Although Sigma Olomouc has suffered in recent years, it has been able to compete with world teams in the 1990s. In March 1992, she played a close duel with Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. Michal Kovář, 18, at the time, made his competitive debut in the first match. How do you remember the fights with the Spanish team?
Michal Kovář has a very solid career. He spent most of it in Olomouc, but he also played in the jersey of the famous Hansa Rostock. He played 299 league matches for Sigma, only Oldřich Machala managed more of them (414 matches). Thus, it can rightly be ranked among the legends of the Haná team.
Kovář scored his first competitive match at the age of 18, which would not be so special. However, the young talented defender started his professional career at the time with a duel with Real Madrid on March 4, 1992 in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League).
“I was very lucky to be able to board at the expense of the injured boys. I really appreciate it and I still remember it. I also like to look at the record. I didn’t even know I was going to play then. I found out about that day, I didn’t have time to think about it. “ Kovář recalled in the SigmaJede podcast.
As the current Sigma youth coach himself acknowledged, the match with Real Madrid started his career. “I was not afraid that I would not have to experience a similar match in my career. On the contrary, it started me when I found out that you can also play Real Madrid. I was not afraid of other challenges, one will start believing even more, “ added.
Sigma’s first duel with Real Madrid, which took place at the Olomouc stadium in front of full stands, ended in a 1: 1 draw, with the Hanák goal scored by Pavel Hapal. Kovář then entered the retaliation a little more nervously.
“I knew I was going to play, the nervousness was greater. We caught on to the match, there was a lot of talk and talk about it, it hit me a little, but I appreciated that I could play, “ revealed Kovář.
The retaliation at the famous Santiago Bernabeu ended in a victory for Real Madrid 1: 0, however, the Hanas gave a brave performance and were a difficult opponent. In addition, they believed they did not go to the match in a defeatist mood.
Kovář revealed that the then coach Karel Brückner did not discuss Real Madrid’s game too much. On the contrary, he tried to instill as many different things as possible in his players so that they could be competitive and focus mainly on themselves. Although it was not enough to move forward, there was no reason to be sad.
Source: SK Sigma Olomouc, SigmaJede
