Bílek elected national team football coach

The Czech Football Association on Tuesday appointed former Sparta Prague and Real Betis midfielder Michal Bilek the country’s national team coach. The 44-year-old Bilek was assistant to the team’s last coach Ivan Hašek, who announced his resignation a week ago after the Czechs failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Bílek is already the fourth Czech coach this year after Hašek, František Straka and Petr Rada. Bílek, capped 35 times with 11 goals, played at the 1990 World Championships in Italy, after which he moved from Sparta Prague to Real Betis in the Spanish La Liga. With Sparta, he won the top Czech league seven times and was elected Footballer of the Year 1989.