Former Slovan Coach Speaks of Betrayal by Colleague: "He Didn't Want to Share the Glory"

Karel Jarolím managed Slovan Bratislava from October 2010 to August 2011. During his tenure at Pasienky, he left a significant mark, celebrating both a league title and a domestic cup victory with the team. In club football, whether in Slovakia or with his home club Slavia Prague (where he achieved Champions League qualification and two titles), he reached the pinnacle of success. However, the international stage has brought him only a series of disappointments.

The most recent setback came just recently. The experienced 74-year-old Miroslav Koubek was appointed head coach of the Czech national team from last December until the end of June 2026. Given that Koubek had previously served as Jarolím's assistant with the national team, the recently turned septuagenarian proactively offered to collaborate in a reversed role. He was very keen on a position within the coaching staff.

"I wrote to him that it would be good to finish our work together. He told me it didn't go through because 'we'd be two old guys there,'" Jarolím openly expressed his frustration in an interview with ČTK and Seznam Zprávy.

"That doesn't sit right with me. Knowing him, he didn't want to share the glory. I believe that when it comes to offensive play, I could have been useful. In that regard, we showed absolutely nothing from our side. With all due respect, Jan Suchopárek and Jan Rezek didn't help him offensively. I was disappointed by that."

Karel Jarolím also added a poignant detail. In the past, when the then-head of the football association, Miroslav Pelta, was displeased with Miroslav Koubek, Karel Jarolím staunchly defended his assistant. He did not feel the same loyalty returned to him this time.

His second unfulfilled dream came as a national team coach during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Following a series of underwhelming performances, a bitter end arrived in September 2018. The then-vice chairman of the association, Roman Berbr, bizarrely dismissed the coach – directly aboard the plane on the return flight from Russia, where the Czechs had suffered a crushing 5-1 defeat.

A lifetime of disappointments began as early as 1982. As an active player, he practically had a spot in the squad for the World Cup in Spain secured.

"In a warm-up match, I scored against Greece, and the FA chairman, Jaromír Tománek, told me I had earned my nomination. In the end, they took players who weren't playing or were injured instead of me," he recalls. "I remember it like it was yesterday. I naively considered it a done deal. It was cruel, but life went on."