Sparta Prague is good news, I can't wait to go

I'd actually predicted we'd get Sparta. It's a bit of an irony of destiny. For the first time in history we'll be taking part in the Europa Cup and we'll be playing a Czech club right away.

Back then I used to play with Jiri Jarosik who returned to Sparta eventually. Plus, we spent some time in Chelsea together. Their current coach Lavicka used to be an assistant back in the days. After they dismissed Hrebik, he became the main coach for about 5 rounds. From the contemporary team I also know guys who I got to play with on the national team: Husbauer, Kadlec, Vaclik, Matejovsky and Vidlicka, who I met on the under-18 national team.

Probably Jiri Jarosik. It must be intruiging for him to get to play at Stamford Bridge once again.

Yes, although I play there more often during national team games. I'm still excited for the match against Sparta nonetheless and I bet Czech fans will welcome this unprecedented show.

They did fairly well in the Europa Cup last autumn. They've been fluctuating in the Czech league a bit but they're still not out of the game yet. Our games will take place two months from now and in the meanwhile anything could happen. Sparta will have time to prepare and we'll have played lots of games. We'll see what shape we're all in.

To win the entire Europa Cup is our only goal, otherwise there's no point participating. We'd like to get all the way to the finals and as the current Champions League title holders we'll theoretically be the top seeds in a majority of all games. Therefore, advancement is generally a necessity.