Former Czech coach Bruckner to retire

Karel Bruckner, former coach of the Czech and Austrian national teams, said Wedensday he is retiring from the game.

“My career as head coach is ending,” the 69-year-old Bruckner told Sport daily.

“This week I’ll officially join the ranks of the retired. I will benefit from reductions on the railways and the tramways,” joked Bruckner, who coached the Czechs from 2001-2008 and then the Austrians until the beginning of this month.

“After 37 years work my brain is completely impregnated with football,” said Bruckner, who had intended to quit after Euro 2008 but changed his mind after the Czechs lost to Turkey in a thrilling encounter which left him wanting more.

“The end of that match was quite brutal – I wanted to chase off that memory so it would no longer haunt me,” Bruckner told reporters.

The silver-haired Bruckner, nicknamed Klekhi Petra’ – after a character which features in the book ‘Winnetou’ written by 19th century German author Karl May – took the Czechs to the Euro 2004 semi-finals but quit his Austrian post earlier this month with his side’s World Cup qualifying campaign faltering.

He had taken over as Austria coach in July 2008 after leading his native Czech Republic to a group-stage exit at Euro 2008.