After an opening thumping from the Spaniards they did not start to tremble. In the next six matches at the miniEURO2014 the Czech team only lost the semi final match against the title defenders from Romania. In a duel for the bronze medals Czech players found more will to win the precious metal and defeated Germany 2:1.
After last year’s fifth place from Crete, a completely changed Czech team in Montenegro regained a medal shine. “I rate the bronze medal definitely as maximum in my career. I never believed that I would participate in such a huge event. In addition, the feedback from the Czech Republic was absolutely amazing,” rejoiced the Czech defender Michal Uhlíř.
Ondřej Paděra, a player of Sokol BK Sadros Boskovice, became the best scorer of the team with five goals. “Experienced players from Prague Hanspaulka league contributed to the quality of the team. Koudelka, Paděra and Demeter convinced the coaches by their individual performance,” said Stanislav Bejda, the assistant coach of the national team.
The Czechs, after an initial defeat 0:3 from Spain, overcame England 2:0 and knocked down Turkey 7:1. From the basic group E the Czech Republic progressed from the second place, in the round of sixteen they run over Slovakia 5:1, and in the quarterfinal they turned the duel with Croats. After a draw 3:3, a triumph 2:0 on penalties sent the team forward. “I cannot even describe how much energy was in our team even in the score 0:2. We had a fantastic crew. All the boys were excellent. It is almost unbelievable how it all worked,” beamed Uhlíř.
In the semifinals, players of the main coach Radek Pokorný from Brno were defeated 1:2 by Romania. Then the champion defending last year´s title beat Slovenia in the finals 1:0. “The Romanians really have their quality. But with a bit of luck we could defeat them. I believe we will succeed next time,” said Uhlíř, who plays minifootball for a Prague´s club Santa Dominica, resolutely.
In a match of defeated semi-finalists the Czech squad better mobilized their forces and won 2:1 against Germany after goals of the Czech captain Vít Turtenwald and Paděra. “Our boys really wanted the medal, they motivated each other and showed a team strength,” stated Bejda delightedly.
The Czechs celebrated the bronze success by a nonstop party. “MiniEuro was fantastic. It’s absolutely one of my personal life experiences. The whole organization was working very well. In addition, I want to highlight the realization crew of the Czech team. How they took care of us was really indescribable and huge thanks belong to them.” concluded Uhlíř.