Plzeň finds replacement for sacked Hyský: club close to deal with Kovář

Football club Viktoria Plzeň is likely to announce the appointment of a new head coach in the coming days — the man in line for the job is Martin Kovář. A source close to the Prague-area club shared the news on Friday evening.

"If nothing has changed overnight, Plzeň should indeed be bringing in Kovář," the source said. This would allow Viktoria's board chairman Adolf Šádek to make good on the promise he made right after Friday's sacking of coach Hyský — to name a new manager as quickly as possible.

Who is Kovář

Everything suggests the club will announce Kovář's arrival as early as this weekend, so the coach can get to work with the demoralised squad without delay. His last job was at Liberec, where the former national team defender failed to live up to the expectations of club owner Ondřej Kania and left Slovan at the end of last season. The North Bohemian club subsequently hired Slovak coach Branislav Fodrek.

If the verbal agreement is confirmed by a signed contract, Plzeň will represent the biggest challenge yet in Kovář's coaching career. He has previously managed Pardubice, Opava, Tábor and the aforementioned Liberec, and also worked as an assistant at Sparta Prague.

Other candidates were also considered

Amid the search for Hyský's replacement, the name of Sigma Olomouc's recent coach, Tomáš Janotka, was also mentioned. According to some reports, Viktoria also considered Michal Bílek, the current coach of the U21 national team, who led Plzeň to the championship title in the 2021/2022 season. The option of temporarily promoting assistant coach Marek Bakoš to head coach was reportedly discussed as well.

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Source: sport.cz