Top of the Czech league, defending champions, unbeaten at home this season in all competitions and an emphatic victory over Galatasaray in the previous round of the Europa League — make no mistake, Liverpool are in for a tough test against Sparta Prague tonight.
The Athletic attended Sunday night’s Prague derby and there is a real buzz around Sparta after a decade of drift. Fans have a genuine belief they can beat Liverpool — especially as the two matches are either side of Liverpool’s key showdown with Manchester City in the race for the Premier League.
So, what can Liverpool expect from Sparta?
Well, Brian Priske, their Danish manager, sets his side up in a 3-4-3 formation (think Atalanta under Gian Piero Gasperini) where the wing-backs — including exciting Ecuadorian Angelo Preciado on the right — are given licence to push high up the pitch while talented wingers Veljko Birmancevic and Lukas Haraslin come infield.
In central midfield, left-footed Finland international Kaan Kairinen is Sparta’s creative ball-player and their corner taker and is complemented by Albania’s Qazim Laci. Sparta are not afraid of playing out from the back, with goalkeeper Peter Vindahl Jensen and defenders Ladislav Krejci, the club captain, and Martin Vitik all comfortable in possession.
They also have the option to play more direct by using 6ft 3in (191cm) Nigerian striker Victor Olatunji as a target man.
“Like Liverpool, they try to build the play from the goalkeeper to the defenders and try to keep the ball at their feet for as long as possible and then find a way to go forward,” says Patrik Berger, who played for both clubs. “I don’t think they are going to change anything: they will play their way.”
Priske, who played for Portsmouth in the 2005-06 season, delivered the title with Sparta last campaign (Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)
Berger, who now spends his time fishing and playing golf, namechecked Krejci, Haraslin and Birmancevic — who will join permanently from Toulouse this summer — as Sparta’s players to watch out for.
Much like Liverpool this season, Sparta have rallied late in matches. They blew Galatasaray away 4-1 at home in the last round of the Europa League, with their last three goals coming in the final 20 minutes. Last week, they came from behind to beat bitter rivals Slavia 3-2 in the quarter-final of the Czech Cup, with the winning penalty coming in the 114th minute.
On Sunday, they played Slavia again, this time at home and in the league, drawing 0-0 in a forgettable contest as both sides looked to be running on empty.
Speaking to The Athletic after that game, Priske said: “Our confidence is good but we know we face one of the best teams in Europe in Liverpool, so this will be a tough game regardless of their programme.
“We have a tough schedule. We’re the underdogs against a very big team but, when we play here at (Stadion) Letna, we know we can do extra things that you need in a game like that.”
The atmosphere is intense at Stadion Letna (Karolina Bartosova)
Stadion Letna, a 30-minute walk from Prague’s picturesque Old Town over the Vltava river, is a compact, atmospheric old-school ground that holds 18,887 and serves cheap pints of Staropramen.
Priske, who played for Portsmouth against Liverpool in the 2005-06 season and managed Midtjylland against Klopp’s team in the Champions League in 2020-21, added: “It’s a big game against an iconic team and club, but we are here to win. We have to try to play our game. We don’t go to Anfield as tourists, we go there to win.”
Under Priske, Sparta are looking up again and won their first Czech title in nine years last season.
Sporting director Tomas Rosicky, one of their most decorated players, has helped oversee this transformation after returning to the club in 2016, first as a player.
Sparta, who are the Czech Republic’s most successful club with 37 domestic titles, have moved from a model of investing in older players on long contracts to putting their faith in young talent. They have had to be patient, but gradually it has paid off.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done,” Rosicky told The Athletic in January. “We wanted to bring back the history, the identity, the never-give-up attitude, the Spartan identity: we want to play with intensity, we want to have the ball, we want to play from the back, we want to open the spaces.
“It has not always been easy. After my third year, the people here turned against me. We lost the cup final, patience ran out, and the fans started chanting that I should leave. I went to the owner and the CEO and said, ‘If you think it’s for the best, I’ll finish — because I will not change the strategy. I think it’s correct’. But they stuck with it. They told me to find a new coach and continue.”
It helps that Sparta are owned by Daniel Kretinsky, who has an estimated fortune of $10billion (£7.9bn) and bought the club with co-investors in 2004. Kretinsky, nicknamed the ‘Czech Sphinx’ for his shunning of any media attention, bought a 27 per cent stake in West Ham in 2021, which valued the club at around £600m.
Despite his wealth and success in business, it has been a bumpy ride for Kretinsky as Sparta owner, with complaints about his micromanaging. During his time as owner, Sparta have had 22 different coaches and won just five championships. Their lowest moment came in 2017 when Kretinsky hired Italian Andrea Stramaccioni, who lasted just 10 months in charge as Sparta’s fans turned on him.
As referenced in The Athletic’s derby days piece, Karel Tvaroh, a former player who now works in the media, said: “For many years, Sparta Prague were compared to Manchester United here: a sleeping giant. It was quite toxic and everyone was talking about the history.”
Yet after last season’s title win and leading the way domestically again, the feel-good factor has returned.
“I’ve never seen such a positive atmosphere around Sparta,” Martin Vait, a sports journalist for local news outlet Daily Sport, said. “Now we are seeing the best of Sparta: the grandiosity, the drama, and the stadium is rocking.”
Expect them to crank up the noise when their glamorous guests come to town.
(Top photo: Haraslin is one of Sparta’s star players; by Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)
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