FC Viktoria Plzeň

Did You Know?

• In the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, Viktoria were placed in Group H alongside reigning champions Barcelona and Milan, and recorded a victory over BATE Borisov.
• In the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Viktoria finished first in Group B, ahead of the tournament's reigning champions Atlético Madrid.
• In the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, Viktoria became the first Czech team to go 6 wins in a UEFA competition group stage while only conceding one goal.
• In 2017, the club installed a dugout in the shape of a beer can after a deal with a local beer sponsor.

History

In 1911, Jaroslav Ausobský, an official of the state railways, requested the establishment of a new football club in Plzeň. For 18 years the club remained amateur, though in 1922–23 it toured Spain, winning six of nine matches. In June 1929, members voted to turn professional and enter the national professional league. Viktoria finished seventh in its first season, then rose to second place, earning promotion to the First League.

In 1934–35, it placed fourth in the Czechoslovak First League and entered the 1935 Mitropa Cup, drawing 3–3 at home against Juventus but losing 5–1 in Turin. The club was relegated in 1938 but returned the next year. World War II interrupted competition, and in 1942 Viktoria dropped to lower divisions, again returning the following year, staying in the top league until 1952. That year the club changed its name to Sokol Škoda Plzeň.

After nine years in the divisions, now called Spartak Plzeň, it regained promotion in 1961. Frequent relegations and promotions followed until 1972, when as Škoda Plzeň it remained in the First League for eight years. In 1971, Viktoria won the Czech Cup via a drawing of lots after a two-legged final ended 4–4 on aggregate and 5–5 in a limited penalty shootout against Sparta Prague B. It lost the Czechoslovak Cup final 7–2 on aggregate to Spartak Trnava, but as Trnava also won the league, Viktoria entered the European Cup Winners' Cup, where Bayern Munich eliminated it 7–2 on aggregate.

From 1980 until Czechoslovakia's dissolution 13 years later, the club moved frequently between the top two tiers. In 1992, it reverted to FC Viktoria Plzeň, and the next season advanced to the first league, remaining there until 1999.