Michal Bilek Former Czech football player, currently head coach of the Czech national team Date of Birth: 13.04.1965 Country: Czech

1. Biography of Michal Bilek
2. Early Career and Return to Sparta Prague
3. Later Career
4. Coaching Career
5. Achievements

Biography of Michal Bilek

Former Czech footballer Michal Bilek is currently the head coach of the Czech national team, alongside Vladimir Smicer. Bilek played as a right midfielder and spent most of his career at Prague's Sparta Prague.

Early Career and Return to Sparta Prague

Bilek made his debut for Sparta Prague at a very young age of 17. He played only 13 matches for the capital club before transferring to the team Ruda Hvezda a year later. After playing fifty matches and scoring four goals for Ruda Hvezda, he returned to Sparta Prague in 1986. Bilek became a three-time champion of Czechoslovakia and was sold to Real Betis in 1990. However, he left the club due to their relegation to Segunda Division.

Later Career

After his return to the Czech Republic, Bilek played for Viktoria Zizkov and Teplice, as well as making another appearance for Sparta Prague. He retired from his playing career in 2000. Bilek received his first call-up to the national team when he was 27 years old, making his debut on October 27, 1987, against Poland. The match ended with a 3-1 victory for Czechoslovakia. He also participated in the 1990 World Cup. Bilek played his last game for the Czech national team on March 29, 1995, against Belarus.

Coaching Career

Bilek's first coaching job was with Teplice. Shortly after, he left and went on to coach Katarhines in Costa Rica. Throughout his career, Bilek worked as a coach for Ruzomberok, his hometown club Sparta Prague, Plzen's Viktoria, and the Czech Republic U-19 team. After seven years coaching the U-19 team, he became the head coach of the Czech national team.

Achievements

As a player, Bilek won the Czechoslovakian Championship in 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1993. He also won the Czechoslovakian Cup in 1988 and 1989, as well as the Czech Cup in 1993 and 1994. Bilek was named the Czechoslovakian Footballer of the Year in 1989.

As a coach, Bilek won the Czech Championship and Czech Cup in the 2006/2007 season. He also achieved a bronze medal in the European Under-19 Championship in 2003.