Jan Suchopárek (born 23 September 1969) is a Czech

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former defender. He played for

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

and later the

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

, playing a combined total of 61 international matches, scoring four 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 Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

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

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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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. 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 Pa ...

and Slavia before moving to France, where he played for

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, commonly known as RC Strasbourg (, ; RCS) or simply just Racing, is a French professional association football club founded in 1906 and based in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. It became a professional club in ...

, and Germany, for

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 ...

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

Kladno Kladno (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 70,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and has a rich industrial history. Administrative division Kladno consists of six municipal parts ...

. As a coach, Suchopárek took roles at

(youth coach) and

Dukla Prague Dukla Prague () 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-finals of the ...

(assistant coach) before moving into the Czech Republic national youth teams. He served as head coach of the Czech Republic U21 national team from 2021 to 2025, leading the side to the group stage of the final tournament in the

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and

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European Championships.

Club career

Early career

Suchopárek was born in

. He played in the

Czechoslovak First League The Czechoslovak First League (, ) was the premier football (soccer), football league in the Czechoslovakia from 1925 to 1993, with the exception of World War II. Czechoslovakia was occupied by German forces who formed Gauliga Sudetenland and Ga ...

for

between 1988 and 1991, during which time the club won the Czech and

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. F ...

in the 1989–90 season. He then moved 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 t ...

, where he played from 1991 to 1996. In this time he captained the title-winning team in the

1995–96 Czech First League The 1995–96 Czech First League was the third season of top-tier football in the Czech Republic. League changes Relegated to the 1995–96 Czech 2. Liga * Bohemians Prague * Benešov Promoted from the 1994–95 Czech 2. Liga * Opava * Uhers ...

France and Germany

Suchopárek was one of four players from the Czech squad at

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

in July 1996. He played for three years in France with Strasbourg. In August 1999, Suchopárek was one of seven players signed by manager

Winfried Schäfer Winfried "Winnie" Schäfer (born 10 January 1950) is a German football manager and former player who is the technical director for the Ghana national football team. Playing career Winfried Schäfer played 403 Bundesliga matches and scored 46 goa ...

of German 2. Bundesliga side

. He scored his only league goal that season in a 2–2 draw against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

on 8 November 1999. Suchopárek went on to record 23 league appearances in the 1999–2000 season, but had meniscus surgery in April 2000, curtailing his season.

Return to the Czech Republic

Suchopárek returned to the

to play for

again in October 2000. 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 meniscus (anatomy), menisci. When doctors and patients refer to "torn cartilage" in the knee, they actually may be referring to an injury to a meni ...

, 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 ...

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, is a football club from Kladno, Czech Republic. It plays in the Bohemian Football League (third tier of the Czech football system). The club was founded on 15 February 1903. The team plays at ...

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 or 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 ...

. Suchopárek retired from professional football following the end of the 2004–05 Czech 2. Liga, in which Kladno finished fourth and missed promotion to the

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

on the last day of the season.

International career

Suchopárek made his international debut in 1991 for

, having started playing for the nation's under-21 side the year before. He made his senior debut against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

on 25 September 1991 in a friendly match which finished 3–2 to Czechoslovakia.

UEFA 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, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, 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, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, which the Czechs went on to win 1–0 thanks to a Karel Poborský strike. As this was his second yellow card of 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 is a sports rule used in association football, Australian rules football, bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby league to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the ...

in extra time. Following Euro 1996, 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.

Coaching career

During his time at Kladno, Suchopárek started studying for the

UEFA Pro Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...

, 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 () is a Czech association football club located in the Dejvice area of Prague. It currently plays in the Czech First League. The club played in local competitions between 2001 and 2007, when it gained entry to the country's seco ...

to become assistant to

Luboš Kozel Luboš Kozel (born 16 March 1971) is a Czech professional football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Jablonec. Following a playing career where he was mostly associated with Slavia Prague, he spent seven years as manager o ...

. 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. Suchopárek led the U21 national team in two major tournaments. His side were elimiated in the group stage of the

2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2023) was the 24th edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (27th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth Association f ...

after a loss against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, during which he rested a number of key players. He again led the side at the

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2025) is the ongoing 25th edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (28th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth Assoc ...

, leaving his role after his side's elimination in the group stage.

Career statistics

International

: ''Results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first.''

Honours

Dukla Prague *

: 1989–90 Slavia Prague *

: 1995–96 *

Czech Cup The Czech Cup (), 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 1961. The winner ...

: 2001–02 Strasbourg *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Czech Republic *

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

runners-up:

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Suchoparek, Jan 1969 births Living people Footballers from Kladno Czech men's footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers Czechoslovak men's footballers Czechoslovakia men's under-21 international footballers Czechoslovakia men's international footballers Dual internationalists (men's football) Czech expatriate men's footballers Men's association football defenders Czechoslovak First League players 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 men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Germany UEFA Euro 1996 players Czech expatriate sportspeople in France Czech expatriate sportspeople in Germany Czech football managers Czech football coaches