For decades, the conversation surrounding Czech football has been anchored in a specific kind of grit. It’s a culture that prizes “bojovnost”—fighting spirit—often to the point where the battle itself supersedes the game. But for Roman Skuhravý, the 51-year-old manager currently tasked with a rescue mission at Slovácko, this obsession with combat is not a virtue; it is a barrier.
The tension reached a boiling point following a recent clash with Liberec. While the result was a victory for the home side, Skuhravý saw something far more troubling than a loss of points. He described the match not as a sporting contest, but as a “Czech war,” a term that encapsulates a systemic preference for physical duels over technical intelligence. For Skuhravý, the goal is simple yet radical for the local landscape: he wants to play, not to destroy.
This ideological friction is not isolated to one touchline. It mirrors a growing crisis of identity within the national game. Aleš Křeček, the new sporting director of the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR), has been equally candid about the state of the sport. In a recent appearance on the Livesport Daily podcast, Křeček admitted that the Česká fotbalová DNA se vytratila—the Czech football DNA has vanished—and that the nation has practically lost its identity on the pitch.
The shared vision between Skuhravý and Křeček is clear: a shift away from the “war” of attrition and toward a philosophy rooted in courage, game control and dominance. It is a move toward a more European standard of football, where the ball is the primary tool for progress, not the opponent’s shins.
Trenér Slovácka Roman Skuhravý po dnešním utkání v Liberci. pic.twitter.com/iUB3aGPVkj
— Sporťák (@SportakCZ) April 4, 2026
The Data of Dominance: Courage vs. Combat
To understand the gap between the “war” and the “game,” one must gaze at the metrics of possession. In modern football, a key indicator of a technical, composed team is the number of sequences consisting of 10 or more consecutive passes. This metric reveals a team’s ability to maintain composure under pressure and systematically dismantle a defense rather than relying on long balls and physical clashes.
In the Chance Liga, the disparity is stark. Sparta Prague leads the league with 341 such sequences, marking them as the benchmark for a possession-based approach. However, the drop-off is precipitous. Only six teams in the entire league have surpassed 150 sequences. Notably absent from this elite group are several heavyweights with European ambitions, including Slavia Prague, Liberec, Olomouc, and Baník.
This lack of technical cohesion is most evident when compared to international models, specifically Denmark. During a recent World Cup playoff encounter, the difference in “game intelligence” was palpable. While the Czechs may have secured the result, the Danes exhibited a level of structural sophistication that the domestic league lacks.
The statistical gulf is cosmic. In the Danish top flight, even the lowest-ranked team records 132 sequences of 10+ passes, while ten different teams exceed 200. The gold standard, Nordsjaelland, reaches a staggering 480. This is the result of a systemic commitment to youth development and a philosophy that prioritizes the ball over the tackle.
V této sezoně mají Dánové v TOP 5 ligách 55 hráčů, přičemž 50 jich hraje v poli. Dohromady nastřádali téměř 54 tisíc minut. Více než tisíc minut v rozehraném ročníku odehrálo 23 Dánů.
Čechů je v TOP ligách 14. Bez hráčů jako Louis Thomas Buffon, Yannick Eduardo, Antonín Kinský…
— Jakub Dvořák (@jakubdvo) March 31, 2026
The Outliers: Architects of a New Identity
Despite the prevailing trend toward a “combative” style, a few managers are attempting to rewrite the script. Aleš Majer at Mladá Boleslav serves as a primary example. Since taking over in the summer, Majer has remained steadfast in building a clear identity based on combination play and a youthful approach. This commitment initially came at a high cost, leading to lost points and a slide toward the relegation zone.
However, the persistence paid off. After entering the spring season in 13th place—just three points above the relegation playoffs—Majer’s side climbed to 11th, establishing a seven-point cushion. The effectiveness of this identity was most visible in the MOL Cup, where they managed to advance past Sparta Prague, proving that a technical approach can dismantle the league’s giants.
⚽️ #3 Sparta – Mladá Boleslav 3:2
Muž zápasu: Aleš Majer
Je až neuvěřitelný, jak rychle se dá týmu vtisknout nová tvář. Mladá Boleslav včera ze Sparty dostala maximum a díky tomu jsme viděli famózní zápas. ????A zakončení L. Haraslína? ????????#ChanceLiga
— Vladimír Grebennikov (@Grebyyyy) July 28, 2025
Roman Skuhravý is practicing what he preaches at Slovácko. Since the winter preparation period, his influence has been visible in the Opta data. Slovácko has climbed to third in the league for sequences of 10+ passes from open play, rising from a previous 9th place. They now rank third in passes per sequence—trailing only Plzeň and Sparta—and fifth in progressive attacks.
For Skuhravý, the “fighting spirit” narrative is a trap. When asked if a more combative approach would be a safer route to survival, he reacted with visible frustration. “Those are exactly the things we have been listening to here for thirty years,” he remarked. “If we accept combativeness as the standard, we will never move forward.”
The Structural Struggle Ahead
The challenge for Aleš Křeček and the FAČR is that the desire for a new “footballing DNA” clashes with the immediate pressure of results. While Křeček envisions a future built on three pillars—game control, high intensity in ball recovery, and courage—the reality is that more than half of the top-flight teams currently operate on the opposite philosophy.
Even clubs with the resources to dominate, such as Slovan Liberec, have struggled to maintain a technical identity. Under Radoslav Kováč, Liberec initially aimed for dominance and combination play, but over time, the team drifted toward a more direct, physical style—becoming, in some respects, a mirror of Slavia Prague’s high-intensity approach rather than a technical counterpart to Sparta.
| Team/League | 10+ Pass Sequences | Style Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Sparta Prague | 341 | High Combination |
| Slovácko (Post-Winter) | Top 3 | Improving Technical |
| Mladá Boleslav | Top 6 | Identity-Driven |
| Danish League (Avg) | 132 – 480 | Systemic Dominance |
| Bottom Chance Liga Teams | < 150 | Physical/Direct |
The road to recovery for the Czech game is not merely about tactics, but about a cultural shift in youth development. If the national team is to compete with the intelligence of a side like Denmark, the transition must begin long before a player reaches the professional level. However, as long as the league rewards “wars” over “football,” the incentive to change remains low.
As Aleš Křeček begins his rounds visiting domestic clubs to advocate for these changes in youth training, he faces a steep uphill climb. He is fighting against thirty years of established dogma in a league where a title contender still relies on the particularly “combativeness” Skuhravý despises.
The next critical checkpoint for this ideological shift will be the upcoming youth development reviews and the implementation of the FAČR’s new training pillars across regional academies. Whether these changes can permeate the professional level remains to be seen, but for managers like Skuhravý and Majer, the risk of playing “real football” is the only way out of the trenches.
Do you believe the emphasis on “fighting spirit” has held Czech football back, or is it a necessary part of the domestic game? Share your thoughts in the comments.
