Reuters Soccer Blog
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It may be time for Koller to step down
There’s just a few hours to go before the Czech Republic take on Portugal and the Koller question is foremost in my mind.
There is no disputing Jan Koller’s impressive goalscoring record - 54 goals in 88 internationals – so you can understand why coach Karel Brueckner picks him time and again.
The problem is that at 35, Koller has definitely slowed down and the only realistic way of him scoring is by using his height advantage (2.02 metres) in the box. He is never going to make darting runs or use dazzling footwork to score. He will either use his head or his bulk and it won’t be pretty.
That was all fine when Czech Republic boasted a fine array of creative midfielders – Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky, Vladimir Smicer – who could supply the big man with the perfect ball. Now they have all gone and, as we saw against the Swiss, the Czechs are left seriously lacking in midfield ideas and Koller barely got a decent ball.
