Jiří Sobotka

Jiří Sobotka, ( born 6 June 1911 in Prague, † 20 May 1994 Intragna ) also known as Georges Sobotka, was a Czech- Swiss football player and coach.

Playing career

Sobotka began playing football at Čechoslovan Košíře, at age 19, he moved to Slavia Prague. With Slavia striker in 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1940 and 1942 national champion.

Just before the World Cup 1934 debuted Sobotka in the Czechoslovak national team and was vice-champion in Rome. Until 1937, the attacker completed 23 missions in the selection, scoring eight goals.

1940, Sobotka to the Croatian club Hajduk Split, in which the Czech served as player-coach and won the championship. In 1942 he returned to Slavia Prague but soon moved on to Bata Zlín.

In 1946, Sobotka Czechoslovakia for getting her back and emigrated to Switzerland. At FC La Chaux -de-Fonds, he was until 1951 as player-coach, then worked until 1958 only as a coach. In the years 1948, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1957, he won with his team the Swiss Cup in the years 1954 and 1955 the championship and thus the double.

Coaching career

Sobotka left La Chaux -de-Fonds in 1959 in the direction of Feyenoord, with whom he was in 1961 by Dutch masters. From 1961 to 1965 Sobotka coached FC Basel, with which the Czech won the 1963 Swiss Cup.

In the spring of 1964 Sobotka was coach of the Swiss national team for three games. On April 15, 1964, the Swiss defeated Belgium 2-0 in Geneva, on 29 April 1964, subject in Zurich Portugal 2:3. The 1-3 defeat against Italy on 10 May 1964 in Lausanne was Sobotka's last game as the Swiss national coach.

Between 1965 and 1967, the former striker trained with FC Biel -Bienne, from 1968 to 1969 he worked for the Belgian first division club Charleroi SC. In the early 1970s coached Sobotka again the FC La Chaux -de-Fonds, then the FC Aarau (1972 to 1973) from 1973 to 1976 AC Bellinzona.