Formed: 1911
Nickname: Rudí (Reds)
UEFA club competition honours
• None
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 1 (2011)
• National cup: 2 (2010)
History
• Viktoria were founded on 27 August 1911, losing 7-3 against local rivals FC Olympia Plzeň in their first fixture. They remained an amateur side until 1929, but after turning professional, made their debut in the top division in Czechoslovakia two years later.
• A fourth-place finish in the 1935 season earned Plzeň the chance to compete in the Central European International Cup, where they took on a Juventus team featuring a number of FIFA World Cup winners: they drew 3-3 at home but lost 5-1 in Turin.
• The city famous for its Pilsener beer had to wait over 30 years for another chance to impress in Europe, having beaten FC Spartak Trnava to earn their first major honour, the 1970/71 Czechoslovakian Cup. FC Bayern München proved too hot to handle in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, with Viktoria losing 7-1 on aggregate.
• While Plzeň produced world-class players like midfield general Pavel Nedvěd and the goalkeeper Petr Čech, they regularly saw their top stars leave for the big Prague clubs as the team from Western Bohemia bounced between the top two divisions.
• Pavel Vrba was appointed coach in 2008, and led his side to a 2-1 win against FK Jablonec in the 2009/10 Czech Cup final. The Slovakian was to trump that achievement in the year of the club’s centenary, winning the league title and taking Plzeň into the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Club records
Most league appearances: Vladimír Bína (261)
Most league goals: Vladimír Perk (130)
Record victory: 9-0 against ČSD Plzeň (1952)
Record defeat: 10-1 against AC Sparta Praha (1935)
From: http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/clubs/club=64388/profile/index.html
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