Sparta Praha 2, CF Cluj 0

This is the first football match of my October 2009 'birthday trip' to Prague. I 'treat myself' each year for remaining another year sober, since my last birthday. It started out as a long weekend trip, but it's grown into over a week long stay.

Yesterday I travelled to Chrudim, for a second division ice hockey game. I also took time to snap the two local non-league grounds; AFK & SK. Which was just as well, as it wasn't the best of places to visit, with some of the few touristy type places being closed for renovation, or simply shut for the winter. But pleasant enough to walk round, as it was dry & sunny.

Today I have spent the day in Prague, where I am based for the next week. After a day travelling around the city photographing a variety of non league grounds I'm heading for the Generali Stadium,home of Sparta Prague, for a Europa League match with CF Cluj, from Romania.

Technically my first visit there, though it isn't a new ground. On my previous trips it has been the Toyota Stadium, and then the AXA stadium. The traditional name is the Letna Stadium. It holds 20,854 & for tonights match it was just under half full, the official attendance being given out on the electronic scoreboard as 10,134.

Letna is a small area of the city of Prague, dominated by the Letna Park across the main road outside the ground. Walk across here from the stadium and you will reach the site of the former statue of Stalin, which stands atop the Vltava River, which runs below, and from where you can get superb views of the Old Town, with steps down to the river. Erected in 1995, but blown up in 1962, the site now has a strange huge metronome, ticking away since 1991. The marble & stone slabs up there are now crumbling & the site is a bit of a mecca for local skateboarders, as the South Bank is in London, along the Thames. What isn't mentioned in the majority of tourist type sites is that at night, in the summer months, until the cold weather starts arriving, this area is also a busy area with gay cruising and rentboys at night!

I'm not sure, off the top of my head how many times I've been to watch football here.
It's a few... My first visit was in October 2003, when I saw Sparta take on Turkish side Besiktas, in a European Champions League group game, with two fellow Dulwich Hamlet fans Lawrence Marsh & Phil Baker with me on that trip, which was my first ever 'groundhopping' one, having made my original trip to Prague the previous May, when the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Team had taken part in a tournament in the city. I liked the place so much I vowed to go back in October as a 'birthday treat' to myself, & I have been doing so ever since! This trip being my eighth to the capital of the Czech Republic!

So why so many visits to watch Sparta? Unfortunately I am from the 'old school' that believes that once you have chosen your team you cannot change it, so I am stuck with them...You see they were formed in 1893, the same year as Dulwich Hamlet, & it was simply on that basis why I chose them. At the time I didn't realise their 'ultra' element was right wing and racist. I persevere with Sparta, but having been to Bohemians 1905 a couple of times their fans are more in tune with my sort of supporter. I am very tempted to be fond of Sparta, but ditch them as my number one Czech club, by my principles won't allow me.

The game this evening is my third European tie here, but my first in the new fangled Europa League. (As well as the aforementioned Besiktas match, I have also seen FC Zurich, from Switzerland play here) I had a choice of two matches tonight. The other is an ice hockey one, Slavia being at home to Kladno in the top flight 02 Extraliga. Bizarrely at football I support Sparta, but my favourite hockey team is Slavia! This stems back, not to year of formation, but simply the first Czech hockey match I ever saw was the at the old Slavia hockey home at Eden. A cracking game, with superb atmosphere, and my first experience of terracing at an ice kockey match, every bit as passionate as football supporters'! Thus I adopted Slavia as my Czecho hockey sons!

The thing that 'swung' the football for me was the opportunity to see the UEFA experiment that is 'fifth & sixth' officials standing behind the goal. How would it work? What was the point? Maybe I wouldn't even notice them?

The stadium is an easy ten minute stroll from Hradkanska Metro station, on the green coloured 'B' line, but the main road is parlty closed off for some huge building work on the Letna Plain across from the ground, which has been ongoing for over a year now. It's not a hardship, as I know which direction the ground is, and simply follow the crowds through the back street pedestrianised diversion.

On getting to the ticket office I am not entirely sure which ticket to purchase & the woman behind the jump tries to 'knock me' for the most expensive ones, at over 800 Czech crowns! (Kc)
I opt for a cheaper one, at 150 Kc, behind the goal, in an upper tier, just to the left of the goal. This is around a fiver, and there were cheaper ones down below!

I go through the turnstiles and have the obligatory search, which isn't too thorough, I could have sneaked in whatever I liked. The programme is the best I see on my Czech trips, though you do have to pay for it. Some clubs hand them out free. It is a bargain 20Kc, less than a quid, as is a full colour glossy 40 pager, with lots of articles & photos; though padded out with 12 and half pages of adverts. Still at that price you can't really complain can you?

I go up the stairs once inside and am in an open concourse, that is 'roofed' by the seats going up above, but you can look out over to the road. There's a number of food stalls up here, selling the traditional czech sauagages Klobasa, which is a fatty meat, sold on o small paper tray, with a slice of dry bread and a dollop of mustard. Which is a pain, as I don't like mustard, so struggle to keep my bread and sausage away from it, as I don't know the local lingo for 'no mustard'! There's also a stall offering portions of roast chicken, either quartered, halved or whole! I'm a bit hungry now, as it's early evening, so go for a half! A bit greasy, but still delicious. The food I had been looking for, & had enjoyed on previous matchdays here, was nowhere to be seen. Where was the goulash man? No sign of the bowls of goulash soup. Gutted!

The large wooden club shop was also no longer there. It sold lots of official souvenirs, but also had a large selection of badges for sale. There was a newer one, which I didn't spot straight away, but it was smaller, and more limited, only selling a small amout of merchandise from the official club shop, which is open every day, in another corner, outside the ground.

Time to take my seat, & it's a good one, in the front row of the upper tier, so I'm looking right over the pitch with no obstructions whatsoever. But to be honest none of the vantage points are poor really, and I've sat on all four sides of the ground. The crowd are whipped up by the playing of the club song, and then the battle commences.

I'm no expert on Czech football, but one name that stands out on the starting line-up is Czech International Tomas Repka, who had a spell in England with West ham United. Out injured is another ex-English based international, Patrik Berger. I know even less about the opposition CF Cluj, other than the fact they are a releatively recently succesful Romanian club, having come up from a lifetime in the lower divisions, and that a few years ago they were drawn against Chelsea.

The game starts off fairly cagey, as the two sides try to suss each other out, the first real attempt on goal being a Sparta header, after twelve minutes. Three minutes later, on the quarter hour mark it's one nil Sparta! A cross from the right is headed downward by Juraj Kucka & into the back of the net.

After twenty minutes I start to experience the nasty side of the Sparta fans. Lacina Traore, a 19 year old youngster from the Ivory Coast, playing up front, is fouled on the edge of the box, at the far end, cue disgusting monkey noises from the hard core Sparta supporters, fenced into their own enclosure to my right. In front of them, standing pitchside, is one of the extra officials, who could NOT have failed ot hear it. I trust it was mentioned, & included in their match report...

In the 24th minute I finally see the fifth official in action. Sparta are awarded a free kick just outside the area, and HE marches onto the pitch to instruct the Cluj wall to move back the full ten yars (or whatever it is nowadays in metric!). Surely the official in the middle is able to do that? This is the official who stays on the right hand side of the goal, as i'm looking toward it for the entire ninety minutes. so if there's any incident of note the other side of the goal he has to view it through a crowd of players, rather than moving along the touchline to get a good view of play either side of the net. And why on the right? He's standing right in front of the hardcore 'ultra' section, which could make him a bit of a target? I would make more sense for him to stand in front of my section, where the crowd are noisy, but not so crazy would it not?

The free kick is taken, and although no goal results from it, I see something that I can't recall before, and although it is legal, not sure if it should be! The Sparta player runs to hit the ball but steps over it...quickly swivelling & running back to strike it second time. It certainly unsettled the Romanian wall, & I would have imagined unsporting at the very least.

Since taking the lead Sparta are starting to dominate, and just after the halfhour mark the lead is doubled. On 32 minutes Roman Hubnik scissorkicks in the box, the keeper parries, but the second attempt goes into the back of the net.

The crowd are certainly warming up now, & I'm not sure if I'm surrounded by loonies, or just fans enjoying themselves. Individual punters jump up and start songs, but when nobosy joins in next to them they continue right to the end of it! No hint of embarrasment by looking, what would be classed as back home in England, and total idiot! Fair play to them I say!

The rest of the first period sees no more goals, Sparta continue to be the better side, though Cluj manage to break through, but waste a good chance, ballooning the ball way over the bar.

After the break there were no more goals, but an early effort in the 50th minute could well have been. Kamil Vacek lets leash a shot in the area, just outside the six yard boc, which the visiting custodian reacts superbly to, just tipping it over the bar for a corner.

What was quite pleasing about this game, was there was very little of the Czech habit of rolling around & feigning injuries after hard tackles. Maybe this is because they knew they couldn't play about with the Russian officials, or maybe there has been a genuine clampdown on this nonsense domestically, who knows?

There were only three yellow cards shown throughout the match, which isn't that many nowadays, the 'luckiest' one going to Ondrej Kusnir, on 59 minutes, for a crude foul on a visitor, that could quite easily have made him see red for an early bath.

Another should have been dished out to Lubos Kalouda, from Sparta, who after one challenge, held his head, then theatrically rolled on the floor, not once, twice or even three times...but FIVE! No stetcher called for, and he jumped up once he realised that play was moving on! What a pillock! This is the play acting I was referring to earlier.

With just over twenty minutes to go there finally came some drama with the fifth official. he indicated the ball had crossed the touchline, before being centred, right in front of him, so the referee blew for a goal kick. much to the digust of the home 'ultras' behind him, as cups of plastic beer reigned down toward him, as they questioned his decision. untiI was further along, but in the front row of the upper section, & had a good view of the touchline, & I was sure it had not gone out. So much for them being able to solve everything...

And while we're on the subject of extra officials, the number four ones are a bit of nuisance too. midway through the half Sparta's Kamil Vacek took a knock & rather than go down, hobbled a little, before going over to the home dugout for treatment. The fourth official hovered over like an officious headmaster high on power, to make sure nothing untoward occured!

The three 'proper' ones weren't immune to my ridicule either. The ball was clearly out on the tuchline nearest to me on my left, but he waved play-on, in Sparta's favour, which was the cue for much laughter & ridicule for the poor man! Maybe their should be a 'secondarylinesman' shadowing the main one to pick up on any errors he might make. If they disagree with each other, having had a quick conflab about it, then maybe toss a coin to decide, or a drop ball? No, no! I'm only joking!

When the Cluj number nine from the Ivory Coast went off, for their final substitution, which was the cue for more concerted monkey noises. Joining in was an old boy to my right, who stook up going 'ooh, ooh!', turning and laughing at me, when he sat down again. What did he excpect me to do? Give him a round of applause. Luckily for him I don't speak Czech, or I'd have told the racist old fucker where to go! ' Karma' meant he got his 'payback' at the end. the two younger chaps with him, who knows maybe his racist sons, I don't know, got up to leave a minute or two early, & they had to call for him to follow. He jumped up quickly, foregetting the thin folding Sparta cushion that you can buy in the club shop. Before he had time to come back and claim it I whipped it right away into my bag. Cheers old man!

Despite being beaten by a clearly better side fair play to Cluj for still trying to press. A couple of chances in the last five minutes resulted in corners, and I was almost winning them to get a consolation, if only for their three hundred or so fans who had got behind them for the whole match, even when it was lost.

There was drama at the death, when the Cluj keeper pushed a Sparta player, & there was a bit of 'handbags' right in front of the home 'Ultras', which results in more beer & other objects being thrown onto the pitch.