vitezslav lavicka

Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert could not hide his disgust after a handball controversy involving Sydney FC striker Chris Payne in Saturday's A-League preliminary final at the Sydney Football Stadium. In scenes reminiscent of Diego Maradona's famous "hand of God" and Thierry Henry's more recent "hand of Frog" goal, Payne appeared to use his forearm to score a crucial goal in Sydney's win, which put it into next week's grand final against Melbourne. Payne knocked the ball in from a Sung-Hwan Byu

Who's going to apologise for that? At the end of the day it's just not acceptable at this level of football, irrespective of what the result might have been at the end of the day.   -Ricki Herbert

 

The teams have already played each other three times in the past month and know each other very well, so there should be few surprises for either. It's the A-League's version of the Rumble in the Jungle and all fans will be looking forward to seeing the two big clubs playing off for the title. Both outfits are loaded with potential matchwinners and the clash should be an entertaining one.  

Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka believes Wellington Phoenix hold the edge in morale going into Saturday's A-League preliminary final. While Sydney are aiming to bounce back from their narrow loss to rivals Melbourne in the two-legged major semi-final, the Phoenix go into the grand final qualifier soaring with confidence. The New Zealand-based club is unbeaten in its past five matches and roared to a 3-1 extra-time win over Newcastle in last weekend's elimination semi-final in Wellington.

Now we are a little bit mentally maybe down after the game against Melbourne, they are up, more confident than us but we're playing a home game   -Vitezslav Lavicka

 

It creates a mix of anticipation and apprehension as every player knows they are starting afresh. We first met Vitezslav Lavicka on tour in China early last year, and the boys were intrigued. It was such a clean slate appointment in that we knew nothing of what to expect - he had no history in Australia, and we were all trying to suss him out.  

THE man Sydney FC will have guarding their goal next season is the same one who stands in their way on Saturday night, but Wellington keeper Liam Reddy insists there's nothing "awkward" about the situation. Reddy, 28, has been in career-best form since his sudden switch mid-season from Brisbane Roar - where he was part of a clear-out by new coach Ange Postecoglou - and that's been good news, until now, for Sky Blues coach Vitezslav Lavicka. While neither club nor player will officially confirm a three-y  

A-League players have voted Sydney FC's Vitezslav Lavicka as the best coach of the season. The Czech mentor has been presented with Professional Footballers Australia's coach of the year award in Sydney. Lavicka received 66 votes to easily take out the gong from Wellington's Ricki Herbert, and Melbourne's Ernie Merrick who was named coach of the year at last month's A-League awards.  

Whether Melbourne deserved the free-kick in the 113th minute was debatable but the way they used it provided the clinching moment, the nanosecond when two of the competition's most influential players proved this sport is as much a mental battle. Kevin Muscat's quick free-kick and Archie Thompson's assured finish were executed with brilliant technique, and the fact Sydney took their eye off the ball literally was simultaneously inexcusable and entirely understandable. The exhaustion was writ large on ev  

Whether Melbourne deserved the free-kick in the 113th minute was debatable but the way they used it provided the clinching moment, the nanosecond when two of the competition's most influential players proved this sport is as much a mental battle. Kevin Muscat's quick free-kick and Archie Thompson's assured finish were executed with brilliant technique, and the fact Sydney took their eye off the ball literally was simultaneously inexcusable and entirely understandable. The exhaustion was writ large on ev  

SYDNEY FC were fuming over the controversial free kick that handed Melbourne Victory a late goal and the right to host this season's grand final after the Sky Blues got within touching distance of completing a memorable comeback. An early goal to Robbie Kruse put Melbourne into a 3-1 aggregate lead but goals to Karol Kisel and Mark Bridge had the crowd firmly believing Sydney had the momentum to score the decisive goal that would have yielded a home decider. However, with the match just six minutes fr

I didn't see the incident but speaking to the players, they said it wasn't a free kick, firstly, and then the players in the wall were told to move back [by the referee]   -John Aloisi

 

VITEZSLAV Lavicka vowed 13 years ago that he would never lambast his players, lose his cool in the dressing-room or take a snipe at his peers.