FK Viktoria Žižkov

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FK Viktoria Žižkov

Full name	FK Viktoria Žižkov
Nickname(s)	Viktorka
Founded	1903
Ground	FK Viktoria Stadion, Prague
Capacity	5,037
Manager
League	Czech National Football League
2019–20	5th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

FK Viktoria Žižkov is one of the oldest football clubs in the Czech Republic, from Žižkov (since 1922 part of Prague). It plays in the Czech National Football League, the second tier of football in the country. The club won the Czechoslovak First League title in the 1927–28 season. It has also won two editions of the Czech Cup.

History[]

Early years[]

The team was founded by students in 1903 in the town of Žižkov (since 1922 part of Prague).^[1] At that time the students chose red and white striped shirts as their colours in honour of the colours of the Flag of Bohemia.^[2] Those same colours remain today. Viktoria's main successes fall into the period between the world wars — until 1948 it was the third most successful Czechoslovak club, winning the Czechoslovak championship in 1928 and finishing as runners-up in 1929. It won the Czechoslovak Cup in 1913, 1914, 1916, 1921, 1929, 1933, and 1940, and came runners-up in 1919 and 1920. It successes gained international recognition, even as a result, giving the name to the Polish club Victoria Jaworzno.

Post-war era[]

After the Second World War and the beginning of communism in 1948 the club descended to the lower leagues and they didn't rejoin the top flight until 1993. In the 1950s the club underwent several name changes as a result of which the club briefly lost its historic name Viktoria; Sokol (1950), Sokol ČSAD (1951) and after a merger with Avia Čakovice the club was called TJ Slavoj Žižkov, a name which lasted until 1965 when the historic name was restored.

1990s and 2000s[]

In 1993 Viktoria was promoted again to the highest league as a result of the Velvet Divorce and the Slovak clubs walking away to form their own league. Viktoria was very successful between 1993 and 2003, competing in four European cups. Žižkov has won the national knock-out cup for the eighth time in 1994 and finished as runners-up in 1995.

In 2001 Viktoria Žižkov won their ninth cup in history followed by knocking Scottish team Rangers out of the UEFA Cup in 2002, going through on the away goals rule after extra time at Ibrox.^[3] The team finished third in the league on two more occasions, in 2002 and 2003.

In 2004, after a string of poor results and a corruption scandal, the team was relegated again to the second league. In 2007 the team successfully made it back to the Czech First League, finishing the season as runaway champions of the 2nd league. After finishing mid-table in their first season back in the top flight, in 2009 they were relegated back to the second league after struggling all season, bouncing back to the top flight by again gaining promotion from the 2nd league, this time as Runners-up, two seasons later (2011).

2007–08 season[]

Žižkov's first season back in the Czech First League proved to be one of successful consolidation, the team finishing in a creditable 10th place, whilst also reaching the quarter final stage of the knock out cup. One of the highlights of the season was a 3–0 away win at Slavia, inflicting their only home defeat on the eventual champions. A 1–1 pre-Christmas home draw with Slavia was perhaps just as important however, the point being gained with a last minute Richard Kalod goal.

Žižkov's home form was the mainstay of their season, indeed they won 5 of their 7 post-Christmas matches. The final game of the season saw them gain a 1–0 victory over Mladá Boleslav, with another Kalod goal, thereby gaining their only double of the season, having also gained a 1–0 win against Boleslav on the opening day of the season. Top scorer for the season was Petr Švancara, who scored 6 goals.^{[citation needed]}

2008–09 season[]

Petr Švancara won Czech Television's goal of 2008 (gol roku), with his stunning individual effort to open the scoring in Žižkov's 4–2 home victory against FK Bohemians Prague (Střížkov).^[4] This proved to be one of the few highlights in a disappointing season that saw Žižkov finish bottom of the league and hence relegated to the 2nd league once more. During the season three different managers were employed, which certainly did not help continuity. However the departure of good quality younger players, such as Ondřej Kušnír to Sparta Prague, at the start of the season, to be replaced by older, journeyman, players was a major factor.

2010–11 season[]

Žižkov gained promotion from the 2nd league by finishing as runners-up to FK Dukla Prague. The main strength of their promotion push turned out to be away performances, which were by far the best in the league. Some poor early season home performances threatened to unship the promotion push but these picked up in the latter part of the season, a 1–0 win over MFK Karviná, with a late goal by team captain Tomáš Procházka being hailed as a critical victory. Star player of the season was undoubtedly Czech U21 goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík. Also of note were the performances of Miroslav Marković who finished as the club's top scorer for the season and second in the league overall, who departed after the end of the season.

2011–12 season[]

Žižkov parted company with coach Martin Pulpit on 23 November with the club having scored just seven points from the opening 14 rounds of the 2011–12 Czech First League.^[5] In January, with the club bottom of the league, it was revealed that only ten players from the first half of the season were still at the club.^[6] A particular loss was goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík moving to Sparta Prague. Žižkov finished bottom of the league with 19 points, and were relegated to the second division.

Historical names[]

• 1903 – Sportovní kroužek Viktoria Žižkov
• 1904 – SK Viktoria Žižkov
• 1950 – Sokol Viktoria Žižkov
• 1951 – Sokol ČSAD Žižkov
• 1952 – TJ Slavoj Žižkov (after merger with Avia Čakovice)
• 1965 – TJ Viktoria Žižkov
• 1973 – TJ Viktoria Žižkov Strojimport
• 1982 – TJ Viktoria Žižkov PSO
• 1992 – FK Viktoria Žižkov

Stadium[]

The club's original stadium was located in the Ohrada region, but this was closed down in 1928.^[7] Viktoria's present ground, FK Viktoria Stadion, was opened in 1952 and is situated on Seifertova třída, just a short walk (one tram stop) from Prague's main railway station. It has a capacity of 5,037. In 2007 the club opened a fanshop at the ground for the sale of club mementos.

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 15 January 2020.^[8]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  CZE Ondřej Žežulka 4 DF  UGA Isaac Muleme 5 DF  CZE Luboš Tusjak 6 MF  CZE David Skopec 7 FW  CZE Jaroslav Diviš 8 DF  CZE Marek Opluštil 9 MF  CZE Miroslav Petrlák 13 DF  CZE Jakub Urbanec 14 MF  SVK Igor Súkenník 15 MF  CZE Daniel Richter

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF  CZE David Sixta 18 MF  ECU Augusto Batioja 19 DF  CZE Michal Řezáč 21 FW  AZE Farid Nabiyev 23 GK  CZE Pavel Soukup 24 FW  CZE David Bezdička 27 GK  CZE Karel Hrubeš 36 DF  CZE Daniel Pudil 44 GK  CZE Milan Švenger — DF  CZE Lukáš Hušek (on loan from Sparta Prague)

Out on loan[]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  CZE Josef Bazal (at FK Ústí nad Labem) — DF  CZE David Březina (at SFC Opava) — FW  CZE Marek Szotkowski (at SK Líšeň)

Notable former players[]

Popular culture[]

The very popular Czech 1931 comedy film Muži v offsidu is centred largely on the culture and fans of Viktoria Žižkov and features unique footage of several matches from that time. The book, on which the story is based, was written by Karel Poláček.

The Czech film actor Vlasta Burian played as the regular goalkeeper for Žižkov around 1916 before setting out on his acting career. A plaque in FK Viktoria Stadion now commemorates his appearances for the club.^[9]

Managers[]

History in domestic competitions[]

1981–1989 2.ČNL (tier 3) 1989–1991 Divize (tier 4) 1991–1992 Bohemian Football League 1992–1993 ČMFL (tier 2) 1993–2004 Czech First League 2004–2007 Czech 2. Liga 2007–2009 Czech First League 2009–2011 Czech 2. Liga 2011–2012 Czech First League 2012–2015 Czech 2. Liga / Czech National Football League 2015–2016 Bohemian Football League 2016– Czech National Football League

• Seasons spent at Level 1 of the football league system: 14
• Seasons spent at Level 2 of the football league system: 10
• Seasons spent at Level 3 of the football league system: 10
• Seasons spent at Level 4 of the football league system: 2

Czech Republic[]

Season	League	Placed	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Cup
1993–1994	1. liga	8th	30	12	9	9	40	28	+12	33[A]	Winners
1994–1995	1. liga	5th	30	15	4	11	61	38	+23	49	Runners-up
1995–1996	1. liga	10th	30	9	10	11	38	43	-5	37	Round of 32
1996–1997	1. liga	12th	30	6	11	13	17	33	-16	29	Round of 16
1997–1998	1. liga	8th	30	11	6	13	26	34	-8	39	Round of 16
1998–1999	1. liga	10th	30	11	5	14	31	47	-16	38	Round of 64
1999–2000	1. liga	9th	30	9	10	11	37	41	-4	37	Quarterfinals
2000–2001	1. liga	5th	30	12	10	8	45	40	+5	46	Winners
2001–2002	1. liga	3rd	30	19	6	5	42	20	+22	63	Round of 16
2002–2003	1. liga	3rd	30	14	8	8	38	33	+5	50	Quarterfinals
2003–2004	1. liga	15th	30	6	9	15	18	34	-16	27	Round of 32
2004–2005	2. liga	6th	28	14	4	10	42	36	+6	34[B]	Round of 64
2005–2006	2. liga	5th	30	12	10	8	42	33	+9	46	Quarterfinals
2006–2007	2. liga	1st	30	19	7	4	55	23	+32	64	Round of 16
2007–2008	1. liga	10th	30	10	7	13	35	48	-13	37	Quarterfinals
2008–2009	1. liga	16th	30	5	7	18	27	45	-18	22	Round of 64
2009–2010	2. liga	5th	30	13	7	10	42	41	+1	46	Round of 32
2010–2011	2. liga	2nd	30	16	7	7	44	31	+13	55	Round of 16
2011–2012	1. liga	16th	30	5	4	21	23	55	-32	19	Round of 16
2012–2013	2. liga	8th	30	12	9	9	38	30	+8	45	Round of 32
2013–2014	2. liga	5th	30	14	5	11	39	30	+9	47	Round of 16
2014–2015	2. liga	4th	30	16	7	7	50	23	+27	55	Round of 16
2015–2016	3. liga	3rd	36	24	6	6	87	32	+55	79	First Round
2016–2017	2. liga	9th	30	10	9	11	49	41	+8	36[C]	Round of 64
2017–2018	2. liga	12th	30	10	5	15	42	52	-10	35	Round of 32
2018–2019	2. liga	14th	30	7	6	17	33	59	-26	27	Third Round

Notes

History in European competitions[]

UEFA Cup[]

Mitropa Cup[]

In 1928 Žižkov took part in the Mitropa Cup, reaching the semi-final stage, where they lost in a play off to SK Rapid Wien after the initial two-legs between the teams produced a tie. At the quarter final stage Žižkov knocked out Građanski Zagreb (later to become Dinamo Zagreb) over two legs, winning the home tie 6–1.

Honours[]

Czechoslovak First League

• Champions: 1927–28

Czech Cup

• Champions: 1993–94, 2000–01

Czech 2. Liga (second tier)

• Champions: 2006–07

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FK Viktoria Žižkov.