WARSAW: Czech Republic started their European Championship 2012 campaign on a disappointing note as they were crushed 4-1 by Russia in their opening game of the competition. However, the Czechs recovered in style after that setback and progressed to the quarter-finals of the European Championship by winning Group A with six points from three games. Petr Jiracek turned out to be the hero in the Czechs’ final two group matches when he scored twice. The Wolfsburg midfielder was the star of the show against Greece in their 2-1 victory, easily outplaying the opposition and netting the first goal of the game with a wonderful finish. Jiracek was also the difference between Czech Republic and Poland, as he scored the only goal of the game to lead Michal Bilek’s side to a 1-0 triumph that secured them top spot in Group A. The 26-year-old long-haired midfielder with three goals in 11 games for the national team made his international debut against Scotland last September after helping Viktoria Plzen lift the Czech league trophy in 2011. Last autumn, he faced Barcelona, AC Milan and BATE Borisov in Plzen’s baptism of fire in the Champions League. Agents were quick to hone in on the hard-working Jiracek, who moved to Bundesliga side Wolfsburg on a four-and-a-half-year deal in the winter. Before that, he had won over Czech fans
with a daring run topped off with a goal against Montenegro in the European Championship 2012 playoffs that handed the team a 1-0 win, sealing a finals berth for them after a 2-0 win at home in the first leg