After 19 years, Sparta Prague returned to the main phase of the Champions League. On Wednesday evening, the Czech club won 3-0 at home against Red Bull Salzburg, and one of the anti-heroes of the match was Polish international Kamil Piątkowski, who was heavily involved in conceding a goal to make it 0-3. It was Sparta Prague's first Champions League win since the autumn of 2003, when they defeated Lazio 1-0.
The extraordinary story of a Sparta Prague footballer. From fighting for his life to the player of the match in the Champions League
The player of the match was central defender Filip Panak. The 28-year-old helped his team keep a clean sheet and assisted Victor Olatunji's goal for 2-0 in the 42nd minute of the match.
It turns out that Filip Panak's story is full of twists and turns, which were caused by health problems. This was described on the Sportak profile, which deals with Czech football. In October 2018, while playing for MFK Karvina, he injured his knee. He needed surgery, and some time later, despite the injury, he went to Sparta Prague.
However, the debut was constantly delayed. Another operation was needed because an infection in the knee set in, which made it difficult for the player to return to play. There were further complications – his kidneys stopped functioning and he needed dialysis. On top of that, he developed liver failure. Filip Panak was fighting for his life and it seemed that returning to football would be really difficult.
The footballer did not give up and won this fight. Finally, almost three years after the first knee injury, and two years after the transfer, he made his debut in the colors of Sparta Prague. It was in July 2021. However, in March 2022, he suffered another knee injury. This time, only one surgery was needed and after six months, Panak returned to play. He became a basic player for Sparta, with whom he has since won two Czech championships.
Filip Panak was out of action for 820 days due to knee problems alone. Despite this, he never gave up and on Wednesday, as captain of Sparta Prague, he led them to their first Champions League win in 21 years, being named Man of the Match in the process.
In the next Champions League match, Sparta Prague will play away to VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday, October 1 at 18:45. The German club lost away to Real Madrid 1:3 in the first round.