Pavel Vrba (born 6 December 1963) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player. He is known for applying an offensive football philosophy in the teams he coaches. As a player, Vrba played for several clubs, including Baník Ostrava. As a coach, he led several Czech and Slovak clubs, including a

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

record of five seasons in charge of

FC Viktoria Plzeň Football Club Viktoria Plzeň () is a Czech professional Association football, football club based in Plzeň. It plays in the Czech First League, the top division of football in the country. As runner-up in the 1970–71 Czechoslovak Cup, the c ...

, whom he led to two league titles, one cup title, and three consecutive seasons of participation in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

knockout stage – a record for any Czech club.

Managerial career

Early career

Having been assistant to manager

Erich Cviertna Erich Cviertna (16 March 1951 – 5 October 2013) was a Czech football player and manager. As a footballer, Cviertna played for several lower league clubs. As a manager, Cviertna coached several Czech clubs, most notable of them being Gambrinus ...

, Vrba took charge of

FC Baník Ostrava FC Baník Ostrava is a professional association football, football club from Ostrava in the Czech Republic. The club competes in the Czech First League, the top tier of Czech football. Founded in 1922 as SK Slezská Ostrava, Baník has won the ...

for a short time towards the end of the

2002–03 Czech First League The 2002–03 Czech First League, known as the Gambrinus liga for sponsorship reasons, was the tenth season of top-tier football in the Czech Republic. Stadia and locations League table Results Top goalscorers See also * 2002–03 Czech ...

after Cviertna's departure. His first match in charge resulted in a 7–0 loss for Ostrava away to

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

. He won the Slovak Superleague with

MŠK Žilina MŠK Žilina () is a Slovak football club based in the town of Žilina, that is playing in the Slovak First Football League. Since the league inception in 1993, the club has won 7 titles and comes second in All-time table that makes them one o ...

in the 2006–07 season and led the team to second place the following season.

Viktoria Plzeň

In 2010, he led Viktoria Plzeň to the victory in the

Czech Cup The Czech Cup (), officially known as the MOL Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the major men's football cup competition in the Czech Republic. It is organised by the Czech Football Association. The Czech Cup was first held in 1961. The winner ...

for the first time in the club history. He was voted the Czech Coach of the Year for 2010. In the 2010–11 season of the

, he won the league with Viktoria Plzeň for the first time in the club history. Vrba was awarded the title "Czech Coach of the Year" for 2012, symbolising the third consecutive year he had won the award. He led Plzeň to a second league title in 2013. In October 2013 Vrba led Plzen for a 152nd consecutive top-flight match, setting a league record. Despite having a contract with Plzeň until June 2015, the Czech Football Association activated a buy-out clause, paying his club 8 million

Czech koruna The koruna, or crown (sign: Kč; code: CZK, ), has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's eight currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro in the future. The ...

and he was announced as the new manager of the

Czech Republic national football team The Czech Republic national football team (), recognised by FIFA as Czechia, represents the Czech Republic in men's international Association football, football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR). H ...

in November 2013. His last game in charge of the club was the

2013–14 UEFA Champions League The 2013–14 UEFA Champions League was the 59th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 22nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was ...

group stage tie against

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

which Plzeň won 2–1 with a last-minute goal from Tomáš Wágner, thus earning them a place in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

knockout stage. At the end of the match, the fans unfurled a banner reading "always remember that it wasn't wasted time".

Ludogorets Razgrad

On 16 December 2019, Vrba became manager of Bulgarian

Ludogorets Razgrad Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 (), commonly known as Ludogorets Razgrad or simply Ludogorets, is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Razgrad, which currently competes in the First Professional Football League ...

Sparta Prague

On 3 February 2021, Vrba became manager of

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

Trinity Zlín

On 28 November 2022, Vrba became manager of Trinity Zlín.

Líšeň

On 18 December 2024, Vrba became manager of Líšeň. On 4 February 2025, Vrba is out as manager of Líšeň. He was dismissed after only two months, five pre-season matches.

Honours

Managerial

Žilina *

Slovak Super Liga The Slovak First Football League (), officially known as Niké liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Slovakia and the highest level of the Football in Slovakia, Slovak football league system. It was formed ...

: 2006–07 * Slovak Super Cup: 2007 Viktoria Plzeň *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2012–13, 2017–18 *

: 2009–10 *

Czech Supercup The Czech Supercup () was an annual football match between the winners of the Czech First League and the Czech Cup, organised by the Czech Football Association. It was last sponsored by Synot Tip and was therefore officially known as the Synot ...

: 2011 Ludogorets Razgrad *

First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

: 2019–20

Individual

* Czech Coach of the Year (8): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018

Managerial statistics

References

External links

Profile at Viktoria Plzeň website

Profile at www.Fotbal24.cz website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vrba, Pavel 1963 births Living people Czech men's footballers Czechoslovak men's footballers FK Hvězda Cheb players FC Baník Ostrava players Czech football managers Czech Republic national football team managers Czech First League managers MŠK Žilina managers Slovak First Football League managers FC Baník Ostrava managers FC Viktoria Plzeň managers MŠK Púchov managers Expatriate football managers in Slovakia UEFA Euro 2016 managers FC Anzhi Makhachkala managers Expatriate football managers in Russia Czech expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Czech expatriate sportspeople in Russia Russian Premier League managers First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) managers Men's association football midfielders PFC Ludogorets Razgrad managers Expatriate football managers in Bulgaria Czech expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Czech expatriate football managers AC Sparta Prague managers Sportspeople from Přerov 1. SK Prostějov players FC Zlín managers SK Líšeň managers