Salamanca
Well-Known Member
The Czechs are riding a crest of a wave after defeating Leicester City in the last round but they have been told don't expect another Celtic.
Ex-Aberdeen keeper Tomas Cerny has warned his countrymen that Rangers are a completely different prospect than Celtic ahead of the Europa League last 16 showdown.
The Czechs are riding a crest of a wave after defeating Leicester City in the last round and city rivals Sparta have already tasted success against Scots this season with home and away 4-1 victories against Celtic in the same competition.
But ex-Partick Thistle and Hamilton Accies keeper Cerny, who retired from football earlier this season due to a knee injury, has urged Slavia not to think they will easily replicate Sparta's success.
He said: "Sparta caught Celtic in their worst situation for ten years. Even in the league, they had problems beating smaller teams and recently they lost to the bottom placed side.
"When they played Sparta, Celtic were in a period where they hadn't won for many, many games, which is unthinkable in Scotland.
"Rangers will be completely different. The two sides are not comparable at all. Rangers will be very confident against Slavia.
"They play attractive football and are very good offensively. They are absolutely cruising to the title. This is Steven Gerrard's third year and the longer he has been here, the more you can see his style of football. Even when they are not at their best, they win.
"Rangers dictate play and that doesn't change against anyone. They were far better than Antwerp for example. They have a very annoying player in Alfredo Morelos, but he's a great scorer and they also have Ryan Kent. Sometimes, it's unbelievable what he can do.
"However, the injury to their captain James Tavernier is a big loss for them. He's scored an incredible amount of goals from right back and has almost the same number of assists.
"Rangers do have some similarities with Leicester, but Slavia have shown reputations don't bother them and it will be a very interesting tie."
Meanwhile, Slavia boss Jindrich Trpisovsky has revealed he knows Rangers will be a tough draw because he's already watched them.
He pointed out: "By coincidence, I actually watched a Rangers game on TV three weeks ago. Look at their position in the Scottish league and their performances in Europe and it will tell you we are playing serious opposition.
"In my opinion, they are the strongest team seen in Scotland for many years.
"It would be nice if we could take a lead to Glasgow after the first leg, but I wouldn't be too annoyed if we for another 0-0 draw like against Leicester.
"Rangers play a slightly different style to Leicester, but certainly playing in England will help us when we play Rangers.
"It's just a pity our fans won't be able to experience the famous Glasgow atmosphere."
Some nice words from the Slavia Prague manager.
Ex-Aberdeen keeper Tomas Cerny has warned his countrymen that Rangers are a completely different prospect than Celtic ahead of the Europa League last 16 showdown.
The Czechs are riding a crest of a wave after defeating Leicester City in the last round and city rivals Sparta have already tasted success against Scots this season with home and away 4-1 victories against Celtic in the same competition.
But ex-Partick Thistle and Hamilton Accies keeper Cerny, who retired from football earlier this season due to a knee injury, has urged Slavia not to think they will easily replicate Sparta's success.
He said: "Sparta caught Celtic in their worst situation for ten years. Even in the league, they had problems beating smaller teams and recently they lost to the bottom placed side.
"When they played Sparta, Celtic were in a period where they hadn't won for many, many games, which is unthinkable in Scotland.
"Rangers will be completely different. The two sides are not comparable at all. Rangers will be very confident against Slavia.
"They play attractive football and are very good offensively. They are absolutely cruising to the title. This is Steven Gerrard's third year and the longer he has been here, the more you can see his style of football. Even when they are not at their best, they win.
"Rangers dictate play and that doesn't change against anyone. They were far better than Antwerp for example. They have a very annoying player in Alfredo Morelos, but he's a great scorer and they also have Ryan Kent. Sometimes, it's unbelievable what he can do.
"However, the injury to their captain James Tavernier is a big loss for them. He's scored an incredible amount of goals from right back and has almost the same number of assists.
"Rangers do have some similarities with Leicester, but Slavia have shown reputations don't bother them and it will be a very interesting tie."
Meanwhile, Slavia boss Jindrich Trpisovsky has revealed he knows Rangers will be a tough draw because he's already watched them.
He pointed out: "By coincidence, I actually watched a Rangers game on TV three weeks ago. Look at their position in the Scottish league and their performances in Europe and it will tell you we are playing serious opposition.
"In my opinion, they are the strongest team seen in Scotland for many years.
"It would be nice if we could take a lead to Glasgow after the first leg, but I wouldn't be too annoyed if we for another 0-0 draw like against Leicester.
"Rangers play a slightly different style to Leicester, but certainly playing in England will help us when we play Rangers.
"It's just a pity our fans won't be able to experience the famous Glasgow atmosphere."
Some nice words from the Slavia Prague manager.
:shh:
