Soccer - Legendary Czech Coach Takes One Last Shot at Glory Sports

Legendary Czech Coach Takes One Last Shot at Glory

Thu May 8, 2:22 PM EDT

Prague, Czech Republic--Karel Bruckner has one last chance to win a major tournament. Or will health problems prevent that?

The 68-year-old Bruckner will retire after coaching the Czech Republic at next month's European Championship, ending a 34-year coaching career.

Bruckner has not said why he is stepping down, but he missed two Czech Republic matches in February because of a viral disease. The Czechs lost both games.

A spinal operation, which had been planned after the June 7-29 tournament in Austria and Switzerland, was moved up to March 28 — one week after he announced his decision to retire.

Bruckner is still recovering from the surgery at home in Olomouc, 250 kilometers (160 miles) east of Prague. He is allowed to leave his house, but is not supposed to walk for more than 500 meters (yards) at a time.

Bruckner is expected to be cleared by doctors in time to travel to the team's Euro 2008 base in Austria on June 2.

Before that, he'll name a squad of players to participate in a training camp from May 20-26 without having recently seen many of them play.

Typical of any longtime coach, Bruckner has already played down his team's chances in Group A at the tournament in Switzerland and Austria. The Czechs will face the Swiss, Turkey and Portugal.

"It would be a success to advance from the group," the gray-haired Bruckner said.

Given Bruckner's record as coach of the Czech team, with 47 wins in 70 matches, that might be an understatement.

Bruckner took over from Josef Chovanec after the Czech Republic failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, and has led the country to every major international tournament since.

The team's biggest success under Bruckner came at Euro 2004, where the Czechs lost to eventual champion Greece in extra time in the semifinals. The Czechs also reached the Euro 1996 final, losing to Germany, but that was well before Bruckner took over as coach.

Bruckner has been lauded for his analytical approach to soccer and his ability to motivate and unite players. When he took over, he rebuilt a fractious squad with low morale to create what many believe has been the most exciting Czech side ever.

The results came quickly, too, as the team ran off a 20-match unbeaten streak before losing a friendly at Ireland in 2004.

"He is the most successful coach in the history of Czech soccer," said Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, who made his national team debut under Bruckner six years ago at age 19. "Nobody else succeeded to advance to European Championship and World Cup three times in a row."

Although Bruckner's long coaching career has been successful — he led the Czech Republic's under-21 team to the 2000 European Championship final — he is still missing a big win.

"The entire squad will do the maximum we can for the coach to retire after what is a successful tournament," Cech said.

At Euro 2004, the Czechs earned accolades for their attacking soccer, which helped them to surprise victories over Germany and the Netherlands on their way to the semifinals.

The Czech Republic then qualified for its first World Cup as an independent nation.

On June 7, it opens its Euro 2008 tournament in Basel against co-host Switzerland.

It is still unclear who will replace Bruckner after the Euros and lead the Czechs against England in a friendly on Aug. 20 at Wembley. Czech soccer federation vice chairman Vlastimil Kostal said no decision will be made until after the tournament, with all options, including the possibility of offering the job to a foreign coach, remaining open.

"It won't be an easy task for any coach to take over after Mr. Bruckner," Cech said.

Whoever does replace him will have a different team, particularly because Jan Koller, the Czech Republic's all-time leading striker, has announced plans to quit international soccer, Koller said Bruckner's expected retirement influenced his decision. Others, including AC Milan defender Marek Jankulovski, have indicated they may follow suit.

So these Euros take on added significance for the Czechs.

The Associated Press