Josef Černý

“No one cared what we ate, that was quite out of the question. This was the business of each of the players. Our duty was to perform well and train properly. We had good conditions. But what we ate or didn’t eat? We drove to Prague to play against Sparta. And we were given CZK 100. Get something to eat. But no one cared what we ate. CZK 100 was enough for a good meal, it was not little. You could have a schnitzel with potatoes, a salad, a soup and paid CZK 40. For CZK 50 you could eat really a lot, if you wanted. Some ate, some not, depending on what they were used to. Today, it’s completely different, you cannot really compare it.”

“It was an experience with the Russians indeed. Naturally, we were aware of the political situation. We knew that if we lost to Canada or the United States nothing much would happen. But that if we beat the Russians that would be something. Well, and then there were the demonstrations in the Wenceslas Square. I told myself that I was virtually a dissident. We caused it, we were the dissidents. But let me tell you that I really had a problem when the situation calmed down. Then there were the so-called street committees. We won the National Cup and as a reward were given a trip to the sea to Yugoslavia. But we had to pay the trip for our wives and needed a permit for them to go. We, players, got the permit with the prize. So I went to the street committee. I told what I wanted. The man there told me I took part in demonstrations after the match against Russians that we had won 2:0. I told him I had taken no part in the demonstrations since I was in Sweden at that time and scored the second goal – just in spite of people like him. Eventually I got the permit for my wife. But you see what some people responded like back home.”