Pavel Vrba scored the winning goal at Letná! How did he evaluate the match and how did the public react to the promotion?

Pavel Vrba enters the new season in a great way! His charges won the rematch against Rapid Vienna 2:0 and advanced to the 3rd round of the Champions League. In the event of elimination, Spartans are guaranteed participation in the regular group of the EL. Therefore, we cannot be surprised that the experienced coach succumbed to positive emotions and thanked the fans in his own way in front of the stands. He cut his favourite roll!

Sparta can also be pleased with the fact that they kept a clean sheet after 11 long competitive matches, which was crucial for their progress. Their last zero at Letná was on 18 April this year against Slovácko.

The whole team and especially the twelfth player in the form of the fans were very happy about the promotion. On the pitch, it visually looked like Sparta wanted to advance more than their Austrian rivals, and that eventually came true. What did coach Pavel Vrba say after the game?

“We made a step that was very important for us, we can only surprise. Our advantage may be that, unlike Monaco, we have already played some matches. But Monaco is the favourite, we respect their strength.”

“I got a yellow card for entering the pitch, I didn’t want any problem with a red card. As for the 2nd time on the pitch, I’m happy that I can prove at my age that I’m capable of giving a sporting performance. I wonder what will be in the newspapers again tomorrow,” he was aiming for his winning corner.

“Wasn’t that a 100 per cent tackle? Well, I can’t shoot it right now, wait for the Champions League, you’ll be watching. You don’t wear 40 roses at home either, you start with less, you know that from home.”

“Sparta’s squad is wide enough and of good quality. It shows when you have to make substitutions. All those who came off the bench made the game come alive. Sometimes it sounds like a phrase that we have a wide squad, but today we showed it,” Vrba praised the strength of the whole team.

The public reaction

The Czech football public has logically welcomed Letná’s progress. For our coefficient it means gaining important points and the certainty of further matches in which Sparta can contribute even more points.

“Tomas Rosicky came to shout in front of the cauldron and Pavel Vrba did a very nice backwards roll with a twitch or something. He would have gotten about 12,837 points for the lineup in Tokyo. It was nice that one of the reserve goalkeepers brought the injured Højer on his back to celebrate,” wrote football journalist Jiri Hosek.

Spartan journalist Jan Vacek summed up the positives and negatives of the rematch with Rapid. A lot of chances are marked with a green fuse, but with a different final result the box could have been red.

“Coach Vrba brought back euphoria to Letná. He can be both caustic and unpleasant, but he is still the most successful Czech coach of the last decade,” tweeted iSport editor Jonáš Bartoš.

Sources: AC Sparta Praha, Ondřej Zlámal, Jan Vacek, Jiří Hošek, Jonáš Bartoš