Not often does a neutral look forward to the arrival of a promoted side as much as this summer. First of all, everyone seems eager for the return of Martin Svědík, who won an impressive 32 of his 42 competitive matches in charge of Zbrojovka. It will be refreshing to watch a newcomer with the financial muscle to rival most clubs for a player’s signature and remain competitive for years to come. And it’s objectively good for the Czech top tier to welcome a big-city club that has been growing its fanbase in the second tier through excellent work in marketing and beyond, rather than losing support as so many others do.
That the Czech top tier is gaining an actual big fish is best shown by Zbrojovka’s ever-expanding academy. Often, I myself am guilty of automatically calling “academy” just about any youth team structure; merely having that extra pitch they can practice on, a few age categories covered, and a couple of coaches employed is enough. In the case of Zbrojovka, we are talking about an Academy with a capital A — something Slavia, recently losing a physio to it, or perhaps even Sparta, recently losing a fitness coach to it, could envy them. As per reports, the entire academy employs between 90 and 100 people (!), runs its own scouting or sport science hub, and it should soon know its new home. The club, owned by the uber-active billionaire Vojtěch Kačena, moved quickly to acquire land and start building in 2027.
Indeed, judging solely by the neck-breaking pace of the club’s development in many areas, one would say Kačena has been in charge for half a decade. In reality, it’s not even been a full year, with Kačena moving from investor to owner in August 2025 only. There are fronts where one could imagine more progress, like the hardly improving state of the stadium at Srbská, but when nobody cares for a quarter of a century, even small things like established fanzones or renovated turnstiles and sound system are welcome. That Kačena even talks about a new stadium he would finance from his own pocket is music to supporters’ ears.
While it’s never a guarantee that on-pitch results will match up with those collected off the pitch, Zbrojovka are certainly on the right track and may soon be setting an example for other clubs in more areas than the one highlighted above (like professional scouting).
The shortened preview below, as is normally the case for promoted teams with fewer pizza charts to lean on, is every bit as much my work as it is of my eight consultants — guys from @zbrojovkast, @DurdakZdenek, @kone_brnensky, @FCZBFANS and Plejmejkr among them. Massive thanks and appreciation; it would have literally been impossible without them.
Looking back on 2025/26
How they got here
With a spring in the step. Four years ago, I raved about Zbrojovka recording the largest points gap between the first- and second-placed teams in the Czech second tier since 2000. Today, that 16-point margin has given way to an astonishing 23-point gap. Moreover, while it was still fairly easy to poke holes in Richard Dostálek’s team performance and tactics, it’s much harder to do with this side. August was a bit rough, with Zbrojovka needing the added time to beat Táborsko before proceeding to earn a single point in the next two games. Since then, Brno has never looked back. Six straight victories followed; soon an 8-game win streak did. When Opava — Zbrojovka’s bogey team in 25/26 — crushed them 4:0, Táborsko were already 16 points behind them with an extra game played. An 8-game unbeaten run to close the season was only suitable, with ‘Flinta’ often relying on a deep bench for ChNL standards.
Indeed, roster construction overseen by former international turned sporting director Martin Jiránek and general manager Jan Mynář was a crucial part of Brno’s success. Having the likes of Bienvenue Kanakimana, Lukáš Vorlický, Tadeáš Vachoušek or Martin Rymarenko come off the bench and make an impact must have felt like playing Age of Empires with a Cobra. Zbrojovka received as many as 15 goals from their subs; the four above providing 12.
Most valuable players
Zbrojovka fans will be delighted that the club somehow managed to convince Teplice they are fine without Tadeáš Vachoušek for another year. The 22-year-old forward, often starting on the right, has grown from a “talented, but flimsy” version of himself in 24/25 to a “stronger and braver” attacker who is “not afraid to be clattered or do some clattering now and again”, breaking through as a top scorer. While Zbrojovka have been able to find the net by committee at times, Vachoušek’s contribution goes far beyond goals scored. His excellent work rate and pace create openings for teammates as well, per David and Sam of @zbrojovkast. He was often the most creative player on the team, a bit unusual for a forward.
Moving down the pitch, this side’s success was built on a strong defensive foundation. That starts with Adam Hrdina, who basically didn’t commit a mistake while playing everything and contributing on the ball. Also extremely dependable, Jakub Klíma rightly takes the captain’s armband for 26/27 after travelling all across the backline and barely putting a foot wrong anywhere he popped up. He was even prolific as a left back, something I never thought I would say. To that end, one more thing I thought I would never see: Jan Juroška getting one first-place MVP vote from my 8 consultants, leading the team in assists and generally turning Zbrojovka into a more right-leaning side. It’s a shame Svědík’s longtime favourite is on crutches now, even though the top level may prove a step too far for the 33-year-old.
Finally a word on two key cogs who arrived last summer to little to no fanfare. Kaká was a complete revelation, scoring and assisting even as a left-sided centre back. Patrik Čavoš is, meanwhile, far less exciting but no less vital. He was out for an extended period and it was immediately felt, as he rarely lost possession and connected the defence and offence well.
Inside the off-season
Squad makeover
Promoted sides normally don’t have an issue with keeping players around for the big league fun, and Zbrojovka is no exception. They have failed to retain a mere 14.3% of 25/26 minutes, which would currently make them 4th most rigid squad in Chance Liga, and six per cent are eaten up by Stanislav Hoffman, retiring while knowing all too well he would be out of his depth here. Adam Kronus and especially Jakub Selnar (1+6) may have been decent secondary scorers for the second tier, but they too would likely feel out of place up a level. Ultimately, it’s easily Lukáš Vorlický and his four points in 133 minutes that hurt the most. The fanbase is split on whether it was a good decision from the management to not go all in: some call him a “franchise player worth any price” who would sell merch even without playing, others are commending the board for standing their ground and not budging to Slavia’s demands.
What promoted sides often do have an issue with is complementing or upgrading the second-tier core with recent top-tier regulars. Zbrojovka is an exception to that rule, arguably achieving both. Eric Hunal, Lukáš Penxa and Lucky Ezeh are already better than many alternatives with room to grow at 21-22 years old. Dante and Daniel Vašulín have all the makings of true statement signings who move the needle. Add Petr Ševčík and Jaromír Zmrhal, both veteran free agents with something left in the tank, and you’ve done it all.
Vašulín’s pizza chart above doesn’t look overly impressive, but he feels like the type to lead the line for Svědík. Think Jan Kliment of 2020/21. Vašulín too wins a lot of set pieces, travels tirelessly from one channel to the other, and offers valuable presence in the box while often acting like a provider for himself. He was great in pre-season, proving the point of many supporters that a goalscoring no. 9 was, in some ways, the last piece of Svědík’s puzzle. Amadou Dante is more of a wild card, but a premium player for a club of Zbrojovka’s stature judging by the combination of age (25 coming on 26), achievements (cup winner in Austria who appeared at two Afcons with Mali, including 90 mins in Round of 16 this year) and most recent club address (picking up 1 893 mins across the last two seasons in Liga Portugal).
Looking ahead to 2026/27
Below is the team’s current depth chart with a maximum of 4 alternatives for one position. The colourful ratings are a static snapshot of the league-wide situation on 21 July, and they are just a playful bit to add flavour to it; the names featured should be relevant to this day. To learn more about my approach to constructing depth charts, with all its limitations, head here.
Primary formation
Martin Svědík isn’t traditionally a 3ATB3ATB means 3-at-the-back, ie. any formation with three centre backs and wingbacks, or alternatively, five defenders. man, and indeed the deployment of 3-4-1-2 or 3-5-2 formation is more of a pre-season invention (per Wyscout, Zbrojovka spent a mere 16% of the promotion campaign in these setups), which certainly isn’t set in stone for the entire 26/27. The likelihood increased exponentially through summer additions to both CF (Vašulín, Ezeh) and CB (Hunal), but Brno also boast enough no. 8s and wingers to switch to a 4-3-3. Rymarenko, Zmrhal, Vaníček, Kanakimana or even Penxa are all viable candidates for wings.
Colours I grappled with
Dante certainly has the potential to make the pale red look ridiculous in a few months’ time, but likely not earlier given his late arrival date. Lukáš Penxa showed glimpses of quality even on the right-hand side at Dukla, but until he’s backed up by an injured Juroška and 35-year-old Petr Mareš, I don’t see a right side that would be more peppered with question marks.
Notes on the depth chart
I am featuring Eric Hunal on the depth chart in the capacity of a starter, but don’t expect him to fill that role in the opener. His pre-season was atrocious and some concerns about his attitude are being floated around, which is never a good sign for a new arrival. Still, I liked what I saw from him in 25/26 — much bigger, more relevant sample — and his quality should shine through compared to Alex Marković, who’s mostly just very tall, or Filip Vedral, whose 3 appearances in promotion play-off were the closest he came to top flight action at 29.
Besides, he should make for the ideal middle centre back profile. He’s quite fast and strong in duels, with only 9 of 67 regular centre backs doing better in the “rudimentary defending” category. That being said, he’s no old-fashioned type either. The combination of high scores for pass completion under strong pressure and accurate diagonal spreads mean a lot of promise, as the only other CB above the 80th percentile for both was Ondřej Karafiát.
Moving up the field, should Svědík choose to go with three midfielders, it’s most likely the trio of Čavoš, Jakub Janetzký and Patrik Žitný. None of them is a completely unknown entity to a Chance Liga fan, and neither is Štěpán Langer who healed his wounds just in time for the camp. It’s hard to get too excited for any of them, but that doesn’t go for Lukáš Saal. At 20, he’s still a prospect who’s coming off a solid second-tier shift on loan at Kroměříž. He should be ready to perform at the top level after an impressive pre-season, calm and collected on the ball while pushing the play forward at just about every turn. Traces of Sochůrek on him.
Older but perhaps more of a project, Lucky Ezeh comes in to compete with a vast array of forwards, and he could be fighting a losing battle based on the summer action. A small niggle aside, he wasn’t at his best and very much needed to be, since neither Benny Kanakimana (a fan favourite with fantastic top speed and improved finish) nor Oliver Velich (more of an Ezeh type, of course, selflessly occupying defenders with his back to the goal) are going anywhere.
It was definitely a steep learning curve for Ezeh at Karviná, as he was thrown into the deep end to replace Gning, but he grew into it a little. His target man qualities are certainly worth betting on and developing further. He could be what Rigino Cicilia never materialized to be.
Season forecast
What difference a pair of miserable years in the second tier can make.
Back in 2022, after one dominant season down a level and many more top flight campaigns in the rear view mirror, Zbrojovka were pegged down, somewhat controversially, for the 10th spot and 34.7 points. Now, after rising up a level with the joint-most second-tier points ever (76, on par with FC Synot in 2000), Zbrojovka are supposed to earn a mere 7 regular-season wins, clearing the 30-point bar in only ~45% of simulations. This is mostly because Jakub’s model works with a five-year period, scientifically applying some recency bias, and in that period, Brno twice happened to be a 39-point second-tier club. This weighs them down considerably. At the same time, due to zero ChNL games watched, I never provide Jakub with my “expert” input that evaluates a second-tier club’s summer (as I do for the remaining top flight teams); and Zbrojovka has objectively enjoyed one of the better ones, adding an unprecedented amount of proven top flight-level quality for a promoted side. Four pizza charts to show? The average so far had been zero point something. The whole quartet was likely wanted elsewhere, too. So yeah, after I pushed back on Zlín’s 10th-place projection last summer, I am going to push back on Brno’s 15th-place projection this year, as well — just in the other direction. Zbrojovka’s real talent level, boosted by Svědík’s unprecedented top-flight experience, is closer to 11th/12th, possibly even the middle group Zlín failed to clinch.
Bold prediction
The track record: 0/1.
The prediction: Zbrojovka will lose the season’s first Brno derby
The rationale: The last Brno derby in the top flight dates all the way back to 1936/37. That was when Zbrojovka was still named SK Židenice and something of a rising star in Moravia, whereas SK Moravská Slavia Brno — the original Brno-based club — was on the way down.
If you are asking where we could find ‘Morenda’ these days, it may be the 6th tier or nowhere, after the club didn’t find enough players to even open the spring in the 5th division earlier. That’s sad, and so we are going to honour them in this space by tipping Artis to do what Moravská Slavia couldn’t do on four top tier counts: beat Zbrojovka’s previous iteration. In fact, they lost all four with a combined scoreline of 3:15, while Artis itself can point to just one win from 10 matchups. It’s about time for some revolt in the second biggest city.
Enjoyed it and just want to casually support us with an amount of your choosing? No worries, you can still do that by inviting us for a symbolic pint at the old BuyMeACoffeeBeer page.