Jiří Lopata

Jiří Lopata (born 22 December 1936) is a Czech former football player and manager. He played two seasons in the Czechoslovak First League, scoring 27 goals in 51 games for Spartak Plzeň. He spent more time in the league as a manager, mainly at RH Cheb, where he remained for five years. He later went on to manage Plastika Nitra, Dukla Prague and Bohemians Prague in the same league.[1] In 1985, he also took charge of the Czechoslovakia under-21 side.[1]

Jiří Lopata
Personal information
Date of birth (1936-12-22) 22 December 1936
Place of birth Plzeň, Czechoslovakia
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1961–1963 Spartak Plzeň 51 (27)
Škoda České Budějovice
Teams managed
1978–1984 RH Cheb
1983–1984 Plastika Nitra
1985 Czechoslovakia U21
1985–1987 Dukla Prague
1992–1993 Bohemians Prague
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

As a player, Lopata scored 16 goals in the 1961–62 season for Spartak Plzeň, a record which had still not been surpassed in 2006.[2] He scored another 11 the following season, but his club were relegated and he never played in the First League again. During his time in the first league he scored two hat-tricks, the first coming in a 5–0 home win against Tatran Prešov.[2] Later in his career, he played for Škoda České Budějovice in the third league, before finishing his playing career in 1967.[2]

Management career

As a manager, Lopata joined RH Cheb in 1978.[2] He celebrated promotion with them and continued in the First League before leaving in the 1983–84 season in order to take over at Plastika Nitra.[1][2]

Lopata took charge of Dukla Prague for two seasons as manager. He led the club to third place in the 1985–86 Czechoslovak First League,[3] a season which included the club securing a record win of 10–0 against opponents Dynamo České Budějovice.[4] The following year was less successful as the club finished the 1986–87 season in ninth place.[3] The last First League club Lopata managed was Bohemians Prague, where his engagement ran out in 1993.[1]

References
  1. Jeřábek, Luboš (2007). Český a československý fotbal - lexikon osobností a klubů (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic: Grada Publishing. p. 113. ISBN 978-80-247-1656-5.
  2. "Lopata: 16 gólů za sezonu v Plzni dosud nikdo nepřekonal". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). 29 December 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  3. Pivoda 2013, p. 36.
  4. Pivoda 2013, p. 28.

Bibliography
  • Pivoda, Aleš (2013). Legenda se vrátila. Prague: MAC. p. 157. ISBN 978-80-86783-65-9.

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