Plzen dreams for Cipro
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Article summary
Coach František Cipro will take charge as FK Viktoria Plzen return to the Czech top flight next season.
Article body
Coach František Cipro will take charge of FK Viktoria Plzen as they return to the Czech top flight next season.
Czech pedigree
Five days after Viktoria won promotion to the top division, the 56-year-old has been appointed as their new coach, having been released by FK Teplice last September. Cipro won fame in the Czech Republic after leading SK Slavia Praha to the 1995/96 Czech title as well as the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. He has also been in charge of Austrian sides FC Tirol Innsbruck and LASK Linz.
Youth role
Zdenek Michálek, who spearheaded Viktoria's successful promotion campaign, will remain at the club but will take charge of the youth academy which has already produced a number of talented players, not least among them Juventus FC and Czech Republic captain Pavel Nedved.
Striking problem
Viktoria successfully booked their place in the top flight for the 2003/04 season last Friday with three games to spare, having spent two seasons outside the top division. The new coach faces an immediate problem in replacing the club's best striker, Pavel Fort, whose 14 goals this season tempted Slavia into signing him.
