Sparta Prague fly to Piraeus with no training at the Greek stadium

Prague’s Sparta have changed their usual pre-match routine: the players flew to Greece only on Wednesday after 3 p.m., and will walk onto the pitch in Piraeus for the first time only on Thursday, a few dozen minutes before the game. Only coach Brian Priske and defender Tobias Guddal—who had a press conference to attend—went from the airport to the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.

The rest of the squad went straight to the hotel. On Wednesday morning the players gathered one last time at Strahov in Prague, and only then flew to Athens.

Why Sparta changed the plan

According to Priske, the team needed to work on tactics. On Tuesday, two days after the match against Baník, putting some players on the pitch was not the best idea, so it was hard to train the way they wanted. The coach explained that the team decided to stay at home and focus on what matters for the next game.

Guddal took the change of schedule calmly: in his words, there is no real difference between staying in familiar surroundings and flying out later.

Wednesday was devoted mainly to tactics, Priske added: how Sparta want to play, attack and defend. The coach also said that after Sunday’s match he held several meetings and talks with players, including the forwards who are not scoring, above all Jonathan Brunes. The morning team session was important, he said, also because every player has his own routine, and a full session cannot be held at the opponent’s stadium.

An unusual kick-off time

The kick-off time is also unusual. For viewers in Czechia it stays the same: 9 p.m. But in Greece it is an hour later, so the players will start the game at around 10 p.m., and it will finish before midnight.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz