Fifth summer sparring: today "Kharkiv" will play against "Yablonec"

Summer training camp "Kharkiv" has already passed its equator, which means that the period of the toughest training for the team is behind. During the first part of the camp, Mladen Bartulovich's team managed to play 4 friendlies, with a victory over "Karabakh" - 6:2, defeats to "Young Boys" - 0:2 and "Salzburg" - 0:4, as well as a high-scoring draw with "Wolfsberger" - 3:3. The top scorers of the camp are Baptistella, Castillo, and Parako - each with 2 goals.

Last season, "Jablonec" performed quite confidently. In the Czech championship, the team managed to secure a place in the top part of the table and finished the season in 5th place, which allowed them to enter the leading group and compete for European cups. In the national cup, "Jablonec" reached the final but lost to "Karvina," although they still earned the right to play in European cups. By the way, the team will play their first official match of the season on July 23 in the Conference League qualification against Croatian "Varazdin."

The Czechs started their work on June 17. "Jablonec" completed the first part of the preparation at home and started a series of friendlies from the 9th day after the camp. They first won against "Vlasim" - 2:1, then continued with a crushing victory over "Mlada" - 5:0. Before leaving for Austria, the team ended with a draw against "Usti nad Labem" - 1:1. In Austria, Kozel's team played a goalless draw with "Paphos," lost to "Liefering" - 1:3, and a few days earlier defeated "Osnabruck" - 1:0.

Achievements: The club's best achievements include winning the Czech Cup in the 1997/1998 and 2012/2013 seasons. They also won promotion in the second division of the Czech Republic in the 1993/1994 season.

Geography: "Jablonec" represents the city of Jablonec nad Nisou - a small town in northern Czech Republic, located in the Liberec region. It is situated in the foothills of the Jizera Mountains, near the border with Poland, known for its picturesque landscapes and glass industry. The population of the city is about 46,000 people. Interestingly, the distance from Kharkiv to Jablonec nad Nisou is approximately 1,830 kilometers.

Head Coach: Lyubosh Kozel - a 55-year-old Czech specialist with extensive experience in the domestic championship. He started his coaching career immediately after his playing career, working in the structure of Prague's "Slavia," where he was initially an assistant and later led the reserve team.

Kozel's first significant coaching stint was with "Dukla" in Prague, where he worked for over six years and managed to promote the team to the elite division of the Czech Republic. After that, he worked with the Czech youth national teams and also coached "Banik" Ostrava and "Slovan" Liberec. In the summer of 2024, Kozel took on a new challenge, becoming the head coach of "Jablonec."

Transfermarkt: According to the portal, the total value of all team players is 15.6 million euros. The most expensive players in the team are newcomer Dusan Pavlovich and Sebastian Nebula (each 1.5 million euros). The team includes players from Serbia, Slovenia, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Georgia, Sweden, Cameroon, Gambia, and Ukraine. It is worth noting that the Czech team is represented by Eduard Sobol and Samuel Obinaiya.

In the summer break, "Jablonec" had an active campaign, focusing on strengthening the midfield and expanding the squad. The Czechs signed goalkeeper Kukuchka, defenders Pavlovich and Slama, midfielders Horak, Sukhan, Alia, and Obnaiya (former player and graduate of "Kharkiv"), as well as forward Millu.

On July 15 at 18:00 (Kyiv time). Austria, Vergla Sports Center stadium. Friendly match #5. Summer training camp 2026.

Watch the match broadcast on YouTube channel "Kharkiv" and UPL.TV channel.