In order to understand how appreciative the Sparta Prague players are towards owner Daniel Kretinsky, the events of August 31 in 2023 are a good starting point.Seven days prior, the Czech side, who the 50-year-old billionaire has owned since 2004, had lost 3-1 to Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of a Europa League second qualifying round tie. A week later at the Stadion Letna, they qualified for the group stage by sealing a 4-1 victory to win 5-4 on aggregate.Post-match, Kretinsky, who also owns energy company EPH and also has a controlling interest in the company that owns the Royal Mail, entered the home dressing room and embraced all the players. He made a quiet exit as the squad sang along to Freed from Desire, a popular song from the 1990s that has inspired a host of football chants, singing their adaptation of “Sparta’s on fire, your defence is terrified”.Kretinsky let the players have their moment but midfielder Qazim Laci was keen to have a heartfelt interaction.“My good friend!” he said in English as he pointed towards Kretinsky. “My best friend! Come here.”
Laci a jeho best friend Křéťa 😀❤️ pic.twitter.com/k1wiVlxozG
— Zdenek Koutsky (@iKoudy) September 2, 2023In time, some of West Ham’s players might hope to enjoy similar exchanges with Kretinsky as they chase immediate promotion back to the Premier League.One week has passed since the Championship side announced that Kretinsky is set to become their majority shareholder. Following David Sullivan’s resignation as chairman in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct stretching back over decades, the family of David Gold has agreed to sell an additional stake to Kretinsky, whose total stake will increase from 27 per cent to 43 per cent, surpassing Sullivan’s previous 38.8 per cent stake.Although it is a fresh era for West Ham, there are a number of important issues at hand: overseeing the inevitable departures of Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville, who both have interest from Manchester United, convincing club captain and England international Jarrod Bowen to play in the second tier for the first time since 2019, and the appointment of a director of football.When it comes to unpacking Kretinsky’s qualities as a club owner, his stewardship of Sparta over the last 22 years offers an insight into what fans can expect.“As an owner, Kretinsky has brought stability,” says Czech journalist Michael Durcak. “Thanks to him, other billionaires are trying to invest in Czech football. He hasn’t been as successful as the other owners in the ’90s, which isn’t his fault because the league has become very competitive. But the good thing about Kretinsky is he fully trusts the manager, scouts and sporting director Tomas Rosicky (the ex-Arsenal midfielder) to recruit well. Before, Kretinsky used to be involved but he has stepped away from being involved in transfers.“I don’t know how it will work at West Ham but this has been his model at Sparta. For example, they signed Andy Irving from West Ham (in January) and Kretinsky had no involvement. The recruitment team looked at the data and thought Irving would be an ideal fit. Although West Ham are in the Championship, the fans should feel excited about what the future holds under Kretinsky. He will have a lot of plans and can bring them back to European level. The only concern is the potential conflict of interest between both clubs in European competitions down the line.”In August 2024, Sparta qualified for the group stage of the Champions League for the first time since 2005. Although the club suffered six losses in eight fixtures, their belated return to club football’s prestigious competition was a huge milestone. It would have felt like a full circle moment for Kretinsky considering the challenging moments he encountered leading up to that moment.Ex-West Ham defender Tomas Repka criticised his countryman for how he handled his departure from Sparta in 2011. In an autobiography, he admitted that while playing for Ceske Budejovice he gave away a penalty against FC Slovan Liberec to stop Sparta from winning the league to spite Kretinsky.“At that precise moment, I was not thinking straight,” said Repka. “I hurt the team as a whole but I was fuelled by human vanity and I wanted to settle a score with Mr Kretinsky. He didn’t behave fairly to me when I was leaving Sparta, so I promised him I’d get him back.”Karel Poborsky, the former Manchester United winger, also clashed with Kretinsky after claiming the businessman forced him to give up the captain’s armband after criticising then-manager Jaroslav Hrebik. Kretinsky wanted Poborsky and others to know such behaviour would not be tolerated.“We respect Karel as an extraordinary footballer, but his public remarks about the coach are an act that no club can excuse,” Kretinsky said in a statement.Daniel Kretinsky, second from right, pictured at West Ham’s Conference League final win over Fiorentina in 2023 (Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)At times, frustration has also spilt into the terraces, as Durcak explains.“Over the years, there have been chants from fans for Kretinsky to sell the club, but there is no chance that will happen,” he says. “The fanbase is hugely demanding and if you don’t win the title, it is considered an unsuccessful season, especially when you finish second to Slavia Prague.“But his biggest achievement is bringing Sparta Prague back to the Champions League for the 2024-25 seaosn. The club and fans had been waiting for that moment for a very long time. There was a big celebration after (qualification was secured) and Kretinsky joined in, which is unlike him. It just goes to show how special a moment it was for everyone.”Another redeeming feature of Kretinsky’s ownership is that he tries his best to keep hold of key players. Since 2022, the noticeable departures from Sparta are Adam Hlozek, an ex-West Ham transfer target who joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2022, and is now at Hoffenheim, and Ladislav Krejci, Tomas Cvancara and David Hancko.“The club has huge potential when you consider Kretinsky’s wealth,” says Sparta fan Filip Horky. “Other main rivals, Slavia Prague and Viktoria Plzen, have struggled with financial issues and Sparta should’ve capitalised on that. We didn’t and some fans are still unhappy with that period of the club’s history.“Players from Slavia Prague (Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and El Hadji Malick Diouf) have joined West Ham. At Sparta, there are talented players but the club isn’t always under pressure to sell them and Kretinsky has previously refused offers from teams in the Bundesliga and Ligue 1.“He runs the club professionally and is in some ways, is an invisible figure. With his other businesses growing, he’s more behind the scenes now. Fans have been critical and would like to hear from him. Maybe he will be more vocal at West Ham.”In this upcoming season, West Ham will face arch rivals Millwall for the first time since 2012. The rivalry is deep-rooted, with matches often marred by violence.Meanwhile, the Prague derby between Sparta and Slavia is similar. In May, Slavia fans breached security and invaded the pitch with flares during a league fixture and a Sparta player was attacked. As a result, the match had to be abandoned and Slavia’s chairman, Jaroslav Tvrdik, vowed to issue lifetime bans.Kretinsky discussed the incident in an interview with Czech podcast Vsechno zacina dnes released in May and said that he has an admiration for aggression channelled in the correct way.“In football, you need a certain level of aggression and commitment,” he said. “My view is that since the departure of Ladislav Krejci (who left in 2024), Sparta has lacked aggression and the emotional fighting spirit. Slavia, meanwhile, has had an excess of it for years.“Footballers are soldiers going into battle. If they perceive the opponent as a true enemy, they often become stronger competitors.“If the coaching staff behaved differently and didn’t transmit that mentality to the players, the Sparta-Slavia rivalry would still exist, but it would be more civilised. I have to admit something objectively. Sparta currently lacks this spirit almost entirely. We have fighters in the squad but the team as a whole lacks that collective warrior mentality. We can play a title-deciding match and see three or four players willing to die for the result, but the team itself doesn’t fully possess that fighting spirit. So there are elements of it that I envy in Slavia.”In a new era with Kretinsky in charge of the club, West Ham will need to display much-needed fight to atone for last season’s mistakes.
