Jan Suchopárek (born 23 September 1969) is a Czech

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former defender, who is

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the Czech Republic U21 national team. He played for

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and later the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, playing a combined total of 61 international matches, scoring 4 goals. Suchopárek was a participant at

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

, where the Czech Republic won the silver medal. He scored in the group stage against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and played in the UEFA Euro 1996 Final, where the Czech Republic lost to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. At club level, Suchopárek played for Prague teams

Dukla Dukla is a town and an eponymous municipality in southeastern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 2,017. The total area of the commune is . Dukla belongs to Lesser Poland, and until the P ...

and Slavia before moving to France, where he played for

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace (commonly known as RC Strasbourg, Racing Straßburg, RCSA, RCS, or simply Strasbourg; Alsatian: ''Füeßbàllmànnschàft Vu Stroßburri'') is a French association football club founded in 1906, based in the c ...

. He finished his career in the Czech Second League, where he played for

Kladno Kladno (; german: Kladen) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 67,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and together with its adjacent suburban areas has a population of more than 110,000. ...

Playing career

Early career

Suchopárek was born in

. In his country, he played for

Dukla Prague Dukla Prague ( cz, Dukla Praha) was a Czech football club from the city of Prague. Established in 1948 as ATK Praha, the club won a total of 11 Czechoslovak league titles and eight Czechoslovak Cups, and in the 1966–67 season, reached the semi ...

before moving on to

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in th ...

, where he played from 1991 to 1996. In this time he captained the title-winning team in the 1995–96 Czech First League, as well as being involved in Slavia's progression to the semi final stage of the

1995–96 UEFA Cup The 1995–96 UEFA Cup was the 25th season of Europe's then-tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. It was won by German club Bayern Munich on aggregate over Bordeaux of France. Girondins de Bordeaux went to the finals all the way f ...

Euro 1996

Suchopárek played in the

's opening game of the

tournament, a loss to

. He picked up a yellow card in the next group match against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, which the Czechs won against expectations, by a 2–1 scoreline. Suchopárek scored with a header in the last group match against

, which finished 3–3 and meant that the Czech Republic advanced to the quarter-finals of the tournament. Suchopárek was shown the yellow card in the first minute of the quarter final match against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, which the Czechs went on to win 1–0 thanks to a

Karel Poborský Karel Poborský (; born 30 March 1972) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a right winger. He was most noted for his technical ability and pace. He began and finished his club career at Dynamo České Budějovice, where his k ...

strike. However, since he had received two yellow cards in the tournament, Suchopárek was one of four Czech players to miss the semi-final clash with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

due to suspension. He returned to the team for the final against Germany, although again the Germans prevailed, winning 2–1 thanks to a

golden goal The golden goal or golden point is a rule used in association football, lacrosse, field hockey, and ice hockey to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the end of normal time. It is a type of sud ...

in extra time.

Time abroad

Suchopárek was one of players from the Czech squad at

who left the Czech Republic to play in another country after the tournament, signing for

in July 1996. During his time playing club football abroad, Suchopárek continued to represent his national team, playing the complete 90 minutes of seven consecutive games in

UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying Qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2000 final tournament, took place throughout 1998 and 1999. Forty-nine teams were divided into nine groups. All teams played against each other, within their groups, on a home-and-away basis. The winner of each group ...

. However, despite the Czech Republic qualifying, Suchopárek missed the

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

tournament due to a knee injury. Following three years in France with Strasbourg and a further year in Germany at

Tennis Borussia Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in the locality of Westend in Berlin. History The team was founded in 1902 as ''Berliner Tennis- und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia'' taking its name from its origins as a tennis and t ...

, Suchopárek returned to the

to play for

again in 2000.

Return to the Czech Republic

Suchopárek captained Slavia during his second spell. He had surgery in March 2001 following a

tear of meniscus A tear of a meniscus is a rupturing of one or more of the fibrocartilage strips in the knee called menisci. When doctors and patients refer to "torn cartilage" in the knee, they actually may be referring to an injury to a meniscus at the top of ...

, being the second knee operation he had within a year. In 2001, following Slavia's exit from the

2001–02 UEFA Cup The 2001–02 UEFA Cup was won by Feyenoord at their home ground in the final against Borussia Dortmund. It was the second time they won the competition. Liverpool could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2001–02 U ...

in the first round, Suchopárek was sent to the "B" team of Slavia due to inadequate performances. He later moved to

SK Kladno Sportovní klub Kladno, commonly known as SK Kladno or Kladno, is a association football, football club from Kladno, Czech Republic. It was founded on February 15, 1903. The team plays at the Stadion Františka Kloze, named after legendary player ...

to finish his playing career in the Czech 2. Liga. While playing for Kladno in 2004, Suchopárek dislocated his shoulder attempting a

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...

. Suchopárek retired from professional football following the end of the

2004–05 Czech 2. Liga The 2004–05 Czech 2. Liga was the 12th season of the Czech 2. Liga, 2. česká fotbalová liga, the second tier of the Czech Republic football league system, Czech football league. In February 2005, Bohemians 1905, Bohemians lost their license t ...

, in which Kladno finished fourth and missed promotion to the

Czech First League The Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically r ...

on the last day of the season.

Non-playing career

During his time at Kladno, Suchopárek started studying for the

UEFA Pro Licence UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are iss ...

, which he completed after two years. Following his playing career, Suchopárek became a coach at

, where he remained until 2010, when he moved to

FK Dukla Prague FK Dukla Prague ( cs, FK Dukla Praha) is a Czech association football club located in the Dejvice area of Prague. It currently plays in the Czech National Football League. The club played in local competitions between 2001 and 2007, when it gai ...

to become assistant to

Luboš Kozel Luboš Kozel (born 16 March 1971) is a Czech football manager and former player. Following a playing career where he was associated with Slavia Prague, he spent seven years as manager of FK Dukla Prague, overseeing their transition from the Secon ...

. He is also a coach for the Czech Republic U21 national team. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Suchopárek left Dukla, along with Kozel, following the expiry of their contracts. He was named new head coach of the Czech Republic U19, replacing

Pavel Malura Pavel Malura (born 24 December 1970) is a Czech football manager. Managerial career Malura's first Gambrinus liga managerial appointment was with 1. FC Slovácko, where he started, 13 games into the season, in 2006. In his first season, the clu ...

Honours

Dukla Prague *

Czechoslovak Cup The Czechoslovak Cup () was a football cup competition held in Czechoslovakia. It was officially created in 1960 and folded in 1993 with the split between Czech Republic and Slovakia. The cup was played throughout Czechoslovakia until 1968–69. Fr ...

: 1989–90 Slavia Prague *

: 1995–96 *

Czech Cup The Czech Cup ( cs, Pohár FAČR), officially known as the MOL Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the major men's football cup competition in the Czech Republic. It is organised by the Czech Football Association. The Czech Cup was first held in 19 ...

: 2001–02 Strasbourg *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

Czech Republic *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

runners-up:

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Suchoparek, Jan 1969 births Living people Sportspeople from Kladno Czech footballers Czech Republic international footballers Czechoslovak footballers Czechoslovakia international footballers Dual internationalists (football) Czech expatriate footballers Association football defenders Czech First League players Ligue 1 players 2. Bundesliga players Dukla Prague footballers SK Slavia Prague players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Tennis Borussia Berlin players SK Kladno players Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Germany UEFA Euro 1996 players Czechoslovak expatriate footballers Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in France Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in Germany Czech football managers Association football coaches