Sparta Prague is one of the strongest clubs in the Czech Republic with a very long and eventful history. This club is the record holder for victories in the national championship, but today there are quite strong clubs in the country that can compete with Sparta. At the same time, Sparta Prague continues to impose a serious fight on the European arena and last season went very far in the Europa League.
Success in the championship of Czechoslovakia
Sparta Prague is a club that was founded back in 1893. Naturally, then football was not developed and did not even exist as a full-fledged sport, and Sparta was a sports club that combined various directions. In the mid-twenties of the twentieth century, the Czechoslovak soccer championship was first held, in which Sparta took second place, losing to another metropolitan club, Slavia. At the same time, a feud arose between the two teams.
Until 1948, rivalry in the championship was mainly fought between Sparta and Slavia, only occasionally did other clubs manage to take first or second place in the tournament. During this time, Sparta Prague nine times became the champion of Czechoslovakia, after which the club began to decline. In subsequent years, he was able to win only two league titles - in 1965 and 1967, and in 1975 an entire era ended.
At that time, in Czechoslovakia all the clubs, except Sparta, were already in the second division. And it was in that year that Sparta could not resist and dropped the league lower, but pretty soon returned to the highest level. Already in 1983 she took third place in the championship, and since 1984 she won eight of ten tournaments, including the last one held in 1993. In total, the club won 21 Czechoslovak championships.
Success in the Czech Championship
When Czechoslovakia broke up, Sparta retained its dominant status in the new tournament - the Czech Championship. Of the 23 tournaments that have been held over the years, the club has won twelve. Moreover, its dominance was maximum during the first ten years of the existence of the tournament - over these years, Sparta won eight championships.
Later, the club’s position weakened, although almost always, when the Czech championship did not win, he took second place. For the entire existence of this tournament, Sparta only twice did not appear in the top three - in 1996 and 2006. The club last won the tournament in 2014 - after that, for two years in the Czech Republic, Victoria became the champion.
Success in the country cup
As for the Czech Cup, here at Sparta such successes as in the championship are not observed. This tournament has been held since 1960, that is, from the moment when the club was already not in the best condition. The first victory happened in 1964, when the club was called Spartak Sokolovo. As Sparta, the first victory was gained only in 1972. As a result, if we are talking about the Czechoslovak Cup, then this club has eight victories - the same as the Prague “Dukla". If we talk about the Czech Cup, then Sparta is the sole leader in the number of trophies - the club has six of them. The club last won this tournament in 2014.
Success in the European arena
Last year, many in Russia talked about the big match for domestic football in Krasnodar - Sparta Prague. The fact is that such a pair was in the 1/16 final of last year's Europa League. In the European arena, Sparta could not win anything in its history - twice the team managed to reach the semifinals of the most prestigious tournament, which is now called the Champions League, but twice Sparta lost.
In recent years, the club could not show anything at all outside its country, but the 2015/2016 season was a breakthrough - at the group stage of the Europa League Sparta scored 12 points, leaving the group with the German Schalke, and in the 1/16 finals the confrontation between Sparta Prague and Krasnodar happened. The forecasts were disappointing, but the Czech club won two confident victories.
In the 1/8 finals, the club was waiting for an even more serious test. Few believed that the Czechs would win the match between Sparta Prague and Lazio, and the suspicions were confirmed in the first match in the Czech Republic, the clubs tied 1-1. However, in the second leg in Italy, Sparta made a sensation, defeating the hosts 3-0. But in the quarter finals, the club, unfortunately, lost to the Spanish Villarreal.