Sparta look ahead to life after Kadlec

Moving to Bayer 04 Leverkusen represented a "dream come true" for AC Sparta Praha defender Michal Kadlec, but the 23-year-old's departure for Germany, where his father Miroslav twice won the Bundesliga, may leave his former club short-staffed.

Dream move
Left-back Kadlec scored seven goals in 95 league games for Sparta, and it was no surprise when the eight-times capped international was recruited by Leverkusen, initially on a season-long loan, four games into the campaign. "It's a dream come true for me," said the defender. "I wanted to establish myself in the Czech league and the U21 and full national sides before moving on to a top club in the Bundesliga." Miroslav Kadlec made a significant impression during his time in Germany, lifting the title twice with 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the 1990s, and while his son will be hoping to reach similar heights, his departure has left Sparta a man short as they look ahead to their UEFA Cup first round opener against NK Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia next Thursday.

Brno test
In league terms Sparta are riding high, with a 2-0 win against FK Viktoria Žižkov in their first game after Kadlec's departure leaving them three points clear at the summit. Although they have only dropped two points in their first five outings of the season, coach Vítězslav Lavička can expect a tough test when his side visit third-placed 1. FC Brno on Sunday. While the transfer window saw Sparta lose Kadlec, it did bring some good news as goalkeeper Jaromír Blažek returned following a season at 1. FC Nürnberg. More cheer came with forward Miroslav Slepička earning his first Czech Republic cap in Wednesday's 0-0 draw against Northern Ireland.

Prolific scorers
SK Slavia Praha are also in UEFA Cup action next week. The Czech champions go into their tie against Romania's SC Vaslui occupying second place in the 1. Liga, but with Tunisian Tijani Belaid and 19-year-old Tomáš Necid both in form having each struck four goals already this term. Necid, the leading scorer in the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, has agreed to join PFC CSKA Moskva in January. At the bottom of the table, two clubs have changed coaches since the start of the campaign. Three straight defeats prompted SK Dynamo České Budějovice to replace Jan Kmoch with Pavel Tobiáš, now in his fourth spell in charge of the club, while Žižkov dismissed coach Stanislav Griga and appointed Josef Cspalár as his replacement.