Czech legends Šmicer and Koller keeping in touch with the grassroots game

Czechia has been at the centre of celebrations during UEFA Grassroots Week 2024, and two of the country's greatest footballers were reunited on the pitch once again in Prague on Tuesday.

Attending a festival to mark the renewal of the UEFA Football in Schools programme, Vladimír Šmicer and Jan Koller joined several other footballing legends to play a match alongside local schoolkids, with UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin watching the action.

For Šmicer and Koller, this return to grassroots football wasn't a one-off, with both maintaining regular involvement with the grassroots game since retirement.

Šmicer and Koller were reunited during the UEFA Football in Schools Festival in Prague

Giving back to grassroots

Šmicer, who is best remembered as a key member of Liverpool's UEFA Champions League-winning side of 2004/05, is the current chairman of SK Dolní Chabry, an amateur club based in the suburbs of Prague that plays in the eighth tier of Czech football.

The club has an extensive youth section, with eight teams all the way up to Under-19 level. Since becoming chairman in 2010, Šmicer has seen some promising growth in participation and the club is now putting plans in place to keep up the momentum.

"When I started, we had about 50 children in the club – now we have more than 150," Šmicer said. "When we organised the enrolment training session this summer, 50 children came, but we could take only 30 because we have limited space on the training pitches.

"I'm really glad to see the growing interest, but it also pushes us to further develop the site. We are currently setting plans to build an artificial pitch as the main pitch is under heavy load. When this happens, I will be satisfied."

Vladimir Šmicer during the UEFA Football in Schools Festival in Prague

Not only does Šmicer contribute off the pitch, he also finds time to get stuck in on the pitch, using his vast experience to help out the coaches and children where he can.

"At least once every six months, I take a training session with all the youth teams," he explained. "I see how they work, try to share my experience with them and give them a little advice.

"We have a head youth coach, which is a lot for a club from the suburbs. We don't want to become a big club and get promoted to a higher league, but we take it as our mission to take care of the children."

Familiar surroundings for Koller

The site of the grassroots festival on Tuesday, the Pražačka sports complex, was a familiar one for Koller, Czechia's all-time top scorer with 55 goals in 91 appearances.

"I regularly play five-a-side football here in an amateur competition," said Koller, who also plays 11-a-side football in a regional league for TJ Smetanova Lhota, the club where he first began his footballing journey.

"Sometimes it is a bit painful, especially the day after the game!" he added. "But I like to stay active."

Find out more about UEFA Grassroots Week 2024, UEFA Football in Schools and UEFA's other grassroots programmes.