Antonín Fantiš: Viagem is making progress; I’m now setting up my own football academy as well

Thirty-four-year-old attacking midfielder or striker Antonín Fantiš scored five goals last season and was one of the mainstays of a team that came within a hair’s breadth of the play-offs for the top flight. Alongside his professional career, however, he is already thinking about the future. He is launching his own Fantiš Football Academy: this summer, he organised his second summer football camp in Cítoliby near Louny – in the region that is now his home.

For this product of the Příbram youth system – who is one of the most outstanding footballers the club has ever produced – this is no random project. He had been thinking about setting up his own academy for several months before putting his plan into action. “When I was coming back from Romania, I had it in mind. I’d wanted to set up my own football academy back in Zlín and organise camps for children. I finally launched the project last year. I also run one-to-one training sessions, and I want to keep developing the whole project,” says Fantiš.

His own life story also gives him a special connection to working with young athletes. He didn’t have an easy childhood; he grew up mainly with his grandparents, who provided him with a stable home life. That’s precisely why he knows so well today how important it is for children to have people around them who support them.

“For me, the most important thing in sport is to persevere, to stick with it. So that nobody lets themselves be swayed by those who want to spend their free time in shopping centres or parks. And even if they don’t succeed at something, they have to keep their chin up and carry on working hard, fighting. The worst thing anyone can do is give up,” he says.

Fantiš realises what a challenging time today’s children are going through. “The period between the ages of fifteen and twenty is incredibly complicated. I know this from my own experience. Back in our day, anyone who didn’t play sport was seen as odd; today, it’s exactly the opposite. Anyone who exercises, goes to a club or joins a team gets laughed at by the others,” says the experienced midfielder, baffled.

In his view, children should be supported above all by their parents, teachers and coaches. “Let everyone do the sport they enjoy. You need to approach them sensitively and not push them into anything. The main thing is that the children enjoy it and get some exercise. They have to love sport to be good at it.”

He organised the first year of the Cítoliby camp for his Fantiš Football Academy at short notice. Despite this, twenty-five children turned up. “I was really pleased about that. This year, interest has doubled. We had about fifty children. That’s brilliant.”

He also praises the environment he’s found in Cítoliby. “There are brilliant people there. They help out and are very accommodating – Pavel Zandal, Jan Maier and the mayor, Zdeněk Vaic. Thanks to them, we have excellent facilities for the children. The facilities are brilliant, and there’s been a long-standing interest in football among the children in the village. There’s no other camp like this in the area featuring football personalities. We mainly had boys and girls from Cítoliby, Louny and Žatec.”

The camp also featured well-known figures from Czech football. Last year, Ladislav Krejčí from Teplice and Martin Fillo came along; this year, former league defender Tomáš Vondrášek and goalkeeper Tomáš Grigar joined us. Fillo was also there, once again bringing his SportIQ project, which focuses on fun ways of testing children’s motor skills. The coaching team was rounded off by former league footballer Otta Urma and Petr Fiřt, the long-serving captain of Louny.

“I’d like to have some well-known figures come along every summer. It makes things more varied for the children. There weren’t any camps like this when I was growing up. But I remember we used to play in various tournaments, like the McDonald’s Cup – that was great.”

The camp programme was built primarily around the joy of football. “It was a day camp. Parents dropped the children off at eight in the morning; we looked after them, and they were provided with meals and everything they needed. In the morning we had two training sessions focusing on first touch, technique or one-on-one play. After lunch, we played small-sided games. No drills, everything was done through play.”

As well as working with the children, Antonín Fantiš is also fully focused on second-tier side Viagem. Last season was fantastic, and not just from his point of view. “For a newcomer, finishing fourth was better than expected. Our team’s strength lay mainly in the squad. The dressing room gelled and everything worked.”

According to Fantiš, the North Bohemian club has taken a significant step forward over the last year and a half. “Ústí is definitely making progress. You can’t do everything in a few days, but in the year and a half I’ve been there, the club has made a huge leap forward. You can see the effort being put into improving the infrastructure and overall conditions.”

However, several experienced players left over the summer, including Tomáš Vondrášek and Tomáš Grigar. “But we still have experienced lads like Honza Peterka, Pavel Moulis and David Černý. The core of the squad is strong. I hope we’ll bring in quality players who’ll fit in both with the team and in the dressing room.”

The football-going public has noticed that Viagem is increasingly turning to foreign players, particularly from Africa. Fantiš is pleased with the diversity brought by foreign players, but at the same time he sounds a note of caution. “There’s no doubt that Africans have a different touch with the ball. It just depends on how well they fit in. Sometimes there’s a communication problem. It’s not an issue in the dressing room, but it’s different on the pitch. When a player doesn’t speak or doesn’t know how to say something, it shows.”

Nevertheless, he respects the direction the club is taking. “The management have told us they want to build the team around foreign players. We older players are prepared for that and will help the lads. I just think we mustn’t overdo it. The Czech dressing room is unique, and communication is absolutely vital.”

David Oulehla has taken over the successful team from Svatopluk Habanc. “He’s made a very good impression on me. I think he’s building a good relationship with the experienced players. He told us he liked the style we played in. He wants to build on that. But we know we need to improve our defence.”

Even the recent 3–6 pre-season defeat to FSV Zwickau, who play in Germany’s fourth-tier league, highlighted, according to Fantiš, what needs working on. “I didn’t play; I watched from the bench. The line-up was a bit of a mixed bag. A new goalkeeper, a new centre-back – the communication wasn’t good. And whatever anyone says, the German fourth division is a tough place to play.”

Fantiš knows full well that success doesn’t come for free. He has played 336 league matches in the Czech top flight, scored 30 goals and has been playing league football since the age of sixteen. He’s played for Příbram, Baník Ostrava, Jablonec and Zlín, had a brief spell in Romania, and is now one of the key players for second-tier side Ústí nad Labem. He also has experience with youth international teams.

His future? He has no intention of ending his professional career just yet, though he is already thinking about a fallback plan. “The club in Cítoliby are trying to persuade me to come and play for them. I’ve had offers from elsewhere too. But I don’t want to play in lower leagues just yet. I’m currently under contract at Viagem, where we’re aiming to repeat last season’s excellent performance. And at the same time, I’ll be focusing on my academy. I find working with children really meaningful.”

The Progress Fantiš Football Academy is taking shape. “We’re considering a second summer camp, which could be in Lenešice. I’ve got a friend there, Dominik Charvát, who’s setting up the local club. Looking ahead, I’d like to organise camps in Příbram as well and get other lads I used to play with involved,” concludes Antonín Fantiš.