it has participated in, as well as the overall total. The list contains
the tournament, the number of seasons (S), games played
(P), won (W), drawn (D) and lost (L). The statistics include qualication matches.
As of 28 August 2015.

Semi Final (1): 197273

Mitropa Cup (Central European Cup):
Winners (3): 1927, 1935, 1964

Pequea Copa del Mundo de Clubes (Small

World Cup):
Winners (1): 1969

9 References
[1] Sparta Prague rivals, Slavia Prague, refer to themselves
as "ervenobl" (English: The Red-Whites) but refer to
Spartans as "Rud" (English: The Dark Reds/The Maroons).

[1] Achievements AC Sparta Praha. Sparta.cz. Retrieved

13 November 2013.
[2] Sparta Praha ". Uefa.com. 16 September 1964. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
[3] The Times, 3 October 1946; Association Football Sparta
Draw With Arsenal
[4] Drubbing in Lyon ends Sparta Pragues worst ever Champions League campaign. Radio Prague. 9 December
2004. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
[5] Colours of Sparta Prague Czech Vexillological Association. SpartaForever.CZ. 25 December 2011. Retrieved
20 May 2014.

10

External links

Ocial website (Czech)/ (English)

Fansite
UEFAs Sparta site

11

11

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Text

AC Sparta Prague Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Sparta_Prague?oldid=715800437 Contributors: Panairjdde~enwiki, Arwel Parry, Jfruh, Qertis, Dale Arnett, Dbenbenn, Ezhiki, Angelo.romano, Pmanderson, Cynical, Esperant, Corti, Dryazan, Mike Rosoft,
Mormegil, Duja, Ultratomio, Johan Elisson, Rich Farmbrough, YUL89YYZ, Forbsey, Kwamikagami, Bobo192, Darwinek, Mikeshk,
Red Winged Duck, Alansohn, Sligocki, BDD, Mt7, Rjwilmsi, Angusmclellan, Tim!, Pjetter, Ttwaring, FlaBot, EvanSeeds, Estrellador*,
Hottentot, Chobot, Roboto de Ajvol, YurikBot, John Quincy Adding Machine, Pal~enwiki, Szalas, Number 57, Kelovy, Cursive, Italian boy, Chanheigeorge, Steveweiser, Little Savage, LeonardoRob0t, Curpsbot-unicodify, Ief, Kalaha, Hypertornado, SmackBot, Honza
Zruba, Unyoyega, Thierrynka, Eskimbot, PeeJay2K3, Portillo, Timbouctou, Catchpole, Mattythewhite, Bienfuxia, Sct72, Rhollenton,
Jjhjjh, ChrisTheDude, Whpq, Nitsansh, ArtVandelay13, Derek R Bullamore, Matthew hk, Ohconfucius, Siva1979, Jan.Smolik, Lonestarr022, Ckatz, Fenix down, Malvolio.Blanco, Ahosek, Clarityend, GiantSnowman, Filelakeshoe, JForget, Yavni, JoelCFC25, WATP,
Cydebot, Trident13, Hazmat2, JCam, Tocino, Jike, Dr. Blofeld, JAnDbot, RugbyUrulez, Xenomorph1984, MER-C, SAMbo, Juelz, Benstown, Dapsv~enwiki, Pedro, BanRay, Avicennasis, Cloudz679, BaZy, RominouA, Xande FLA, Gdlrobertson, Avni.yotam, Xronin~enwiki,
Aleksandr Grigoryev, Uforock, STBotD, Jevansen, Matej1234, Idioma-bot, VolkovBot, TXiKiBoT, Rei-bot, KyleRGiggs, JhsBot, Latouedisco, Bine Mai, MaksKhomenko, AlleborgoBot, Struway, SieBot, Malcolmxl5, Soldier86, Dominik92, Psychotic17, Retepretep,
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IM-yb, Plazmic, OranovKarkulka, JanHruska, ThecentreCZ, Luke029, Abcmaxx, Soccer8295, Karelian P., Bandy boy, Espandero, Svk
fan, Jakub5688, Anjunaedit, Libbi13, CoatbridgeChancellor and Anonymous: 274

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