FC Viktoria Plzeň

Football Club Viktoria Plzeň (pronounced [ˈvɪktorja ˈpl̩zɛɲ]) is a Czech professional football club based in Plzeň. They play in the Czech First League, the top division of football in the country.

Viktoria Plzeň
Full nameFootball Club Viktoria Plzeň a.s.
Founded11 June 1911 (11 June 1911)
GroundDoosan Arena
Capacity11,722
PresidentAdolf Šádek
Head coachAdrián Guľa[1]
LeagueCzech First League
2018–192nd
WebsiteClub website

As runners-up in the 1970–71 Czechoslovak Cup, the club gained the right to play in the following season's Cup Winners' Cup, as winners Spartak Trnava also won the championship and played in the European Cup. In 2010, they played in the UEFA Europa League after winning the 2009–10 Czech Cup.[2]

The club won the Czech league for the first time in 2011,[3] and participated in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group stage, during which they won their first Champions League match,[4] earning five points and qualifying for the Round of 32 in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. The club won their second Czech league title in the 2012–13 season.

In 2013–14, the club participated in the UEFA Champions League group stage and finished third. They then reached the round of 16 in UEFA Europa League before being eliminated by Lyon.

History

Early history

In 1911, Jaroslav Ausobský, an official of the state railways, filed a request for the establishment of a new football club in Plzeň. In August 1911, the newly formed club Viktoria played their first match, losing 7–3 against Olympia Plzeň.

For the first 18 years of its existence, Viktoria Plzeň was a purely amateur club, although in 1922–23, they took their first foreign trip to Spain, where they won six out of nine matches. In June 1929, an extraordinary meeting of members agreed to go professional and enter the national professional league. Viktoria finished their first season in seventh place, but the very next season, improved and reached second place, which meant a first-ever promotion to the First League. In the 1934–35 Czechoslovak First League, Viktoria finished in fourth place and subsequently played in the 1935 Mitropa Cup, the top European club competition at the time. Two matches against Juventus brought Viktoria to the attention of European football at large. They drew 3–3 at home but lost 5–1 in Turin.

Viktoria played without success in the First League, being relegated for the 1938 season but returning to top competition the next year. The outbreak of World War II interrupted competition, notably through the absence of teams from Slovakia. In 1942, Viktoria fell again into the divisions, but again returned to the top league the next year, where they would remain until 1952. That same year, the club changed its name to Sokol Škoda Plzeň. For nine years they remained in the divisions, struggling to return to the First League, and in 1961, now under the name of Spartak Plzeň, achieved that promotion. The club was relegated and promoted frequently between the top two tiers until 1972, when as Škoda Plzeň they settled in the First League for eight years.

In 1971, Viktoria won the Czech Cup by drawing lots after the two-legged final ended 4–4 on aggregate and 5–5 in a limited penalty shootout against Sparta Prague B.[5] They lost 7–2 on aggregate in the Czechoslovak Cup final against Slovak Cup winners Spartak Trnava,[6] but as Trnava had won the league title that season, Viktoria was the country's entrant to the next season's European Cup Winners' Cup. The club's greatest honor is elimination in the first round by Bayern Munich, 7–2 on aggregate.[7] From 1980 until the division of Czechoslovakia 13 years later, Viktoria moved frequently between the top two tiers again.

Recent history
Pavel Horváth was voted as Viktoria's best player of all time at the club's centenary gala in 2012.

In 1992, the club returned to its historical name FC Viktoria Plzeň and the very next season, advanced to the first league, where it remained until 1999.

In the first years of the new millennium, Viktoria was owned by a foreign investor – Italian Football Company Ltd EAST. This situation lasted until March 2005, when 100% of the club's shares were purchased by local interests. The summer of 2005 also brought back relations with the Czech motor company Škoda, which had previously been the club's name sponsors.

On 18 May 2010, Viktoria won the Czech Cup final 2–1 against Jablonec,[8] and returned to European competitions via the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League. Viktoria entered in the third qualifying round against Beşiktaş and held them 1–1 at home before losing 3–0 away.[9]

Viktoria won its first ever league championship in 2010–11, finishing with 69 points to Sparta Prague's 68.[10] The club therefore qualified for a play-off to the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, in which they defeated Copenhagen 5–2 on aggregate.[11] Viktoria were placed in Group H alongside reigning champions Barcelona and Milan, and reached third place in the group by recording a victory over BATE Borisov.[12] This saw the club drop into the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League in the round of 32, where they lost 4–2 on aggregate to Schalke 04 after extra time.[13]

The club's Stadion města Plzně was also rebuilt in 2011. On 11 June 2011, Viktoria celebrated together with fans in the courtyard of the Pilsner Urquell brewery for a centennial anniversary. In January 2012, the club held a festive gala for its centenary, and voted current midfielder Pavel Horváth as its greatest player of all-time.

The 2011–12 season saw Viktoria finish in third place in the league, three points behind champions Slovan Liberec, to qualify for a third consecutive Europa League campaign.[14] Starting in the second qualifying round, the club advanced past Metalurgi Rustavi of Georgia and Ruch Chorzów of Poland to set up a play-off against the Belgian club Lokeren, in which Viktoria advanced on away goals after a 2–2 aggregate draw. The club finished first in Group B, ahead of the tournament's reigning champions Atlético Madrid. In the round of 32, Viktoria were drawn against Napoli and won 3–0 away and 2–0 at home to advance to the last 16, where they played Fenerbahçe. Viktoria lost the home leg 1–0, and in the away leg (which was played behind closed doors due to the Istanbul club's fans' recent conduct) drew 1–1, resulting in their elimination.[15] Viktoria won the Czech league for a second time in the 2012–13 season.

Off-field

In 2017, the club installed a dugout in the shape of a beer can after a deal with a local beer sponsor.[16]

Historical names
  • 1911 – SK Viktoria Plzeň (Sportovní klub Viktoria Plzeň)
  • 1949 – Sokol Škoda Plzeň
  • 1952 – Sokol ZVIL Plzeň (Sokol Závody Vladimíra Iljiče Lenina Plzeň)
  • 1953 – DSO Spartak LZ Plzeň (Dobrovolná sportovní organizace Spartak Leninovy závody Plzeň)
  • 1962 – TJ Spartak LZ Plzeň (Tělovýchovná jednota Spartak Leninovy závody Plzeň)
  • 1965 – TJ Škoda Plzeň (Tělovýchovná jednota Škoda Plzeň)
  • 1993 – FC Viktoria Plzeň (Football Club Viktoria Plzeň, a.s.)

Players

Current squad
As of 6 May 2020.[17]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF  CZE Lukáš Hejda
5 MF  COD Joel Ngandu Kayamba
7 MF  CZE Tomáš Hořava
8 DF  CZE David Limberský
9 FW  FRA Jean-David Beauguel
10 MF  CZE Jan Kopic
11 DF  CZE Matěj Hybš
14 DF  CZE Radim Řezník
16 GK  CZE Aleš Hruška
18 FW  CZE Tomáš Chorý
19 MF  CZE Jan Kovařík
20 MF  CZE Pavel Bucha
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF  CZE Jakub Brabec
23 MF  CZE Lukáš Kalvach
24 DF  CZE Milan Havel
25 MF  CZE Aleš Čermák
29 GK  CZE Dominik Sváček
36 GK  CZE Jindřich Staněk (on loan from České Budějovice)
37 MF  CZE Ondřej Mihálik
44 DF  CZE Luděk Pernica
50 MF  CIV Adriel Ba Loua
77 MF  CRO Marko Alvir
— MF  SVK Miroslav Káčer
— DF  CZE Filip Kaša
— FW  CZE Lukáš Matějka

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  CZE Jakub Šiman (at Baník Sokolov)
— DF  CZE Filip Čihák (at FK Pardubice)
— MF  CZE Michal Hlavatý (at FK Pardubice)
— MF  CZE Lukáš Pfeifer (at FK Pardubice)
— MF  CZE Jan Suchan (at MFK Vítkovice)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  CZE Pavel Šulc (at SFC Opava)
— MF  CZE Ondřej Štursa (at Baník Sokolov)
— FW  SVK Erik Pačinda (at Korona Kielce)
— MF  NGA Ubong Ekpai (at České Budějovice)
— DF  CZE Šimon Gabriel (at Mladá Boleslav)
— DF  CZE Dominik Janošek (at Mladá Boleslav)

Notable former players

Player records
As of 20 December 2019.[18]

Highlighted players are in the current squad.

Most clean sheets in Czech First League
#NameClean sheets
1 Matúš Kozáčik82
2 Michal Čaloun31
3 Michal Daněk29

Coaches

History in domestic competitions
  • Seasons spent at Level 1 of the football league system: 22
  • Seasons spent at Level 2 of the football league system: 4
  • Seasons spent at Level 3 of the football league system: 0
  • Seasons spent at Level 4 of the football league system: 0

Czech Republic
Season League Placed Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Cup Super Cup
1993–1994 1. liga 5th 30 12 11 7 35 23 +12 35 Quarterfinals
1994–1995 1. liga 9th 30 12 4 14 32 37 –5 40 Quarterfinals
1995–1996 1. liga 9th 30 11 6 13 33 34 –1 39 Round of 32
1996–1997 1. liga 11th 30 7 11 12 33 37 –4 32 Quarterfinals
1997–1998 1. liga 14th 30 9 6 15 37 47 –10 33 Quarterfinals
1998–1999 1. liga 15th 30 8 8 14 26 43 –17 32 Round of 32
1999–2000 2. liga 2nd 30 17 8 5 50 22 +28 59 Quarterfinals
2000–2001 1. liga 16th 30 4 9 17 30 65 –35 21 Round of 32
2001–2002 2. liga 4th 30 15 5 10 56 34 +22 50 Round of 32
2002–2003 2. liga 1st 30 17 7 6 47 27 +20 58 Round of 32
2003–2004 1. liga 16th 30 4 7 19 23 53 –30 19 Round of 16
2004–2005 2. liga 3rd 30 12 10 6 32 23 +9 46 Semifinals
2005–2006 1. liga 14th 30 7 10 13 30 43 –13 31 Round of 64
2006–2007 1. liga 6th 30 12 10 8 35 29 +6 46 Quarterfinals
2007–2008 1. liga 9th 30 10 8 12 32 37 –5 38 Round of 16
2008–2009 1. liga 8th 30 11 10 9 45 38 +7 43 Quarterfinals
2009–2010 1. liga 5th 30 12 12 6 42 33 +9 48 Winners
2010–2011 1. liga 1st 30 21 6 3 70 28 +42 69 Quarterfinals Runners-up
2011–2012 1. liga 3rd 30 19 6 5 66 33 +33 63 Quarterfinals Winners
2012–2013 1. liga 1st 30 20 5 5 54 21 +33 65 Quarterfinals
2013–2014 1. liga 2nd 30 19 9 2 64 21 +43 66 Runners-up Runners-up
2014–2015 1. liga 1st 30 23 3 4 70 24 +46 72 Quarterfinals Runners-up
2015–2016 1. liga 1st 30 23 2 5 57 25 +32 71 Semifinals Winners
2016–2017 1. liga 2nd 30 20 7 3 47 21 +26 67 Round of 16
2017–2018 1. liga 1st 30 20 6 4 55 23 +32 66 Round of 16
2018–2019 1. liga 2nd 35 24 6 5 57 32 +25 78 Round of 16

History in European competitions
Main article: FC Viktoria Plzeň in European football

The following is a list of the all-time statistics from Plzeň's games in the three UEFA tournaments it has participated in, as well as the overall total. The list contains the tournament, the number of seasons (S), games played (P), won (W), drawn (D) and lost (L). The statistics include qualification matches.

As of 2 August 2018.
Competition S P W D L GF GA GD
Champions League 532156115654+2
Cup Winners' Cup 1200217–6
Europa League 8492212157959+20
Total1483371828136120+16

Honours

National

Czech First League:

Czech Cup:

Czech Supercup:

  • Winners (2): 2011, 2015
  • Runners-up: 2010, 2013, 2014

Czech 2. Liga:

Club records

Czech First League records
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References
  1. https://profutbal.sk/clanok/239099-potvrdene-adrian-gula-odchadza-do-plzne-so-sebou-si-berie-aj-asistentov
  2. "Plzeň prevail in Czech Cup final". UEFA. 19 May 2010. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  3. "Viktoria Plzeň seal maiden Czech crown". UEFA. 21 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  4. "Plzen leapfrog BATE with first win". FIFA. 23 November 2011. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  5. "Czech Republic – List of Cup Finals". rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  6. "Czechoslovakia – List of Cup Finals". rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  7. "European Competitions 1971–72". rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  8. "Czech Republic 2009/10". rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  9. "UEFA Europa League 2010/11 - History - Plzeň – UEFA.com". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  10. "Czech Republic 2010/11". rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  11. "UEFA Champions League 2011/12 - History - Playoff – UEFA.com". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  12. "UEFA Champions League 2011/12 - History - Standings – UEFA.com". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  13. "UEFA Europa League 2011/12 - History - Matches – UEFA.com". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  14. "Czech Republic 2011/12". rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  15. "UEFA Europa League 2012/13 - History - Plzeň – UEFA.com". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  16. "Viktoria Plzen: Czech side unveil new novelty dugouts". 28 July 2017. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017 – via www.bbc.com.
  17. "A-tým 2019/2020". FC Viktoria Plzeň.
  18. "Detailed stats". Fortuna liga. Retrieved 20 December 2019.

* Official club website (in Czech)

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