A window to the past: Zdeněk Zeman made it in Italy, he did football differently

Prague-born Zdeněk Zeman, who was rejected by the communist regime, made a significant impact as a coach abroad, especially on the bench of Italian clubs. He has literally become a legend, recently celebrating his 1000th match in the country of the European champions during his current engagement with his favourite club Calcio Foggia 1920.

Although he had football blood in his body, and not just any blood, his uncle was Čestmír Vycpálek, the outstanding centre-forward of Slavia Prague in the 1940s, who went to Italy after the war and later led the championship Juventus Turin as coach, Zeman devoted himself more to volleyball – at a very high level – and swimming.

He used to follow his uncle on holidays to Palermo, Italy, where he stayed illegally as a 22-year-old student in 1969, after the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops.

He was looking for a new career and found it in football. In 1981 he started coaching youth at US Palermo, then took over the unknown amateur Liscata, with whom he was promoted to the third league.

His career took off. What made him special? “Because I was doing football differently from what was customary in Italy at that time,” Zeman admits.

“I studied at the University of Sport in Prague, where I worked with the renowned football methodologist Associate Professor Milan Navara. Even though I majored in volleyball, this gave me a better understanding of football, which I then used in Italy. I changed my perspective on football,” he reveals his added value.

In fact, he bet on attack. “In Italy, the coaches focused on the defensive system, the famous catenaccio, while I opened up the game more. He deployed three strikers, switched to zone in defence. That was a big advantage because they weren’t used to it and it was surprising,” he explains.

Prague-born Zdenek Zeman, who celebrated his 74th birthday in May, has become a recognised figure in Italy. He has coached an impressive 100 games for local clubs.

If he were to add the games he played in other countries – Turkey (Fenerbahce Istanbul), Serbia (Crvena Zvezda Belgrade) and Switzerland (Lugano) – his score would jump by another ten.

Source: Wikipedia