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The impetus for the Litvín exhibition was a commemorative event for the Olympic triumph of the Czech national team, which was held in the sold-out O2 arena in Prague in February. “After the match, we talked with Sláva (coach Lener) about organizing a similar charity match. And we agreed that it would be played in Litvínov, where in the 90s of the last century, when we had a lot of players from here, they played exhibitions regularly,” said former forward Robert Reichel at today's press conference in Prague.
Fifty-one-year-old Olympic champion and three-time world champion Reichel is one of the main characters of the project together with coach Slavomír Lener. Reichel is in charge of the composition of the Lithuanian team, Lener of the team of legends.
For example, Pavel Francouz, Ondřej Kaše, Radek Duda, Jaroslav and Viktor Hüblové, Jan Myšák, Kristián Reichel, František Lukeš, Tomáš Pavelka or Jakub Lauko should defend the home colors. The jersey of the legends will be worn by Patrik Eliáš, David Výborný, Jiří Tlustý, Tomáš Vlasák, Filip Hronek, Jaroslav Hlinka or Jan Hlaváč. Star footballers Petr Čech and Vladimír Šmicer are also ready to play. Martin Ručinský and Jiří Šlégr will also be on the bench.
“We have worked our way up to quite decent teams. We hope that everyone will come and we will manage to sell out the stadium,” wished Reichel, who will also play. “Robert is very ambitious, so he has put together a very strong team. We will also have a quality team,” Lener said.
The Lithuanian exhibition will also have a charitable undertone. Proceeds will go to the Czech Philharmonic Foundation and support youth in the North Bohemian Club. “We want to connect sport and culture, which give the Czech Republic great publicity in the world for a long time. The Czech Philharmonic is among the top five in Europe, and the same rules apply in culture as in sport. To succeed, you need the best players – here, conductors, musicians,” said Lener.
In addition, similar exhibition matches could be played regularly in the future. “We have in our heads that we would like to continue this. That we would take advantage of the impulse. After Nagano, exhibitions were played regularly, then the organization of similar matches ended. Now there is a great chance for it to be regular,” said Lener.
