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Last summer, we noted the weirdly lowkey, unenthusiastic club takeover by David Trunda, wondering if he wasn’t there just to “score populist points ahead of the Czech FA chairman election“. Turns out he absolutely was — and now Mladá Boleslav are stuck in an owner-less void, almost entirely at the mercy of Slavia, the very club that helped Trunda become Czech football’s boss. The good news? It can hardly get worse than the spring. And FKMB are now armed with a head coach who’s got serious potential to let the fans forget about what’s going on upstairs by implementing a ‘heavy-metal’ brand of football downstairs.

It’s one thing to effectively be a feeder club of Slavia. Aleš Majer knows that well from his one season at Vlašim, where he got to lead the likes of Matěj Žitný, Martin Šubert, Josef Kolářík, Erik Biegon or both Pudil brothers. It’s another thing altogether to also owe something that, say, closely resembles Tomáš Ladra to Plzeň. Yet, that’s the situation FK Mladá Boleslav seems to find itself in, so it would only be fitting if it soon becomes a formal part of the portfolio of Jiří Šimáně — Plzeň-born billionaire who’d helped to save Slavia from folding.

As of now, the financial situation of FKMB likely isn’t completely dire purely because of the Conference League involvement last season. We’re still waiting for the club to be officially moved into trust funds — a process Trunda promised would be concluded within 60 days of his election. We are two days off, but even if it’s been done already, no communication would come as no surprise to us all. The club is still easily the worst of the worst in the league when it comes to basic public relations, constantly failing to get even the simplest tweets right.

Adopting Enigoo as the universal gateway to match tickets could help with elevating the embarrasing 24/25 average attendance of 2500; and so could the opening of a fanshop that may finally allow the fans to purchase a jersey with their favourite player’s name on the back. But these are baby steps many less successful clubs have already taken; nothing to praise.

Looking back on 2024/25

What went (particularly) right

Sometimes, the margins between a long winless run and a long unbeaten run are slim. Mladá Boleslav know that well after 24/25, with their frustrating run of one loss and five straight draws quickly turning into a hopeful run of four wins and seven ties, delivering a 4-2-0 record towards the end of the record-equalling stretch. Indeed, had Boleslav not collapsed to a largely undeserved 1:3 loss to Olomouc in the last autumn round, they would’ve set the club’s maximum in terms of staying unbeaten (previously set at 11 in 2008). Quite remarkable.

As a result, FKMB made for a solidly Top 6 outfit at Christmas. They were 6th in expected points. They were closer to Top 5 on the road, and 3rd-best in controlling the xG flow down the middle. They deserved better on set pieces up front. They lost 5 games all autumn long…

What went (especially) wrong

… only to not lose 5 games all spring long and deliver a record-setting losing streak (7 rounds between the beginning of March and mid-April) in place of the record-equalling unbeaten one. Heh. The collapse was so overwhelming it tanked their end-of-season underlying numbers, too. They scored a mere 8 goals from positional attacks in 2025, swapping a positive score 20:13 (and 7th-best xG share of 50%) after nearly 2/3s of the campaign for a negative 28:31 one (and 5th-worst xG share of 43%) at the end of it. Only trailing at HT four times in the first 19 rounds in 2024, they soon made it a habit after the calendar flipped, with terrible first-half performances particularly causing 4 early losses (Liberec, Plzeň, Ostrava, Bohemians combining for a plus-8 goal differential at HT) that quickly derailed their season.

What was ultimately the biggest problem: the defence. Of bottom four quality both at home and on the road, Mladá Boleslav wrapped up the campaign with a third-worst average non-penalty xGAExpected Goals Against (xGA) estimates how many goals a team should have conceded based on shot quality, location, and context. (1.38) and a dead-last average xGA over the last 10 rounds (1.55) which included a sixtet of bottom 6 encounters and only two Top 7 ones. Outright shocking. Throughout the season, it was specifically way too easy for opponents to get into FKMB’s penalty box in possession, with only the second-lowest percentage of all attempted entries denied (48.1%).

Most valuable player (still on board)

Per my MVP model (traditional stats): Martin Králik (ranked 64th league-wide)
Per my positional models (advanced stats): Martin Králik (72th overall percentile at CB)
Per Statsbomb’s On-Ball Value (OBV) metric: Tomáš Král

There are two building blocks all three of my supporter-consultants agreed on left at Mladá Boleslav. One is a young striker, the other is an experienced centre half. And if it was up to me, Matyáš Vojta would be the second-youngest MVP of this summer (narrowly trailing a fellow 2004 in Matěj Šín). His 10 goals, six of them qualifying as vital (IGImportant Goal (IG) was either a go-ahead goal, or an equalizer. The rest is a standard goal.), delivering a total of 6.77 EPAExpected Points Added (EPA) estimate the value of one's goals and assists based on game state (late game winners = top). would be impressive by itself for a rookie; even more so when placed in the context of beating the non-penalty totals of Lukáš Magera in 15/16 or Marek Kulič ten years earlier (both 7), when both fit inside the league’s Top 5 of all scoring. FKMB was a Top 4 team then.

Sure, as a finisher, Vojta was decidedly lucky. He arguably deserved to net closer to 8 goals, but the fact he placed just one of his 12 high-danger shots off target, succeeded with a comfortable majority of his actions in the box (54.3%) and generally graded out as third-best box attacker/poacher in the field of 37 regulars — all that while 20 years old for the best part; second-youngest striker with 900+ minutes after Griger — would fill me with tons of optimism. Besides, while the goal total flatters him, the assist total (0) certainly didn’t; and it doesn’t fit alongside his very solid deep completion (more than one a game) and xA rates (1.05 expected assists normally fetch one or two real ones). He’s more complex than that.

At this point, let’s also deal with Martin Králik’s MVP credentials. I don’t consider them particularly strong, but it’s worth noting that Mladá Boleslav only lost 6 of the 24 games he opened as a starter. That works out to 25%, whereas without him on the pitch from the opening kick-off, we are talking about an unbelievable 90.9% losing rate (10 of 11), with goals against average shooting up from 1.11 to 1.92. That is obviously not a pure coincidence. It’s hard to imagine a team not missing its main distributor from the back and someone who barely loses a ground duel, be it a classic 1-on-1 in a danger zone (80th percentile) or a race for the loose ball (97th percentile). So, of course Mladá Boleslav did miss Králik, especially since it meant a lot more playing time for Král/Suchý who couldn’t handle it yet/anymore.

That being said, it’s not like Králik wasn’t part of the problem. His 13 passes leading to a shot are scary, and so is the amount of instances where he wasn’t properly aware of his marker or didn’t nail the right positioning. Only five centre backs were less dependable/reliable per my model, and that will absolutely need to improve if he is to carry the team to loftier heights.

Chip on the shoulder

carried by the player who’s got something to prove — be it to himself, fans or the coach

I normally try to avoid new signings in this space, but how can you not highlight Roman Macek? There’s always going to be something inherently special about a former youth prodigy enjoying a decent career abroad before returning to Czechia to play a consequential role for a pretty good team towards the end of his theoretical prime. It’s special, because it simply doesn’t happen. Macek maybe didn’t cut it at Juventus, which he picked as the place to be ahead of Arsenal or Manchester United back in 2013, but to carve out a solid career in Swiss Super League doesn’t go without saying for a wonderkid who left his homeland at 16. At roughly Macek’s age, Jan Hable was swapping 2nd-tier Hradec Králové for 5th-tier Náchod. Dominik Mašek was effectively making the same transition just before his 28th birthday for the benefit of Kutná Hora. Nicolas Šumský was retiring from Vysoké Mýto (4th tier) at 28. And Patrik Twardzik at least spent most of his peak travelling the same level in Germany.

You get the gist.

Macek appearing here, scoring on the first matchday no less, is a bigger deal than most realize. But it’s not a foreglone conclusion he’s going to have a great time like the first round suggested, which is where the chip on the shoulder stems from. We didn’t know what to expect. The former U-16 national team captain — who had played everywhere from wing to attack to central midfield — had basically disappeared from the face of the earth (no competitive starts for the U-19s) before briefly reappearing in March 2019 with Lavička’s U-21s, featuring in the 0:3 hammering by Greece. Then, after a 700-minute farewell run with Lugano, he suddenly showed up for FKMB’s summer camp where he looked mostly off the pace, taking too many touches, too much time to decide. And now, the wondergoal.

In a way, that thundering hit might have done Macek a disservice, since that is now the baseline. In reality, he’s going to face stiff competition in the crowded middle of the park, with David Kozel enjoying a healthy, inspired pre-season and Daniel Langhamer — once Slavia’s “next big thing” himself — ready to follow-up on his first complete top-tier season.

Inside the off-season

special thanks for guiding me through the motions of FK Mladá Boleslav’s off-season go out to @stepan_1902, @PWithelm & @bolkacast

Squad turnover

There were clubs who saw more players leave, or even one club that saw more 24/25 minutes vanish overnight (Dukla). But no one came close to Mladá Boleslav in terms of the sheer amount of value disappearing. Consider that FKMB are only retaining 39.7% of all MVP points generated; Teplice, who were hit the hardest as the next in line, have so far held onto 50.8%. Of all the official Team of the Week shortlist appearances made by Mladá Boleslav players, a mere 26 remain on board (the lowest percentage in the league by almost 13 points). A sum total of 47 important points (G+A on go-ahead goals or equalizers) were banked by those employed by FKMB; 27 of them are now gone. Only two Boleslav players fit inside the league’s Top 50 of the most utilized; both of them are done (Tomáš Ladra, Marek Suchý).

Biggest upgrade

That being said, much like with Dukla, a player’s departure can sometimes be a good thing — and it can hold true even when the player in question is leaving as the club’s second most used worker. That is the case of Marek Suchý, effectively replaced in the backline by Filip Prebsl. While I have my reservations about the latter (his dynamism still appears too exploitable to me), it will be difficult for him to not constitute an upgrade on Chance Liga’s second-worst centre back per my positional model. Suchý was decidedly overstretched in the role of a starter, an active liability at the back who doesn’t do shit for his team’s build-up, and arguably should’ve made this second-tier transition a year earlier. He was vulnerable through all kinds of channels — weak in the air (10 of 30 aerials in his own box won), only good for 1.59 ground duels won per 90 in danger areas (other FKMB’s CBs were between 2.06 and 2.21), posting 4th-worst success rate in loose ball duels out of 61 regular centre halves.

Biggest downgrade

There are obvious, major downgrades, but there’s also not unreasonable hope they’ll be compensated in time. Vojtěch Stránský was a huge contributor in the middle third as one of the best ball progressors around, but if David Pech — well conditioned, more muscular, thus well positioned to hit a restart back home — continues his bounce back beyond the three-point R1, FKMB may be fine. He was arguably always the more gifted ball carrier.

With Tomáš Ladra, it’s a bit more difficult. In Filip Lehký, Mladá Boleslav theoretically have another tight space navigator who opens himself up with the first touch, will press the ball receiver, etc. In Michal Ševčík, they theoretically have a solid finisher who can push play via dribbles and instinctive passes. If it all comes together and the two continue to interchange in their roles of a false right wing and no. 10 neatly, they may — eventually — fully compensate for what Ladra brought to the table. It’s going to be a big ask from Day 1, though.

We sorted through Ladra’s qualities as part of the Plzeň preview, but let’s refresh our memories: this is a player who, on a 13th-placed team, ranked second behind Provod in open-play goal/chance creation (2.18 per game), first ahead of Provod in meters gained via dribbles, top of the pack in cracking the penalty area (slightly behind Provod with the basic rate — 3.08 vs 3.20 per 90 — but ahead of him once I applied a custom co-efficient valuing frequency with which Ladra efficiently connected with teammates), second only behind Provod in expected assists, and 4th behind Provod, Slončík, Višinský in high-danger shots.

When you are surrounded with this much of Provod, you are most likely very good at things.

Need left to be addressed

Mladá Boleslav are still painfully short on an actual left back. While the club did bring in Matěj Zachoval to potentially address this need, he’s also going to be 20 for the majority of this season and hasn’t really been tested at this level. His versatility (and constant health issues of Jetmir Haliti, a rare left-sided centre back at FKMB) means he’ll likely be finding his spot on the team as we go, potentially outside of the LB role. Other than Zachoval, who else to play there? Based on this summer’s action, it seemed like Dominik Kostka may switch to his off side, or that Jakub Fulnek may be preferred to Zachoval due to… what, experience?

At this stage of his career, I wouldn’t dare to play Fulnek at fullback. He can still contribute as a pushed-up wingback, though he’s not as strong in that area of play as he used to be, either. What he definitely cannot be relied on for, however, is the defensive support; frankly non-existing in 24/25. And whether Daniel Mareček, deployed there in R1, can serve as a viable long-term option is doubtful to say the least. He got the obligatory hat trick out of the way nice and early last term (with his first 3 shots on target!), only to serve as the usual passenger the rest of the way. I don’t see enough smarts on him to act as an effective inverted fullback.

New kid on the block

What Mladá Boleslav have always done quite well: poaching other clubs’ talents relatively early to blend them with their own fresh blood and ideally sell them on. That was the playbook with Daniel Fila or David Jurásek, it was what they attempted later with Lukáš Fila, as well, and it’s most likely the end game for the likes of Matouš Krulich (b. 2005), Jan Zíka (b. 2006) or even Martin Kulas (b. 2009) who followed in 2025, too. The latter had already practiced with Teplice’s first-team just before he arrived to the ‘City of Cars’ to team up with Vladimír Pokorný who he knows well from the U-16/17 national team, and who’s now promoted to FKMB’s A-team. Kulas boasts a rich contract for a teenager and should receive ample time to show his skills, just not yet throughout the ongoing season, you’d think.

One new name that stands out for me is Josef Kolářík (b. 2007), undoubtedly coach Majer’s favourite. He was one of the youngest regularly starting players in the second tier in 2025 and particularly blossomed for Vlašim in May when he scored against all of Táborsko, Zbrojovka and Opava. He’ll likely be coming off the bench to provide width and cutting edge in certain games, while he arguably lacks defensive awareness and intensity to start in the top flight as yet. He’s also a peculiar case because, as a right winger, he’s plausibly fighting for the same spot, the same amount of available playing time, with the foremost homegrown talent you wouldn’t consider established yet: Jan Buryán (b. 2005). With another winger in Jakub Vlček (b. 2003) loaned out to Jihlava, Buryán is carrying FKMB academy’s flag all alone.

Looking ahead to 2025/26

Below is the team’s current(ish) depth chart with a maximum of 4 alternatives for one position. The colourful ratings are a static snapshot of the league-wide situation on 5 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

I can already see Mladá Boleslav players will be difficult to place as part of one particular model next summer, frequently filling in different roles across one game. Vojtěch Hora gave me numerous headaches this year, as someone who was a CAM, CDM and LCB at various points of his short FKMB career, and Denis Kaulfus could be next up; possibly popping up as high as right wing and as low as right centre back at times. This is also down to Boleslav lining up in 4-2-3-1, and flicking to 3-2-5 while in possession. A lot like Hyský’s Karviná.

Notes on the depth chart

Mladá Boleslav are going into the season as the only club with a loanee poised to serve as the starting goalkeeper, and that might be both unusual and unfortunate. Matouš Trmal has got his kinks, but I’m not sure I’d be looking to move on from him for the benefit of a goalkeeper who turns 34 towards the end of this season. Aleš Mandous could still be a serviceable custodian, yet to go from a sweeper keeper who mostly just focuses on distribution at Slavia to more of a traditional shot stopper who’s under constant fire at Mladá Boleslav could be too much of an adjustment for a veteran. In only 13 starts, Mandous was asked to make twenty-three high danger saves (plus two penalties), actually pulling off 5 (plus one penalty). That is one insane shift. Trmal was only called into such action 27 times; across more than twice as many appearances. Mandous was thrown into the deep end and didn’t exactly drown, which is a fine pre-condition for long-term success, but let’s see how he fares across a full season.

Since Lukáš Fila and Nicolas Penner aren’t exactly sure things to stick around the first team, it’s a bit concerning to see Solomon John — courted by Ekstraklasa club(s) — backed up so poorly. As long as Majer puts his foot down and doesn’t let him leave, though, the Nigerian could turn in something of a break-out. Though not the youngest anymore (turning 24 in August), he’s also got his first taste of top Czech football at Vlašim and we have yet to see him properly take off in Chance Liga. Thoroughly suffocated by Holoubek and later deployed a bit too deep as a wingback, Majer could prove to be the first truly favourable coach for John.

Many Boleslav fans would welcome an extra centre back, and I can see why; though a lot hinges on whether Haliti can put together a series of games he’s actually available for. With him, FKMB would have a decent backup for LCB, while Tomáš Král can be split between RCB and RB as a deputy, and Denis Donát can do his thing for only a limited number of games per season. That should definitely be the goal, because as good as Donát’s pizza looks, much of those high values are down to some last-ditch defending (or exactly three chances in three games in the case of the inflated xG value) commonly required to cover up his own positioning, agility and mobility related shortcomings. Boleslav need to shield him big time.

Roster battle to follow

At 22, Dominik Mareš already carries a worryingly rich history of mid/long-term injuries. In the middle of one protracted recovery as we speak, the concern also likely isn’t going away anytime soon. And that is an eternal shame, because he could be a game-changer for Majer’s Boleslav. After looking too raw in the early goings before the last campaign, Mareš looked ready to properly introduce himself towards the end of 2024, earning the FKMB move and then barely featuring for them to total a mere 11.3 starts. Now it’s hard to place much trust in his numbers given the small sample, though succeeding with 19 of 31 attempts to enter the penalty area is legitimately fantastic. He’s a smart runner who was growing in confidence as a passer before succumbing to yet another injury, so let’s hope he picks up where he left off.

The potential “game-changer” effect has got as much to do with Mareš as it does with Dominik Kostka. He’s quite far out of his depth as a nailed-on starter for a team with Top 6/8 ambitions. He can do a bit of everything per his pizza chart and Mareš isn’t necessarily going to upgrade him on defence, but there are serious limits to his game, mostly traced to somewhat lacking smarts and ball technique. He’s not awful or useless, but FKMB aim higher.

Season forecast

This is where the recency bias might be hitting (the wall) the hardest. Shaving 12.5 points off their 2023 forecast seems harsh, especially after they earned their UEFA football taste via league standings and a decent enough 44 points (as opposed to Sigma this year). I wouldn’t go as far as dropping them to 32.3 points, either; after all, they have cleared this bar in all but one top flight campaigns so far, with that one campaign rotting in the past for 20 years. But…

There are a number of factors at play. First of all, FKMB’s decline has really been gradual. As much as a shock this spring was regardless, it’s worth noting four of the club’s seven lowest regular-season point totals were recorded between 2020 and 2025. They all count against the forecast above, with the joint-second lowest (34) weighted the heaviest since it’s also the most recent. Second of all, without knowing how well their wild card signings (including the coach) pan out, they have lost a ton of value over the last few months. This begins with Kušej, Vydra in winter, and continues through Ladra, Stránský in summer. By my estimation, only Teplice got (significantly) weaker on balance in the off-season; something that also shows.

Still, there are 5 clubs who should be worried about relegation more per the model (group that doesn’t but should include Zlín), and the mushy middle isn’t the worst landing spot for a club in transition. FKMB are basically where Slovan were in 2024; minus the ambitious owner.

Bold prediction

The track record: 0/4. Boleslav did get shutout in back-to-back games after all (R29)

The prediction: Boleslav celebrate their independence on Bohemians by beating them twice

The rationale: Mladá Boleslav have nice new jerseys, that much is without a doubt. The historic parallel, though, felt laboured at best. I imagine it went something like this:

– “Guys, full panic mode: everyone seems to be rooting their new kits in their history these days — Jablonec, Karviná, Hradec. Don’t we have anything like that in stock ourselves?”

– “Already sorted. We are going with the famous domestic cup final.”

– “Great, which of the two we won?”

– “The one we lost.”

– “Right… nice underdog story, I guess. So it’s an anniversary?”

– “Sure. Forty-seven years…”

Clearly, they can’t celebrate milestone moments properly in Mladá Boleslav. Heck, even the article linked above was reminding us of the occasion an awkward thirty-four years later. Honestly, I’d go as as far saying they need help. And luckily for us, there are some things that are particularly worth celebrating in the following months. FKMB probably cannot seriously aim to finish as high as runners-up exactly 20 years on from doing so for the first and maybe last time ever, or even repeat the cup triumph they managed 10 years later. But what we can easily do is to commemorate the current fully independent iteration of the club.

I mean, the five summer arrivals from Slavia may not suggest it, but Mladá Boleslav are at least independent on paper, which wasn’t necessarily the case as recently as in the 90s. Between 1992-94, the club was officially called FK Slavia Mladá Boleslav, later switching to open support from the other Vršovice club, before ditching “FK Bohemians Mladá Boleslav” and finally just being itself 30 years ago. And how better to celebrate than doing the regular-season double over ‘Klokani’ for only the second time in the top flight history (11/12 offered up the first time), especially in a season that follows the gross injustice that was their home 1:2 loss earlier this year, with Boleslav outshooting the opponent 24:9 and beating them on the xG clock by 1.88 expected goals (29th most dominant performance of the season overall).

Last campaign was one of only three that didn’t see Boleslav win a game against Bohemians.

This one will be vastly different.

(Editor’s note: The author of the piece has declined to comment whether this is motivated by his Bohemians bold prediction bombing big time in the first round. We’ll keep trying to reach him.)

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