Czechoslovakia 1920

Czech international football had endured a 12 year hiatus following Bohemia's loss of international status in 1908.

The new Czechoslovakian team made their international bow at the 1920 Olympics, although the core of the squad had competed in the 1919 Inter Allied Games.
On 28th August 1920 Czechoslovakia made their international debut- beating Yugoslavia 7-0 ( scorers: Vanik (3), Janda (3) , Sedláček).
The following day Janda scored another hattrick as Norway were beaten 4-0.
In the semi final (31.08.20) France were beaten 4-1. On this occasion Otakar Škvajn  was the hattrick scorer.

The stage was set then, for Czechoslovakia to be effectively crowned World Champions in their 4th competitive international match.

Famously, of course, this was not to be the case.

The line up for the final was:

GK	Rudolf Klapka	Viktoria Žižkov
FB	Antonin Hojer	Sparta
FB	Karel Steiner	Viktoria Žižkov
HB	František Kolenatý	Sparta
HB	Karel Pešek (C)	Sparta
HB	Emil Seifert	Viktoria Žižkov
F	Josef Sedláček	Sparta
F	Antonín Janda	Sparta
F	Václav Pilát	Sparta
F	Jan Vaník	Slavia
F	Otakar Škvajn	Sparta

The 3 players who featured in the tournament but not in the final itself were : Miroslav Pospíšil, Antonín Perner (v Yugoslavia) & Jan Plaček (v France). They were all Sparta Prague players.

Sparta Prague in North America 1926

The voyage 

Sparta Prague won the Stredoceska I. Liga (Czech national Championship) in the 1925-26 season. In the autumn of 1926 they undertook a 2 month tour of North America. It was a strong squad; of the 18 players who went on the tour 17 won international honours. Jan Dvořáček, league top scorer with 32 goals (from 18 games!) did not travel. 

Standing:

Josef Fanta
Fanta managed the Czech national team throughout the 1920s and up until 1933.

 František Hochmann

7 Czechoslovakia caps. Goalkeeper.

Antonín Kaliba

Kaliba was loaned from Union Žižkov to cover the injured Hochmann and stayed on for the tour. He had kept goal 7 times for Czechoslovakia back in 1922-23.

Jaroslav Polacek
Represented Czechoslovakia once in 1925. Forward.

Josef Miclik
Spent 4 seasons at Sparta and won 2 league titles. Forward.

Jaroslav Červený

7 caps for Czechoslovakia, he remained in the USA following the tour, Playing for Sparta of Chicago.
Halfback.

Ferdinand Hajný 
A Mitropa Cup winner with Sparta in 1927, Hajný represented Czechoslovakia on 12 occasions. Inside left. 

Rudolf Dolejší
Joined Sparta from Rapid Prague in 1926. Won 1 international cap for Czechoslovakia that summer. Fullback.

Karel Steiner
4 years at Sparta sandwiched between 4 and 7 year spells at Viktoria Žižkov. Steiner was a 1920 Olympian, and won a total of 14 caps. Fullback.

Josef Horejs
Joined from First Vienna in 1925. He represented Austria 4 times. Fullback.

Otto Fleischmann
Represented Czechoslovakia 3 times. Forward.

František Kolenatý
Clocked up a total of 7 league championships with Sparta. Also represented Czechoslovakia 28 times.
Halfback.

Karel Pesek-Kada

Pesek enjoyed success as an Ice Hockey international in addition to his achievements as a footballer. Played football in the 1920 Olympics, became the first man to lift the Mitropa Cup and won 5 league titles with Sparta. Halfback.

 Václav Špinder

Coach who led Sparta to Mitropa Cup success in 1927 and also won 3 national championships.

Seated: 

Josef Maloun
1 international cap, 2 league titles. Forward.


Antonín Perner
In 14 years at Sparta he won 8 league titles. A veteran of the 1920 Olympics, Perner won 28 international caps for Czechoslovakia.Halfback.

Antonín Janda-Očko
34 year old Janda effectively came out of retirement for this tour. He had last played competitively in 1923. In 10 internationals he scored 12 goals and won 5 league titles with Sparta. Inside forward.

Not in picture:
Antonin Carvan
Carvan joined Sparta from Viktoria Žižkov late in the domestic season. He represented Czechoslovakia 14 times and later played in France with Nimes.
Halfback.

Antonín Hojer
Played 35 international games for Czechoslovakia  and won 7 league titles and the Mitropa Cup with Sparta. Fullback.

Josef Silný
Joined Sparta from rivals Slavia at the end of the 1926 season. 50 international caps, scoring 28 goals, Sliný played in the 1934 World Cup final. Later played in France with Nimes. Forward.

06.09.26	International League	0	4	Sparta	Brooklyn
	All Stars New York
11.09.26	Brooklyn Wanderers	3	3	Sparta	Brooklyn
12.09.26	New York Giants	0	6	Sparta	New York City
19.09.26	Fall River Marksmen	3	2	Sparta	North Tiverton Rhode Island
26.09.26	Ohio Stars	2	6	Sparta	Cleveland
	Cleveland All Stars
04.10.26	Chicago Stars	0	1	Sparta	Chicago
10.10.26	Ulster United	4	4	Sparta	Toronto
17.10.26	St. Louis Stars	3	5	Sparta	St. Louis
23.10.26	Sparta F.C	0	9	Sparta	Chicago
24.10.26	Detroit Stars	1	2	Sparta	Detroit
30.10.26	Brooklyn Wanderers	3	1	Sparta	Brooklyn
03.11.26	Galicia	1	1	Sparta	Newark

P	W	D	L	F	A
17	12	3	2	43	20

Fall River played a league match against Springfield on the morning of their meeting with Sparta, and several Springfield players guested for the Marksmen in the second game. 
Sparta Chicago (Sparta Athletic and Benevolent Association Football Club) was founded by Czech migrants in 1917 and dominated Illinois football from 1927 onwards. 
Brooklyn Wanderers featured 3 former Hakoah Vienna players (Neufeld, Drucker and Schoenfeld).

The Inter-Allied Games

The Inter-Allied Games were held in Paris, June 22 to July 6, 1919, at the Pershing Stadium.
It was a multi-sport event modeled on the Olympic Games.
The football tournament featured 8 teams.

 Group A:

24.06.19	France	4	0	Romania
25.06.19	Italy	9	0	Greece
26.06.19	Italy	7	1	Romania
26.06.19	France	11	0	Greece
28.06.19	Greece	3	2	Romania
28.06.19	France	2	0	Italy

France	3	3	0	0	17	0	6
Italy	3	2	0	1	16	3	4
Greece	3	1	0	2	3	22	2
Romania	3	0	0	3	3	14	0

Group B:
  

24.06.19	Czechoslovakia	4	1	Belgium
25.06.19	USA	5	4	Canada
26.06.19	Czechoslovakia	8	2	USA
26.06.19	Belgium	5	2	Canada
28.06.19	Czechoslovakia	3	2	Canada
28.06.19	Belgium	7	0	USA

                           

             

Czechoslovakia	3	3	0	0	15	5	6
Belgium	3	2	0	1	13	6	4
USA	3	1	0	2	7	19	2
Canada	3	0	0	3	8	13	0

               

Final 29.06.19   Czechoslovakia 3-2 France

Czechoslovakia was a new state, having previously been a part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In this tournament the Czech team was the former City of Prague Representative XI, coached by Slavia Prague's Jake Madden.

France were determined to win the championship in front of their own people and bolstered their team for the final- including internationals such as Pierre Chayrigues, Eugène Langenove, Émilien Devic, Maurice Gastiger and  Paul Deydier. At half time the Czechs reorganized their line up, Janda moving out of defence into his favoured inside forward position from where he orchestrsted a comeback. France were 2-1 up with just 5 minutes left. According to the Games Committee's report: Janda, by his aggressiveness and good sportsmanship, became one of the most popular players of the tournament.

Sparta Prague 1919- 
L-R: Jaroslav Červený, Karel Káďa, František Kolenatý, Antonín Hojer, Antonín Janda, František Peyr, Miroslav Pospíšil, Václav Pilát, Antonín Fivébr, Josef Sedláček, Jan Plaček

Greece were on the end of 2 fierce beatings in which they conceded 20 goals, but they managed a win over Romania.

Antonín Janda-Očko- inspired the Czech comeback in the final.

French goalkeeper Pierre Chayrigues fractured his shoulder and pelvis in the final and was out of the game for 2 years.

The Czechoslovakia  squad:

Peyr (Sparta) , Klapka (Viktoria Žižkov), Pospisil (Sparta), Hojer (Sparta), Cerveny (Sparta) , Pesek (Sparta),  Fivebr (Sparta), Loos (Slavia), Vlk (?), Prosek (?), Vanik (Slavia) , Pilat (Sparta), Janda (Sparta), Sedlacek (Sparta).

Players in bold type appeared in the 1920 Olympic squad.

Vanik  and  Sedlacek had previously represented Austria.

The full text of the Games Committee's report is here:  https://archive.org/details/cu31924014114353