BICAN'S SLAVIA DEBUT
S.K. SLAVIA — A.F.K. Bohemians 7:1 (1:1)

On 01/09/1937, Wednesday, precisely at 17:30, Josef Bican would make his debut for S.K Slavia. Lately, Slavia had problems in allocating a centre-forward that could yield what the team expected. Furthermore, the S.K. Slavia was coming off a championship defeat, so the supporter didn't know what to expect from this semi-final. However, there was great anticipation for the debut of the Austrian multi-international Josef Bican.


Stredoceský Pohár, Semi-final: 01/09/1937, Wednesday 17.30.
S.K. Slavia Praha — A.F.K. Bohemians 7:1 (1:1)
Place: Letná, Prague — Referee: Jaroslav Vlček (Prague).
Attendance: about 3.000.

S.K. Slavia Praha
Coach: Jan Reichardt.
XI: Plánička — Daučík, Černý — Bouška, Nožíř, Jezbera — Horák, Šimůnek, Bican, Kopecký, Prokop.

A.F.K. Bohemians
Coach: Josef Kuchynka.
XI: Lacina — Petřík, Vrba — Prokop, Lanhaus, Holas — Říha, Šimek, Dycka, Dlask, Uher.

Goals: Bican(4, 35min; 52min; 77min; 85min), Horák(2, 49min; 75min), Šimunek(79min) — Šimek(36min).


Although it was not possible to measure Bohemians' performance against their first league opponents, Slavia's performance  was a sign of a change for the better. This was best manifested in the offensive line in the second half time. Bican, in cooperation with Kopecký, created a series of impeccable combinations with their unique technique. After all, six goals in the second half was the clearest proof. Bohemians fought, but they were not strong enough. They were overcome by technical prowess.

Plánička was, as usual, reliable. However, the first defensive line had Daučík and Černý with uncertainties. Černý improved in the second half.

The half-back line showed an average performance. Nožíř played a regular match; Jezbera was the best of the three; Bouška was not in form.



The forwards had the best performance on the field, especially in the second half. When the Bohemians were most tired — even with Prokop and Holas retreating into more defensive roles — S.K. Slavia reached the peak of their performance. With goal after goal, the psychological of opposing players was increasingly shaken, so the lack of will to defend advances Červenobílí became increasingly notorious.

From right to left, Horák was the best winger. Šimůnek worked hard, but he didn't know when to rest. Prokop performed regularly.

BICAN & KOPECKÝ

One of the big surprises of Bican's debut was his understanding with Vlastimil Kopecký. His combinations were exceptional and Kopecký was always supporting Bican to complete the play. In fact, it was the best aspect of the Červenobílí attack. Bican in turn performed an impressive centre-forward task. However, some mentioned that it would have been better if a fighter/rusher were on Bican's right side, who would perform his well-thought-out actions on him.