KAREL PESEK 'KADA'..
THE SPARTAN CHEMIST WHO WAS EASTERN EUROPE'S FIRST MIDFIELD MAESTRO AND RATHER HANDY WITH THE PUCK...
Karel Pešek "Kaďa" was a Czechoslovakian footballer and regarded as one of the best Czechoslovakian players of all time. Initially starting out as a make-shift winger, he eventually settled into the center-half(CDM) position and became the arguably one of the first defensive midfield maestro's of the game. Whilst football was his life, Kada also was a top ice hockey player winning olympic medals and became a doctor of science and a Master of Pharmacy boasting the title RNDr.
"IRON SPARTA"
Kada was the leading figure in the almost mythical "Iron" Sparta (Prague) side which was unbeaten during 50 games from 1920 to 1923, scoring 230 goals and conceding only 40 goals. Kadam was soul and spirit of the football machine. He was not the fastest or even the most technical in all fairness, , but he could almost do everything perfectly, in other words he was a very complete player. Whilst he was not tall, few could outmuscle him due to his supreme physical fitness. He played intelligently, gracefully, calmly and with great foresight (anticipation). He was said to have been the pioneer of the defensive midfield position and the only player who is said to have been his true heir was the excellent Dukla Prague midfielder Pluskal.
He was admired him all over Europe. Sparta won with him. In Vienna fifty thousand spectators watched on as Sparta beat the best Austrian clubs, whilst at home in Prague triumphed over the likes of legendary Uruguayan sides such as Nacional Montevideo and the English side Bolton Wanderers. He triumphed on tours in Portugal, Spain or France. In 1926 he undertook a successful tour in the US and a year later helped Sparta win the inaugural mitropa cup.
INAUGRAL MITROPA CUP
In the other semi-final, Slavia Prague and Rapid Vienna shared four goals in the first leg, largely due to a virtuoso performance from Slavia’s legendary goalkeeper Frantisek Planicka. He kept Rapid’s strike force at bay with a string of acrobatic saves. Planicka, ranked as his country’s finest-ever custodian, captained Czechoslavakia in the 1934 World Cup. He was nicknamed “the cat of Prague” and drew comparisons with the great Zamora of Spain, among others. But Planicka couldn’t stop Rapid from winning the second leg 2-1, with XXXXXX striking a spectacular free kick past the great keeper.
The final, then, was Czechoslavakia v Austria, Sparta v Rapid. It was the sort of decider that Meisl and his colleagues must have yearned for. The two countries had recently met in the Dr Gero Cup and rivalry was fierce between the old empire stable-mates.
The first leg, on October 30, 1927, drew 25,000 people to the Letna Stadium (now the Generali and still home to Sparta Prague). The home side was captained by Karel Pesek-Kada, a Moravian who was something of a sporting hero in Czechoslavakia having won a bronze medal in the 1920 Olympic games at Ice Hockey. Pesek’s matinee idol looks made him a popular figure in Czech football between 1913 and 1933, a lengthy career that included more than 40 caps for Czechoslavakia.
Pesek got Sparta off to a perfect start with a goal in the first minute. XXX made it 2-0 with 14 minutes gone, but Rapid hit back through XXXX.By half-time it was 3-2 to Sparta after Wesely had added another for Rapid. The second half saw Sparta surge forward as they added three goals to give them a 6-2 first leg lead. Sparta’s silky football had proved too much for Rapid.
The second leg was held at the Hohe Warte stadium which hosted many big games in Vienna. Rapid’s coach, Edi Bauer – who named himself in the starting line-up – adopted a physical approach to try and unsettle Sparta. The Austrian side kicked, punched and shoved their opponents, but referee Mr Eymers only sent off a Sparta player. Sparta were very much out-of-sorts, and Rapid led 2-0 after 55 minutes but managed to nick a goal to win 7-4 on aggregate.
The Viennese crowd, which numbered some 40,000, was not happy and at the presentation of the trophy, Sparta skipper Pesek was struck by a stone. The crowd invaded the pitch and to protect the victorious Sparta players, around 200 policeman formed a “ring of steel”. It was an unfortunate finale to an ambitious competition that had already captured the imagination of the public in old Europe!
THE OLYMPICS.. DOUBLE-MEDALLIST (HOCKEY & FOOTBALL)?...
In Ice Hockey, Kada was was considered one of the best Czech forwards. He helped the team to gold medals in two European Championship and helped them earn a bronze in the 1920 Olympics. No wonder then that he was the easily the most popular Czech athlete of his time, to the point where he even had songs composed in his honour A Holešovice Uránie said the 1925 operetta Plays Today Kadam, with lyrics such as
'today plays Kada / golden-haired diva / plays tonight Kada / each melt dech./ when he kicks the apricot / heart struny./ kick off tonight plays Kada / boasting over Bohemia! - Catchy I am sure you agree.
Back to the olympics of 1920, having picked up the bronze. Kada was instrumental in captaining the Czechs to the final of the football tournament, where they had blitzed the opposition with blistering displays of attacking football. They now faced the home side in what was to become one of the most controversial football finals of all time.
After having a contentious penalty given against them after 6 minutes, further lighting the fire regarding the view that the Belgians had bribed the officlals pre-match. Kada was convinced the game was rigged. The Czechs began to lose their head due to the presence of the belgian military around the pitch closing in on the pitch, and after 36 minutes, the team was led off the pitch by Kada and the final was abandoned. A separate tournament was then held for second/third place and the Czechs were stripped of any medals.
STYLE OF PLAY
Pešek was a very hard-working player with amazing fighting spirit. He was very useful in defensive lines with his leadership and his extraordinary tackle became he was very difficult to pass.
When Sparta went on tours abroad, hosts would demand Karel Pesek-Kadam to feature. In the center of midfield has become a recognized figure across Europe. As mentioned above he was amazingly prescient., great reading of he game, tremendous peace of mind under pressure and a perfect awareness of danger and team mates around him. His ground tackling was widely reknowned and said to be flawless. He had a perfect jump, which enabled him to play a very good head. Constantly fought at full pace, with enormous vitality and will. He gave the game everything: heart and breath, joy and enthusiasm. It was said that "
When swims Kadam, swim all"...
