Jiří Liška

* 1952

The Sportsmen
21. 8. 1968 - Invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops, 17. 11. - 29. 12. 1989 - The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia
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    We played for our country, regardless of what it was like

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    “[Q: What was your relation to the Czechoslovak Republic, seeing that your Dad was hit hard by the regime, and you had difficulties studying? How did you feel about that as a sportsman, when you represented that same country with its colours on your kit?] I said that I’d never emigrate. It’s my homeland, I was born here. I think that we certainly played for our country, regardless of what it was like. We didn’t quite like it that people looked down at us when we journeyed abroad. The Iron Curtain made a difference - even now there are some distinctions between eastern and western Germany. But I loved the Czechoslovak Republic.”

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    Doing military service, those two years we did what we enjoyed: sports

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    “[Q: What did it mean in practice, that Dukla was a military section? Where you closed up in the barracks?] No, it wasn’t the Russian model. Doing military service, those two years we did what we enjoyed: sports. We trained in the morning, through the whole morning, then in the afternoon, it took up the whole day. But we loved sports, so we were happy to be like that. And when we were extended officer ranks, we had an easy life. While the going was good, it was great, but when you finished, there was nothing to brag about.”

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    Dukla Praha was sponsored by Adidas

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    “[Q: Are you saying that Dukla was sponsored by a Western company in the 1970s?] No one produced the appropriate kits over here. Back then, the kits in Czechoslovakia were made in such a way that the dark red lining of Dukla’s V bled dye and left marks on our bellies. We played in them only once, and it was such an embarrassment that they then signed a deal with Adidas to supply us with our things. There was Botas in Czechoslovakia, and I don’t even know who made the playing kits. Equipment was a big problem.”

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“We played for our country, regardless of what it was like.”

Jiří Liška (1983)
Jiří Liška (1983)

Jiří Liška (born 1952 in Písek) excelled in sports as a child, and in 1957, he began playing handball. His father, an Army officer, lost his job during the normalisation and subsequently earned a living through manual labour. After graduating from secondary school, Jiří Liška was denied university studies for political reasons. While on military service, he started playing for the Dukla Praha handball team, later becoming a member of the Czechoslovak national team. He won the national championships eight times, he participated in the Olympics in Montreal 1976, and in 1984, he won the finals of the European Champions Cup. In 1984, he began studying at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports of Charles University in Prague, and the following year he concluded his professional sports career. He later worked as a coach at Dukla Praha.

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