I started my career there, but it´s not my team and I last played there eleven years ago. The last player there that I´ve known since my childhood was Radim Kučera, but he´s not on the team anymore either. They need to take a lesson from this and I´m sure they know well what was wrong in this season. However, I´m sorry that they´re getting relegated.
After the referee blew the whistle to end the second half, some of the Olomouc players went down in tears...
I know some of them. I´ve known Škerle, Dreksa and Varadi for a long time and they are good guys. Unfortunately, that´s how things go.
This was your first home match after a long time. How would you evaluate your personal performance?
I had a tough time in the last twenty minutes because it was only my second game in two months. Olomouc played four strikers in the end and I was hurt so I was just hoping for the final whistle.
How do you like the way goalkeeper Kolář played in his Gambrinus Liga debut?
He played fantastically. We know he´s very talented and today he had a chance to prove it. It´s fun watching him practise as well and I´m very happy for him becuase he is a great character guy. He was the best player of the match for sure.
This was your last match playing for Liberec. What were your feelings about leaving?
I had mixed feelings because everybody knows that I liked playing here. Unfortunately, we couldn´t come to an agreement and that´s how things go sometimes. I´m going to Sparta, back home to Prague and it´s a big challenge for me. It´s the biggest team in our country and I´m sure I´m going to have a great time there. It´s too bad I have to leave Liberec though. I don´t know if I should be happy, like I said, I´ve got mixed feelings now.
What are you going to miss the most?
The guys. We had a great group of guys here. Too bad Keli, Kušnír and Rambo are not with us anymore. They were great guys and we were all forming a great team. You can see that you like doing something when you´re looking forward to the practice even though you have to wake up at six in the morning and drive 130 kilometres from Prague to Liberec and you´re still looking forward to it. That´s what I care about the most.
Did your stay here in Liberec exceed your expectations?
Absolutely, I had a blast here. I remember when I was in the office of Mr Karl before I signed the contract and it got me really confused what to expect. After all, we found a way to have a good relationship that was both professional and profitable for each side.
Must have definitely felt better than your time in Switzerland, right?
There´s no question about that. People didn´t trust me and were saying that I was too old and that I wasn´t even good enough to play regularly in Switzerland. Journalists kept saying that the Swiss league is not very good, but Basel is a big-time club that sells their players for tens of millions of euros each year. It was probably the worst of my international outings, but I took a lesson from it, kept working hard and had a great time in Liberec afterwards.
How important for you is the fact that you won a spot in the Europa League to end your stay in Liberec?
It´s very important to me that I´m leaving and I can look into the mirror and say that we did an amazing job here. I´m very happy for that and I have loads of great memories from Liberec for many years to come.
