You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Czech. (July 2024)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing Czech Wikipedia article at [[:cs:FC Slovan Liberec]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template{{Translated|cs|FC Slovan Liberec}} to thetalk page.
FC Slovan Liberec (Czech pronunciation:[ˈslovanˈlɪbɛrɛts]), commonly referred to asSlovan Liberec or simplySlovan, is a Czech professionalfootball club based in the city ofLiberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles and thedomestic cup since 1993. Glass-making companyPreciosa a.s. is the current main sponsor of the club.
The first predecessor of the Liberec football club was the Reichenberger Fussballklub (RFK) which was founded in 1899 (renamed to Reichenberger Sportklub [RSK] in 1904).[1] Because Liberec was a city where the majority of inhabitants were of German nationality, until 1945, it wasGermans who first established clubs and played their own league. The first Czech football club, SK Liberec, was established afterWorld War I on 11 May 1919. In 1922, the original German club FK Rapid Ober Rosenthal became the Czech clubSK Rapid Horní Růžodol. In the same year, another Liberec-based club – SK Doubí – was established, followed by AFK Stráž bezpečnosti in 1931. On 27 February 1934, SK Liberec took on the new name of Slavia Liberec so that theCzech footballers could affirm their club'sSlavic character at a time when theNazi regime in neighbouring Germany already represented a serious threat to the formerCzechoslovakia as well as all of Europe.
The rivalry that once existed in Liberec between Rapid and Slavia can be compared to a smaller version of the rivalry betweenPrague's two most famous clubs,Sparta andSlavia. In 1938, theMunich Agreement was signed, in which representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany forced Czechoslovakia to withdraw from their border area and surrender it to Germany. After the city of Liberec was incorporated into theThird Reich, Czech football in the city came to a halt for a full seven years.
At the end ofWorld War II and with the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945, Liberec took on the character of a Czech city. The first post-war match was played inTurnov on 10 June 1945 by Liberec's football club Slavia. On 15 July 1945, representatives of Czech football clubs from the border areas that had started up again met at the Radnice hotel. The result of the meeting was the verdict that each border-area club continue in the same league that it had played in up until 1938. After seven years of forced inactivity, Slavia Liberec was again included in Class I A and Rapid Horní Růžodol in Class II. In February 1948, theCommunists seized power in Czechoslovakia. Under the new name of Kolora, Rapid Liberec, formerly Horní Růžodol, fought its way to be promoted to theCzechoslovak First League. Due to the poor restructuring of Czechoslovak physical education and sports, Kolora remained in the second league – yet an administrative decision placed Slavoj Liberec, originally established as Čechie, in the First League. At the time, Slavoj had only played in the regional league. This reorganization created a lot of bad blood in Liberec. After one season, Slavoj was relegated to the second league. Three years later, Kolora once again fought its way up to be promoted to the First League, but the team could not manage to save themselves from relegation the following season.
In 1958, the decision was taken to close the Jiskra and Slavoj clubs and merge the two into a single team that would have the potential to win a spot in the First League.[2] Although this plan stirred up very negative reactions among footballers and fans alike and despite the fact that members of Slavoj originally declared that they reject the plan, in the end they changed their minds. As a result,TJ Slovan Liberec was formed on 12 July 1958. With this name, the football club affirmed the Czech character of the club as well as the region where it played. The first competitor the newly created team faced was Spartak Praha Sokolovo, as the famous team Sparta Prague was called at the time. Slovan lost 0–3. Despite all its efforts, for a long time Slovan Liberec was unsuccessful in its fight for a place in the First League. At certain stages of its history, it was even relegated to the regional division or third league.
In the 1970s, Slovan managed to be promoted back to the second league, which at the time included fiveBohemian, oneMoravian and tenSlovak teams. Due to the vast distances, thefootballers from Liberec even had to board planes to play against teams inBardejov orMichalovce, located in the eastern parts of the country. In 1971, Slovan again failed in its attempt to be promoted to the First League. Following this were two relegations and promotions back to the second league.
Slovan Liberec starting eleven before theCzech Cup final match againstSparta Prague, May 2008
After overcoming the financial crisis the club found itself in following the 1989Velvet Revolution, Slovan Liberec finally had the chance to gain promotion to the top league. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the six best teams in the second league were elevated to the newly createdCzech First League. Slovan ascended to the first league with the formation of theCzech First League in 1993, and has maintained this position ever since. In the 1990s, the club achieved a series of mid-table finishes.
In 2002, under the management ofLadislav Škorpil, Slovan Liberec became the first champions of the Czech Republic outside Prague. As Czech champions, the club entered theUEFA Champions League third qualifying round, but lost their first tie to that season's eventual tournament winnersMilan (0–1, 2–1). Subsequently, the team finished fourth in the league in2002–03. Due to a league-wide corruption scandal in the2004–05 season, the club was penalised with a six-point deduction and finished in fifth position with 46 points. In the2005–06 season, Slovan won their second league title.
In June 2007, popular coachVítězslav Lavička resigned amidst problems with club management and disappointment with the team'sChampions League qualification loss toSpartak Moscow. Liberec entered theUEFA Cup first round, where they defeated Serbian championsRed Star Belgrade before being eliminated in thegroup stage. Performances next season under coachMichal Zach would not meet the expectations of the club owners, and Slovan experienced one of the worst seasons in its modern history. Zach's replacement by former coach Ladislav Škorpil failed to remedy the situation, as the club finished sixth in the league. In the same season, the team reached the final of the Czech Cup, but lost in a penalty shootout against Sparta Prague.
The2008–09 season began with bitter European defeat in the UEFA Cup, as Slovan lost theirsecond qualifying round tie to Slovak clubMŠK Žilina. By contrast, the club began their domestic league season with positive results against both of the dominant Prague sides, beating champions Slavia Prague 2–1 and Sparta Prague 3–0. However, a series of poor results against average opposition left the club down in fifth place by the fall. The spring saw Slovan opt for a more offensive approach and brought an improvement in results, with the club winning a derby against local rivalBaumit Jablonec and beating an ambitiousMladá Boleslav side by three goals. Croatian strikerAndrej Kerić scored 15 goals and became the league's top scorer as the club finished third, qualifying for the newly rebrandedUEFA Europa League for the2009–10 season. In the2011–12 season, Slovan became league champions for the third time in club history.
On 2 April 2024, businessmanOndřej Kania [cs] bought 75.65 percent of the club from businessman Ludvík Karl and became his new owner. Former football playerJan Nezmar became the new general director[3] and another former player,Theodor Gebre Selassie, became the new sporting director.[4]
Since TJ (Tělovýchovná jednota) Slovan Liberec was created in 1958, the club's name has been changed on numerous occasions, reflecting changes in sponsorship. In the 1980s, Slovan Liberec used the name TJ Slovan Elitex (a textile company) Liberec. In 1993, the name FC (Football Club) Slovan Liberec was announced, to be replaced later the same year with FC Slovan WSK Liberec (WSK was an abbreviation forWimpey Severokámen). Only one year later in 1994, it became FC Slovan WSK Vratislav (Vratislav – a beer brand) Liberec. In 1995, Slovan returned to its former name, FC Slovan Liberec.
The crest represents the colours ofLiberec (blue & white) and the mountainJeštěd near Liberec with its famoustelevision tower on top.[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^Jeřábek, Luboš (2007).Český a československý fotbal | lexikon osobností a klubů (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic: Grada Publishing. p. 111.ISBN978-80-247-1656-5.
Current season
Ladislav Maier
