Fiery František Straka named new national football manager

In football, František Straka has been named the new national manager in a surprise move by the country’s federation. Straka takes over from Petr Rada who was sacked in April after winning just two of his six World Cup qualification games. That left the Czech Republic with a mountain to climb and the fiery 50 year old now charged with leading that assault. Straka has a mixed managerial record. He managed Teplice between 2002 and 2004 followed by a stint in charge of his beloved Sparta Prague. He picked up the Czech Cup with both. Most recently he has taken charge at a series of small clubs abroad. He was sacked at the latest of these after a series of eight games without a win in the Greek league.