The 2013–14 season was Viktoria Plzeň's ninth consecutive season in the Gambrinus liga. Having won the Gambrinus liga the previous season, they entered the competition as defending champions and finished second. As league champions they also took part in the UEFA Champions League, from which they qualified for the UEFA Europa League.
Season overview
The club's budget for the 2013–14 season was 100 million crowns, the third-highest budget in the league. This was lower than Slavia Prague (110 million) and Sparta Prague (300 million).[1]
Pre-season
Viktoria started pre-season training schedule on 17 June at home grounds in Plzeň and until end of June team played three matches with local teams from West Bohemia. From the beginning of July the team moved to Austrian Westendorf for a training preparation camp including three games with ex-Bundesliga side Fürth, Russian Premier League team Krasnodar and last year's Champions League participant CFR Cluj.
During the summer transfer window Viktoria introduced two new players – Tomáš Hořava from Olomouc and Milan Petržela, who returned to the club after an unsuccessful season in Augsburg.
EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; N = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); Age = age on the day of the signing; Moving from = only indicate the club the player was playing before start playing for this club in this season, for the type of the moving see Status column; Moving to = only indicates the club the player is going to play next, for the type of the moving see Status column; Ends = when the player's current contract ends; n/a = Not applicable.
Source: Fortuna liga Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored. (C) Champions Notes:
^ abSince the winners of the 2013–14 Czech Cup, Sparta Prague, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed to the third-placed team, and the spot awarded to the third-placed team was passed to the fourth-placed team.
Results by round
Round
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Ground
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
H
A
Result
W
W
W
W
D
W
W
D
D
W
D
L
W
W
W
W
W
W
L
D
W
W
W
D
W
W
D
W
D
D
Position
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Updated to match(es) played on 31 May 2014. Source: Matches A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Stadium: Ďolíček Attendance: 5,000 Referee: K. Hrubeš
Czech Supercup
As winners of the previous season's Gambrinus liga, Plzeň played defending cup winners FK Jablonec in the Czech Supercup on 12 July. Plzeň's manager Pavel Vrba left many key players on the bench before the first leg of the second qualifying round of Champions League, which was four days later.
Plzeň took an early lead and despite other chances, the first half ended 1–0. During the second half, Jablonec were the better team and scored two goals in a six-minute spell to take the lead. In the 89th minute Tomáš Wágner from Plzeň had a disallowed goal because of offside. In stoppage time Jablonec scored their third goal and although three minutes later Plzeň scored, the match finished 2–3.
Plzeň came through three qualifying rounds including the playoff round before reaching the group stage. The club lost all of their first five group stage matches. In the final group stage match, losing 1–0 to CSKA Moscow at home with 76 minutes played, CSKA had two players sent off and Plzeň scored two goals as the match finished 2–1. This result qualified them for the Europa League.[3]
