2026/27 team profile: FK Jablonec

For the longest time, FK Jablonec had been living on borrowed time — in terms of financial sustainability (ie. over-reliance on Miroslav Pelta and friends), the age profile of the squad, and the club’s overall presentation widely perceived by fans as neglected. While the team was still broadly in its prime where it mattered most, the logo had long since passed its expiry date. This summer, then, brought a welcome step forward on all those fronts (yes, you read that right)… perhaps with one lingering caveat regarding the financial side.

Continue reading →

2026/27 team profile: FK Pardubice

A new logo always comes with sticker shock. I’m old enough to remember when Slovan’s new logo was but the latest confirmation of football becoming “too corporate, too soulless”, or when Sparta’s new logo marked too stark a departure from tradition; now both commonly feature near the top of many neutrals’ rankings. A new logo also tends to invite comparisons. FK Jablonec, changing their identity just before FK Pardubice, learnt that the hard way — though at least you can see why some drew parallels with Lesy ČR, the state-owned forestry company, seeing as both are built around fucking trees. What does it say about the new FK Pardubice logo, then, that most see Pinterest or the country’s largest health insurer (VZP), while the nerds swear it’s lifted straight from an Albanian tabloid?

Continue reading →

2026/27 team profile: SK Sigma Olomouc

Sigma certainly had an eventful summer. In place of the old divide between the fans and the club, a new supporters’ association SigmaFans was born out of their newfound connection, offering discounts on season tickets. Meanwhile, Pavel Hapal reluctantly doubled down on his role as general sporting manager by stepping in as interim coach. Local developer Redstone left the club as its platinum partner, and it was anything but an amicable break-up. Meanwhile, Pavel Hapal was busy pretending to search for a better coach than himself. The Hubáček family moved from the role of an unofficial backer to the club’s general partner, assuming majority ownership. Meanwhile, Pavel Hapal more than delivered on his promise to bring in a foreign coach by appointing two (plus a 24-year-old Czech) his assistant coaches after graciously agreeing to carry on as head coach for 26/27.

Continue reading →

2026/27 team profile: FK Teplice

Of all the new-wave owners in the Czech top flight, Milan Kratina is arguably the quietest. That, however, doesn’t mean he’s not getting things done. It’s just that, for now, the homework revolves around the stadium and the training centre/academy in Modlany, both due to get underway next year, rather than making outward noise. But make no mistake: Teplice are a club on the up, including in their pursuit of a more attractive brand of football already showcased in last week’s opener, and soon to be heard loud and clear.

Continue reading →

2026/27 team profile: 1. FC Slovácko

In a lot of ways, 1. FC Slovácko have just endured a season every bit as trying as Baník Ostrava’s. Granted, they are more accustomed to it these days than the Silesians, but it was still a lot. On the pitch, they had to wait until Round 16 for their second victory before concluding the regular season with their first five-game losing streak since 2018 under a different coach, who soon turned things around only to ditch the club weeks later. Off the pitch, even global media picked up the women’s team abuse scandal, while the campaign was bookended by B3 Sector’s open letter demanding answers to some pretty basic questions, and the same fan group’s Instagram post declaring that the club is simply not run by competent people… only for some more blatant incompetence to follow.

Continue reading →

2026/27 team profile: FC Slovan Liberec

At Pardubice, they learnt to fully appreciate Radoslav Kováč only after he left the coaching post. At Liberec, they may be headed down the same road after modest gains on the pitch and marvelous profit off the pitch were officially deemed not enough. Or, judging by the opening Plzeň sweep… perhaps not. After ditching one of the original poster boys of the club’s new era, Slovan certainly didn’t opt for the most conventional replacement, instead seeking a clean break and a fresh direction. Can Branislav Fodrek spark lasting change?

Continue reading →

2026/27 team profile: AC Sparta Praha

The last two years, it was the same blueprint: a slow summer followed by a rapid start to the season while riding a wave of a soft schedule. First Lars Friis was a newfound genius after winning 7 games out of the first 8 league rounds. Second, Brian Priske returned as a king, winning 6 games out of the first 7. Then, like clockwork, the campaign derailed in a split second. This year was supposed to follow the exact same script, only with a dose of mockery from both Tomáš Rosický and Priske towards Sparta’s “overly negative” fans. A bug became a feature. Confidence turned into arrogance. And so, quite naturally, patience quickly gave way to panic when the first loss suddenly didn’t wait until Round 8 or 9…

Continue reading →

2026/27 team profile: FC Zlín

Picking up the baton from FK Mladá Boleslav, FC Zlín are another club technically bankrolled by a billionaire without you ever guessing it. But while Jiří Šimáně has different pending issues on his hands, Zdeněk Červenka’s lack of visibility and investment is likely by design. Zlín’s transfer market approach isn’t stale like Mladá Boleslav’s; it’s just unashamedly low-cost, in search of a model capable of sustaining top-flight status. So far, so good — and second-year sporting director Pavel Hoftych is only getting started.

Continue reading →

2026/27 team profile: FK Mladá Boleslav

Mladá Boleslav is a very specific town. Owing to its proximity to Prague, it boasts three top-flight clubs across three of the country’s most popular sports, with the floorball side even going unbeaten on its way to this year’s league title. Thanks to its modest size and the presence of Škoda Auto, which employs roughly 30–40% of the local population, average monthly salaries are through the roof, while season tickets obtained via the company’s trade union cost a mere CZK 850 — perhaps explaining why most people turn up for three or four matches a year. With all that in mind, it only makes sense that a football club from such a very specific town would also be run quite, erm, specifically…

Continue reading →

2026/27 team profile: SK Slavia Praha

Last summer, their first without any sort of European qualification in a decade, was uncharacteristically quiet for Slavia. There was no marquee signing, just a scouting video making waves. Pavel Tykač was already old news, while the accompanying mega-deal with Tipsport was probably perceived as little more than a drop in the financial ocean. The biggest news, meanwhile, was a new club-run fanshop or the establishment of a C-team. Šeberov was best left unmentioned, much like today. Then the season happened. And now, the recent movie The Drama pales in comparison to whatever is happening in and around Eden. Talk about the calm before the storm. And the fallout is still unfolding as we speak.

Continue reading →