Historical profile
Career overview
Vlastimil Petržela (born 20 July 1953 in Prostějov) is a Czech football coach and former player. He worked with Zenit Saint Petersburg from 2003 to 2006, winning the silver medals of Russian Premier League in 2003 and reaching the quarterfinal stage of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. Before Zenit he managed SK Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague and Bohemians Prague. As a player, he appeared for Czechoslovakia at the 1982 FIFA World Cup as a substitute against Kuwait. He ended his career because of the serious achilles tendon rupture in 1985, although he continued to play at lower divisions. Shortly after, he became an assistant manager in SK Slavia Prague, where he obtained a manager status during the years. He then moved to FC Slovan Liberec, AC Sparta Prague or FC Bohemians Prague. There were speculations in 2001, after the Czech republic failed to qualify for a FIFA World Cup 2002, that Petržela coul