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Sydney FC players have welcomed the appointment of Czech Vitezslav Lavicka as the A-League club’s new coach, saying it will allow for a “fresh start” after their worst ever season.
The former Sparta Prague boss was officially confirmed on Wednesday as the successor to John Kosmina, who was sacked by Sydney on Saturday after the club missed the finals for the first time.
While Lavicka is little-known outside of his home country, where he has an impressive record and Sydney are hoping a return to an international coach will bring back the success experienced under German Pierre Littbarski, who led the club to the inaugural A-League title.
“It’s a foreign coach and a fresh start for everyone and everyone is looking forward to the new challenge,” winger Alex Brosque said on Wednesday.
“I’ve never really had a foreign coach, I wasn’t here for Pierre but the boys all say he was brilliant and they loved working under him.
“His record does speak for itself and he’s produced results wherever he’s been.
“We’re all just looking forward to starting fresh and having a crack at the season coming.”
The 45-year-old Lavicka, a two-time Czech coach of the year, will arrive in Australia in March.
He will bring with him fellow countryman Michal Zach, who will take up a role as long as co-assistant coach alongside current Sydney FC assistant and former captain Tony Popovic.
Lavicka will first meet Sydney’s players when he travels to China to watch the club’s upcoming friendly against Shanghai Shenhua on February 28.
Sydney chief executive Stefan Kamasz said Sydney’s players were showing renewed vigour at training knowing the upcoming match would be their first chance to impress Lavicka.
“There appears to be renewed vigour in the sessions that are being taken by (interim coach) Tony Popovic because the team is going to China later this month,” Kamasz said.
“The training sessions went down pretty well so I think there’s a lot of enthusiasm for this appointment by the players.”
Lavicka was hand-picked by new Sydney owner and Russian businessman David Traktovenko, who officially takes control of the club in March.
He was named Czech coach of the year after winning the Czech league in 2005/06 and earning a place in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League with FC Slovan Liberec.
In 2008, he helped Czech giants Sparta Prague qualify for the UEFA Cup, and in the 2007/08 season he also coached the Czech under-21 side.
Lavicka accepted just a one-year deal with Sydney, with the option of a further year, but Sydney view him as very much a long-term solution to the instability that has plagued the club since its inception.
“We actually see this as a long-term solution but the reason why it’s only one-and-one at this stage is that (he and Zach) are relocating from another part of the world,” Kamasz said.
“They’re not coming with they’re families initially, and it’s a big move … we have to be conscious of the fact there are family things that need to be addressed.”
Lavicka will become the fifth coach of Sydney in as many seasons following Littbarski, Terry Butcher, Branko Culina and Kosmina.
Kosmina, who reportedly lost the support of his players, was sacked despite having another year left on his $225,000-a-year contract.
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