Danish coach for Sparta Prague? Priske knows what players need, says former Finland captain Sparv
Priske was initially an assistant in Midtjylland, before becoming the head coach who went on to win the league. And also knock out Slavia Prague, Sparta's fierce rival, out of the Champions League. "He was my last coach in Denmark. I like him both as a person and as a coach. At the end of our last season he put me on the bench, but I still respect him. That says a lot," Sparv says with a smile. "He is an ambitious coach, a workhorse, with a clear idea how he wants to play. He is a teacher who knows how to communicate his ideas to the players. And he's a good man manager, he knows what the players need, he's close to them, doesn't just see them as robots. But he can be strict when needed, of course. He expects a high standard from everybody," the Finnish international summarises.
Sparv expects Priske to be successful at Sparta if he is given the neccessary resources and time. The former will not be a problem, as the club from the Letná district is owned by the third richest Czech businessman Daniel Křetínský. However, the latter might be an issue - the Danish expert is Sparta's eight permanent coach since their last title in 2014. "That's not just a problem of Sparta, but of football in general, especially in some cultures. People want to win now and don't understand the balance between short and long term results. Coaches don't get two or three years to really build a team and make it their own," Sparv analyses.
Priske is a modern coach interested in statistics, data and the analytical side of the game. There isn't neccessarily one "Priske way" of football, though, as he's often very flexible with formations. "We played 433 with him in Midtjylland, if I recall correctly. But he's not too stuck in one system - if something doesn't work or there are players in the team better suited to different positions, he has no problem changing his strategy. It's nothing unique but I can safely say that he wants his teams to play football which is active, atractive and effective. With him, we were very agressive, dynamic and strong in set pieces," Sparv recalls.
The former midfielder has already given Priske several tips on good places in Prague, but the Danish coach will have to find out the specifics of local Fortuna liga on his own. From the get go, he will have to fight against voices of more convervative personalities in Czech football who are not used to a coach from outside of the former Czechoslovakia being on the bench of Sparta. Many of them mention "specific Czech locker room culture" as something foreigners often have trouble being compatible with. "That sounds strange to me. I don't think there's any special culture," Sparv dismisses such comments. "Of course, it's always good to give chances to your homegrown coaches, no matter if you're Czech, English or Finnish. But I don't think you should care if your coach is local or foreign - it's more about him as a person, about his skills, about how he fits into the club. If he's Czech - cool, if he's from abroad, so what? It's good not to be closed up in your bubble and instead try to listen do someone who has experience with different culture," he adds. "Football can be a very old fashioned, conservative and it takes time before people change their mind. I just don't think Brian will have any problems in the Czech Republic. It will be very interesting to follow him."
Priske's journey with Sparta will begin in late July with not only the start of Czech Fortuna Liga but also the qualifying rounds of the Conference League where Sparta will meet Viking FK.