Czechoslovakia the Cup

The Czechoslovak Cup. As it had been established long ago, it was a clash between the winners of the Czech Cup and the Slovak Cup. Dukla (Prague) vs Lokomotiva (Kosice). Given the difference between the squads and the general decline of Slovak football, the final should not have been predestined. But such games hardly ever follow the obvious expectations – Dukla eventually won, but it was not a walk in the park. Lokomotiva fought back and lost minimally – 2-3.

Clearly the underdog in the final and for that reason would have been nice to see them prevail, but reality cannot be avoided: Lokomotiva had quite a weak squad presently and the best they could do was to play a brave final.

Dukla (Prague) won its 7th Cup, which was fine, but also it was a consolation prize: this team should have been a title contender, but was not. The season was quite disappointing and in view of the rise of Sparta, looked like that Dukla would be second-best in the future, at best. Thus, the Cup was still more than consolation prize. Then again, Dukla had few friends… most people preferred the symbol of Communist power losing. Politics aside, Dukla collected one more trophy.