Not only for Pilsen football fans, it was a very unusual sight on Tuesday evening. Viktorián Tomáš Chorý scored a goal in the 77th minute and the packed stadium, which is otherwise the home stand of Sparta Prague, an old rival, applauded him. How could it not be, the lanky forward decided the victory of the Czech national team in the preparation over Armenia 2:1.
Pilsen striker Tomáš Chorý says goodbye at the Sparta stadium after the winning match of the Czech national team against Armenia (2:1).
| Photo: Daniel Ulrich
“The fact that I scored a goal is the icing on the cake. I’m mainly happy that we managed to win the match,” said Tomáš Chorý to the television cameras after the match. He once again confirmed that he is above all a team player.
He also revealed what tasks he went to the field with at the end of the match. “We wanted to make it a little crazy so that more balls would fly into the goal. It found me twice, once I changed it, the second time I didn’t. We showed again that even if we lose, we will not lay down our arms and show team spirit,” he enthusiastically recounted a moment after enjoying the ovation filled with Letná.
And it must be said that rightfully so. He is doing well at club level and has now transferred his well-being to the national team. He has a great record, he scored the second goal in his third start for the national team.
Of all the strikers who were nominated for the preliminary matches in Norway and with Armenia, the Pilsen striker Tomáš Chorý got the least amount of minutes, yet he was the only one to make a mark in terms of scoring.
He didn’t have a chance during the four minutes of the match in Norway, this time against Armenia he only needed a minute more to make his mark. In the 72nd minute, he replaced Patrik Schick, and five minutes later, after captain Tomáš Souček’s foot, he took the lead to the Czech side.
And all of a sudden it started to be said that Viktoria Plzeň’s lanky forward should not be missing from the final Euro nomination.
According to TV co-commentator and former attacker Luďek Zelenka, he had already talked about her long before. “A goal against Moldova,” he recalled Choré’s strike, which helped the Czech team to a 3-0 victory in the last qualifying match, thus sealing progress. “He is extremely unpleasant for opponents. He can assert himself even if he only comes for ten minutes,” Luděk Zelenka characterized him.
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“He will always go where it hurts,” former national team manager Tomáš Pešír also praised Choré, who prophesied in the studio that he would score a goal when the player from Pilsen arrived on the pitch. And it was filled after only five minutes.
Tomáš Chorý himself answered the question about a possible nomination with his own calmness. “This would probably be better answered by the coach. We are now all going back to the clubs and there we will fulfill our duties. The most important thing is that we stay healthy and we will not influence what happens next,” said the striker of Viktoria Plzeň.
They had another representative on the pitch yesterday, stopper Robin Hranáč played the entire 90 minutes, another Pilsen footballer Pavel Šulc, who was in the starting line-up against Norway, this time remained only on the bench.
Which of them will go to the final camp in Austria before the Euros will also be told by their performances in the Viktoria jersey…
