Czech press urge Rada to step down

The Czech press unanimously called for the head of national coach Petr Rada on Thursday, a day after he led his side to a 2-1 home defeat to neighbours Slovakia in a World Cup 2010 qualifier.

“Petr Rada, you have to go,” read the sport editorial in the daily newspaper Dnes, one of the country’s most popular papers.

“It’s easier to find water in the Sahara than to find any kind of system in the play of the Czech team,” it added.

Wednesday night’s defeat leaves the Czech Republic in fourth place in European qualifying Group Three, five points behind group leaders Northern Ireland with only four matches remaining.

The daily Sport said “a change is necessary, not only in terms of the coach, but also in the leadership of the (national football) federation. If not, there is a danger that Czech football will experience a heavy fall”.

Popular daily Blesk went even further, claiming that Rada had “brought shame on the nation”.

Rada, meanwhile, has refused to step down and will await the outcome of the Czech football federation’s next executive committee meeting on April 8.

“I will not flee the battlefield,” he told the media on Thursday.

Rada replaced veteran coach Karel Bruckner after the Czech Republic’s group-stage elimination at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.