Football

In 1965 experienced director Jaroslav Mach made a documentary with re-enacted scenes which addressed topical problems of football, a popular sport in Czechoslovakia. The filmmakers got behind the scenes of football via the team Slavoj, which was preparing for a decisive match. If the coach, Beran, didn’t get his lads to give a convincing performance there was a risk that they’d be relegated to the second league. After a series of dramatic mishaps, Slavoj arrived on the pitch so weakened that the dreaded failure became a reality. Fortunately, in the end the fans vented their anger over “their” team losing on the innocent referee. The film also included criticism of the match officials... Besides the actors Martin Růžek and Bohumil Šmída, Mach’s film also featured real football players from the legendary Dukla Prague club and big football names still celebrated at the time (for example, Slavia Prague's František Plánička, one of the most honoured players in the history of Czechoslovakian football).