EURO 2016 : Pavel Vrba depending on former Czech Republic manager Karel Brückner to succeed in France

Czech Republic coach Vrba will be making his debut in his first major international tournament in UEFA Euro 2016. He will be drawing on the wisdom of Karel Brückner to lead his side to European glory.

Speaking at a general press conference ahead of their anticipated opening match against defending Euro champions Spain, the 52-year-old boss acknowledges their opponents they will face in Toulouse on Monday.

“We respect the huge strength of that team.

“Their team is made up of the best players in the world, who play for Real Madrid and Barcelona. So it will be a tough challenge but we will try to beat them and I hope we can – yet we know it will be very hard.”

Despite Vrba leading club Viktoria Plzen to the Champions League group stage twice, he reveals that competing in the Euros is an entirely different prospect. The Czech Republic boss has also talked about his reliance on Karel Brückner, who was in charge of the national team from 2001 to 2008.

“It will be a bit new for me, I have no Euro experience, so I chose a person with wide experience from both the European Championship and the World Cup.

“He’s actually the only Czech coach who’s made it to a major championships three times in a row, so from that point of view I consider him someone who can help me and advise on how everything works.

“A lot of the players respect him. He developed a lot of the players for the national team because he coached the Under-21s and now those players are playing for the A team. He can advise me on a lot of things and I’m happy we have him in our team.”

Petr Cech and Co. will face Spain in their opening Euro 2016 game at the Stadium Municipal.