Match of the 5th round of the expansion of the first football league, group for the title: Sparta Prague – Viktoria Plzeň, May 27, 2023, Prague. Sparta fans rejoice at winning the title.
Prague – After the last fifth round of the league extension against Pilsen, Sparta's footballers took over the cup for the new champion. Prague lost 0:1 to last year's champion at the end of the season, but they didn't let that spoil the celebrations at the sold-out Letná. The team then moved by bus to the neighboring Letenská plain, where the program will continue with thousands of fans until the evening.
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The Spartans were already assured of their first title in nine years since Tuesday's goalless draw in Uherské Hradiště, and today's match was therefore carried in a celebratory spirit. Before kick-off, Letenský captain Ladislav Krejčí Jr. received the key to Prague for the winner of the last derby from the mayor of the capital Bohuslav Svoboda.
During the match, the fans often chanted slogans such as “Sparta Prague, champion of the league” or “So we are the first, so what?”. In the 12th minute, the fans on the opposite stand created a big choreo with the inscription “Champions” in gold color, after a quarter of an hour of the game, the Mexican wave began to circulate around the stadium for the first time.
In the 58th minute, Matěj Vydra sent Viktoria into the lead, but the Spartan fans didn't mind too much. In the 84th minute, the referee Stanislav Volek had to stop the match for a while, because dozens of fans behind one of the goals, where the “boiler” is located, climbed from the stands to the sideline.
Even the captain Krejčí had to persuade the fans to stay off the field. The referee then preferred to end the match immediately after the 90th minute, and several thousand fans ran onto the pitch in euphoria.
The fans gathered under the main stand, where an improvised stage was to be erected, on which the Spartans then received the victory cup and medals. The home announcer had to urge the supporters to clear the area for several minutes and the championship ceremony did not start until more than half an hour after the final whistle. pitch. I believed that the security guards would be able to do their job. We tried to somehow protect ourselves, but at the same time live in the moment,” said Sparta's Danish coach Brian Priske at the press conference.
The flight team put on special black title T-shirts and caps with the inscription “Champions Z37NÉ”, symbolizing the number of Sparta's championship victories. Gradually, all members of the implementation team and players took to the stage. Symbolically, the recovered defender Ondřej Čelůstka, who started the last eight minutes today and played for the A-team in a competitive match for the first time since last February, jumped on one leg.
The biggest applause was received by head coach Priske and captain Krejčí, who then named the winning trophy. “One of the greatest moments in my life. It's just a shame that they splashed the champagne in my face, I couldn't see anything. But it was great. This was also one of the things I imagined how I would be able to lift it with the team. These are things you won't forget,” Krejčí told reporters.
The celebrations then culminated on the neighboring Letenská plain, where a large improvised stage was erected in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans. “It's really amazing to see what's happening here today and what's going to happen across the street on the Letenská plain. You can see that there's a lot of joy, happiness, and this is interwoven throughout the last three or four days,” said Priske.< /p>
His wards have already enjoyed, for example, a triumphal boat cruise on the Vltava in Prague during the celebrations in the past few days. “We live in euphoria. It's great when it's spread over several days. The ship was amazing, we had the Charles Bridge, it was something incredible. We have a few people there who slept the least, I'm one of them. We're full, what are the bombs? Now we are waiting for the Letenská plain, and then there will definitely be more celebrations. I hope that everyone will still gather the remnants of their strength and let them go,” Krejčí added.
