Michal Bílek (born 13 April 1965) is a

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 ...

manager and former player who serves as

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the Czech Republic U21 national team. He led 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 ...

for four years between 2009 and 2013. As a player, he 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 ...

and 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 ...

at international level. His playing position was right midfielder.

Playing career

During his career, Bílek was mainly associated with

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 ...

, which he represented on four separate occasions, starting with the first team aged only 17. 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

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 ...

in the mid-1980s before returning to Sparta. On 27 December 1990, Bílek transferred to Spanish club

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

, being relegated in his first season, and returning to Sparta after another year. He played for

FK Viktoria Žižkov FK Viktoria Žižkov is a Czech professional football club from the district of Žižkov in Prague. The club competes in the Czech National Football League, the second tier of football in the country. It won the Czechoslovak First League title ...

and

FK Teplice FK Teplice is a Czech professional football club based in the city of Teplice. The club competes in Czech First League, the top tier of Czech football. The club was founded after World War II in 1945. The club advanced to the Czechoslovak First ...

until 2000, appearing once again for his main club in between. Bílek played for

and briefly for the independent

. For both teams, he played a total of 35 matches and scored 11 goals, representing the former at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

as an offensive mainstay – scoring twice for the quarterfinalists. His debut for Czechoslovakia occurred in 1987 during a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

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 ...

in Bratislava.

Managerial career

Immediately after from ending his career, Bílek began coaching, precisely with Teplice. After a brief stint in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, he returned home, going on to manage

FK Chmel Blšany FK Chmel Blšany was a Czech football club based in the village of Blšany. The club played in the Czech First League between 1998 and 2006 and was the first professional club of goalkeeper Petr Čech. The club disbanded in 2016 after resigning f ...

FC Viktoria Plzeň Football Club Viktoria Plzeň () is a Czech professional Association football, football club based in Plzeň. It plays in the Czech First League, the top division of football in the country. As runner-up in the 1970–71 Czechoslovak Cup, the c ...

and

MFK Ružomberok MFK Ružomberok () is a Slovak professional football club playing in the city of Ružomberok. History Established in 1906, the club's colours have been traditionally white, yellow and red, which are also featured on the town's flag. However, t ...

. In 2006, Bílek took charge of Sparta, replacing

Stanislav Griga Stanislav Griga (born 4 November 1961) is a Slovak football manager and a former player. He played 34 matches for Czechoslovakia and scored eight goals. Playing career As a player of AC Sparta Prague, Griga played at the 1983 European Super Cup ...

. He went on to win 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 ...

in his first season and finish second in the following season. Bílek resigned from his position at Sparta in May 2008. In late October 2009, having coached the nation's U19 team seven years earlier, former assistant Bílek was appointed new coach of the senior team, following

Ivan Hašek Ivan Hašek (born 6 September 1963) is a Czech professional football coach and former player who currently manages the Czech national football team. Hašek played as a central midfielder and spent a 11-year career with Sparta Prague, appearing ...

's resignation after the failure to

qualify Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. He was replaced as national team coach in September 2013 after nearly four years in the role by Josef Pešice.

International goals

:''Scores and results list; Czechoslovakia's goal tally first.''

Managerial statistics

Honors

FC Viktoria Plzeň *

: 2021–22 Individual *

Manager of the Season: 2021–22

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilek, Michal 1965 births Living people Czech men's footballers Czechoslovak men's footballers Czechoslovak First League players Czechoslovakia men's under-21 international footballers Czechoslovakia men's international footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers Czech expatriate men's footballers Czech First League players Czech Republic national football team managers Czech football managers Czech expatriate football managers Czech First League managers Men's association football midfielders AC Sparta Prague players FK Hvězda Cheb players FK Viktoria Žižkov players FK Teplice players La Liga players Real Betis players Dual internationalists (men's football) 1990 FIFA World Cup players FK Teplice managers FC Viktoria Plzeň managers AC Sparta Prague managers FC Zlín managers Expatriate football managers in Slovakia Expatriate football managers in Costa Rica Czech expatriate sportspeople in Costa Rica Expatriate football managers in Georgia (country) Czech expatriate sportspeople in Georgia (country) MFK Ružomberok managers UEFA Euro 2012 managers Czechoslovak expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in Spain Czech expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia FC Dinamo Tbilisi managers FC Vysočina Jihlava managers Footballers from Prague Kazakhstan national football team managers Czech expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Expatriate football managers in Kazakhstan FC Astana managers