Jaroslav Köstl will join the Czech national team
Six years ago, they arrived at Eden together, securing eight trophies, including the Czech-Slovak Super Cup. They guided Slavia to three European quarterfinals, introducing "total football" and filling Eden to the brim. In December, they achieved another first in the club´s history by topping their European cup group. Jindřich Trpišovský, Jaroslav Köstl, Zdeněk Houštecký, Štěpán Kolář. Another victory in the same composition won´t be added to this highly successful coaching quartet.
"After a long six years, it´s time to bid farewell. I´ve decided to take on a new challenge with the national team. It´s a bittersweet departure, but with a great feeling. Not just due to the trophies we celebrated together, but especially knowing that we managed to create some of the most memorable days of our lives, which we´ll always look back on with joy and pride," says departing Jaroslav Köstl.
In his first reaction to the move to a new position, he expresses gratitude and pays tribute—to the fans, his players, and colleagues from the coaching staff.
"I would like to thank the fans for the support you´ve shown us from day one in this fantastic club and wish you more beautiful moments with eternal Slavia. Thanks to all the amazing players I met in the locker room every day. And last but not least, a huge thanks to my colleagues, from whom I could learn and grow every moment of my time at Slavia. I believe this isn´t a final goodbye," adds the new national team assistant.
Trophies, records, famous victories, and stints as head coach On December 22, 2017, the red and white family received a gift that scripted a golden chapter in the club´s modern history. Four men were appointed as coaches, one of whom is now departing. A former Motorlet and Řeporyje player, later a member of the youth coaching staff at Bohemians 1905, Sparta Prague, and sports director at MFK Ružomberok. He first peered into the senior football bench alongside Jindřich Trpišovský at Viktoria Žižkov and subsequently at Slovan Liberec, where he led his debut minutes in the top league.
All this embodies Jaroslav Köstl. He leaves Slavia with three league titles, four victories in the domestic cup, and memories of unforgettable journeys in European competitions. It was the Conference League and the match on the heated ground of Fenerbahçe Istanbul where he led Slavia into the battle for advancement for the first time as the head coach.
But let´s go back to the beginning—to the pre-Christmas period when Slavia was revealed and later embraced the concept of "total football." After the first spring round, many doubted as the red and whites, defending champions, fell on the field of bottom-placed Jihlava by the narrowest margin. Six years and over 200 league games later, we know it was a jackpot.
206 matches in the top league and 482 points with a success rate over 77 percent. These are the numbers that Jaroslav Köstl leaves behind—a business card of over three hundred competitive matches that he, along with the rest of the coaching staff, prepared Slavia for. This statistic includes three European quarterfinals, victory in the Europa League group, and a record series of 54 league matches undefeated, unmatched in the history of Czechoslovak football. The challengers in the FORTUNA:LIGA awaited the red and whites for 582 days, and they celebrated the league title without a single defeat.
Let´s move back to the European stage, scalps of Leverkusen, Nice, Sevilla, Leicester, and AS Roma fill out the highly successful CV, between whose lines Slavia surpassed representatives from the top five European leagues. Add to that the draw at Camp Nou, San Siro, and other fierce battles that made the red and white nation globally recognized.
It was one of the last European matches where Jaroslav Köstl symbolically concluded his Slavia chapter. Due to the head coach´s health issues, he led the team in Tiraspol as the head coach, turning the final minutes into progress and subsequently defeating the Roman wolves, making a direct leap to the Europa League Round of 16.
Something ends, something new begins. The legacy that Jaroslav Köstl leaves at Slavia will undoubtedly remain in the club.
Thank you for everything, and we wish you the best in your new role with the national team!
