Club

Sparta Praha / Újpest FC* (CZE/HUN)

1893 the club is founded on 16th november. At the close of 1893, a small group of young people based around three brothers, Václav, Bohumil and Rudolf Rudl, had the idea of setting up a sports club. On the 16th November, the founders' meeting approved the club's articles of association and one month later, on the 17th December, the first annual general meeting took place. Soon after that, the Athletic Club Sparta came up with its tricolour, in which blue symbolises Europe, red is the symbol of the royal city, and the reasons for the yellow are not known any more.

 1919 beginning of the "Iron Sparta" era. Shortly after World War I, a team was put together that triggered off the famous period of the twenties and thirties referred to as "Iron Sparta". A football league in Czechoslovakia was established in the mid-twenties and the club collected title after title. To this day the fans still recall the names of the players of that period with admiration: Peyer, Hojer, Perner, Káďa, Kolenatý, Červený. A few years later, some no less famous names appeared, such as Hochman, Burgr, Hajný, Šíma, Silný, Čtyřoký, Košťálek and in particular Oldřich Nejedlý, the top scorer at the 1934 World Cup. Shortly before this most famous era kicked off, Vlasta Burian, the man who later became the king of Czech comedians, played in goal for the club.

1927, 1935, 1964 Central European Cup winners, The milestones of the first golden period of the club's history are two Central European Cup titles, which in the twenties and the thirties enjoyed the same recognition as that of today's Champions League. Sparta's three titles are definitely important milestones in the cup's history. After two triumphs in 1927 and 1935, the third came in 1964, at a time when the cup's importance was gradually falling in the light of other European cups.

 1983 a new glory era, 14 championship titles follow. Nevertheless, the feeling of breath-taking glory brought by a league title only returned to Letná in the early eighties. Built around Chovanec, Berger, Hašek, Skuhravý, and Griga, the team was virtually unbeatable and won one title after another. In 1983/1984, the team got as far as the UEFA Cup quarterfinal. In the early nineties, this successful era was continued by the next generation of players, such as Siegl, Horňák, Němeček, Frýdek, Němec, Kouba.

 1997-2005 UEFA Champions League participation. Sparta has been a regular participant in the UEFA Champions League, the most prestigious European competition, since 1997. The only exception was in 1998/1999 when the club didn't get past the qualification stage, losing to Dynamo Kiev on penalties. Sparta did qualify during the next three years, however, and in the 1999/2000 and 2001/2002 it won through to the quarter-final stages. In 1999/2000 it actually won its initial group under the management of Ivan Hašek, and was then third in the quarter-final group. In that group Sparta came up against FC Barcelona which went on to reach the semi-finals. In the 2001/2002 season Sparta was drawn against the eventual winners of both the European competitions during the course of its run. Feyenoord Rotterdam lost twice to Sparta in the champions league group stage and managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup which it went on to win. Sparta went on to meet Real Madrid in the quarter final that year. Sparta did not qualify for the group stage in 2002/2003, when it was beaten by the Belgium club Genk in the third round of qualifying. 2003/2004 saw Sparta take on two Italian giants. Initially, the club beat Lazio in the group stage, but after an initial draw Sparta failed to get into the quarter finals past AC Milan. The group stage in 2004/2005 did not work out at all well for Sparta. After drawing with Manchester United at the sold-out Toyota Arena in an even contest, the other matches were lost and the club finished last in the group.

Team AC Sparta Prague U17 won the league title in Czech republic in categories U15, U16. In category U16 with 20 point difference before second Viktoria Plzeň. Strong team consist of nine players from Czech national team. Last season team had good result on Tour in England, where beaten Liverpool FC, Tottenham Hotspur and loos with Manchester United.