Jaroslav Šilhavý (; born 3 November 1961) is a Czech professional

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 ...

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and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

. As a player, Šilhavý made a total of 464 top flight appearances spanning the end of 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 ...

and the beginning of 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 ...

, scoring 25 goals. His 464 appearances was a Czech league record until 6 November 2022, when Šilhavý was surpassed by Milan Petržela. His son, Tomáš Šilhavý, also played football in the Czech First League. As a manager, Šilhavý won the

2011–12 Czech First League The 2011–12 Czech First League, known as the Gambrinus liga for sponsorship reasons, was the 19th season of the Czech Republic's top-tier football league. It began on 29 July 2011 and was originally due to end on 26 May 2012, although due to th ...

with Slovan Liberec. He has also had spells managing other top flight clubs in the Czech Republic, including

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 ...

Viktoria Plzeň Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victor ...

and Dynamo České Budějovice. He was an assistant manager for the Czech Republic national team from 2001 to 2009 before eventually taking full charge in 2018, later resigning in 2023 after qualifying the team for

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

. In 2024, he was appointed the head coach of Oman, but last only seven months.

Club career

As a player, Šilhavý played as a defender. Born in

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

, he started playing at the top level in the 1979–80 Czechoslovak First League for Škoda Plzeň. He subsequently played for ten years with

RH Cheb RH, Rh, rH, or rh may refer to: Companies * Red Hat, an American software company * Republic Express Airlines (IATA designator), a cargo airline in Indonesia * RH (company), an American furniture chain formerly known as Restoration Hardware Scien ...

before moving 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 ...

partway through the 1989–90 Czechoslovak First League. At Slavia, Šilhavý was part of the team which finished second in the 1992–93 Czechoslovak First League. After four years in Prague, he moved to Petra Drnovice to continue his footballing career. He moved back to Prague in 1997, this time to play for

Viktoria Žižkov Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victor ...

, where he served as club captain. While at Žižkov, he won the 1998 Personality of the League award at the

Czech Footballer of the Year The Czech Footballer of the Year () is awarded in the Czech Republic by the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FA ČR). Eligibility extends to Czech players in the Czech Republic and abroad. Awards for young player, coach and Czech First L ...

awards. During his playing career, Šilhavý became known for the record number of red cards he collected in the Czech First League, which still remains unbeaten as of 2023. He collected 9 red cards, the same as three other players, but with the lowest number of matches played. Combined with the Czechoslovak First League, he collected a total of 12 red cards.

International career

Šilhavý played for the Czechoslovakia U21 national team for eight years, some of these as an authorised over-age player. In this time he made 18 appearances for his country. Šilhavý represented

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 ...

four times as a player, making his debut against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

on 29 August 1990. His final appearance for the full national side was on 27 March 1991, when he played eight minutes of a match against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He also played one match, in 1992, for Czechoslovakia B.

Managerial career

Following his career as a player, Šilhavý became assistant manager to Zdeněk Ščasný at

. He also joined the Czech national team set-up as a coach in December 2001, a position he continued to hold until April 2009. He joined

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

as assistant to manager Jiří Kotrba in December 2022. Šilhavý joined

side

as manager in 2007, signing a one-year deal. Kladno subsequently finished 14th in the 2007–08 Czech First League, one place above the relegation zone. In May 2008, Šilhavý was named as the new manager of

, although his tenure only lasted nine matches, during which time the club won just once. He was relieved of his duties in October 2008. He took up his post at Dynamo České Budějovice on 14 October 2009, replacing Pavel Tobiáš at the club, who were bottom of the league at that time. Budějovice finished the season in 13th place and avoided relegation. The following season, in the

2010–11 Czech First League The 2010–11 Czech First League season, known as the Gambrinus liga for sponsorship reasons, was the 18th edition of the top flight Czech First League annual football tournament. It began on 16 July 2010 and finished on 28 May 2011. Sparta Pragu ...

, Šilhavý led České Budějovice to a final position of 11th in the league table. In June 2011, Šilhavý was announced as the replacement for outgoing coach Petr Rada as manager of

FC Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech professional association football, football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won thr ...

. Liberec started the season well, reaching second place in the league behind Sparta after seven games. The club finished the

in first place, winning the league and qualifying for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

. Šilhavý replaced

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 ...

as manager of FK Dukla Prague in May 2016, signing a three-year contract. He joined Slavia Prague in September of the same year.

Czech Republic

In September 2018, Šilhavý replaced

Karel Jarolím Karel Jarolím (born 23 August 1956) is a Czech football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a midfielder, making 275 appearances in the Czechoslovak First League. and representing the Czechoslovakia national team internationall ...

as head coach of the

Czech Republic national football team The Czech Republic national football team (), recognised by FIFA as Czechia, represents the Czech Republic in men's international Association football, football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR). H ...

. His debut came in a 2–1 victory against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

in the

2018–19 UEFA Nations League The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The league phase of the competition ...

. Šilhavý led the Czech Republic in Group E of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. They opened their qualification campaign with a victory over

, though unexpected poor results against

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

led to rising criticism regarding the team. On 20 November 2023, following a 3–0 victory over Moldova in the final qualifying match that resulted in the Czech Republic qualifying for the

final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, Šilhavý stated that he would not extend his contract with the national team.

Oman

On 1 February 2024, Šilhavý was announced as the manager of the

Oman national football team The Oman national football team () represents Oman in men's international association football, football and is controlled by the Oman Football Association. History World Cup and Asian Cup The Oman national football team has made notable effort ...

, signing a two-year contract. He was sacked on 19 September after poor performances in the

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada men's national soccer team, Canada, Mexico national football team, Mexico, and the United States men's national soccer team, United States at the 2026 FIFA ...

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Slavia Prague *

runner-up: 1992–93 Petra Drnovice *

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 ...

runner-up: 1995–96

Manager

Slovan Liberec *

: 2011–12 FK Jablonec *Czech Cup runner-up: 2014–15 Slavia Prague *Czech First League: 2016–17

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silhavy, Jaroslav 1961 births Living people Footballers from Plzeň Czech men's footballers Czechoslovak men's footballers Czechoslovakia men's under-21 international footballers Czechoslovakia men's international footballers FC Viktoria Plzeň players FK Hvězda Cheb players SK Slavia Prague players 1. FK Drnovice players FK Viktoria Žižkov players Czech football managers Czech First League managers SK Kladno managers FC Viktoria Plzeň managers SK Dynamo České Budějovice managers FK Jablonec managers FC Slovan Liberec managers SK Slavia Prague managers Men's association football defenders Czech Republic national football team managers UEFA Euro 2020 managers FK Dukla Prague managers Expatriate football managers in Oman Oman national football team managers Czech expatriate sportspeople in Oman