NOT every man named Rudolf who flies into Scotland gets a warm welcome. But Rudolf ‘Rudi’ Skacel, the free-scoring Heart of Midlothian star, has won a legion of fans in the country.
The 26-year-old Czech arrived on loan from Marseilles in the summer of 2005, and the signing turned out be one of the last and best of George Burley’s rudely-truncated spell in charge at Tynecastle.
Skacel might not have spoken much English when he came, but his boots were fluent in the international language of goals. As Burley’s super-charged Hearts team surged to the top of the table, Skacel scored in a goal a game for their first seven matches.
They lost some momentum when blood ran down the boardroom walls and the brightest coach in the country was sent packing. But Graham Rix has steadied the ship, and Skacel keeps scoring — 15 from 22 Premierleague games and counting.
His exploits in Scotland have raised his profile at home, and given him a chance of playing in the World Cup this summer. The Czech Republic share a tough group with Italy, Ghana and United States — and Brazil are potential second-round opponents.
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Skacel, whose English has improved thanks to the post-training English classes he has been attending with his compatriot and team-mare, Roman Bednar, said: “This is for the coach to say. I think I have a small chance of playing in Germany. Already there are many players in the Czech team very good at making goals. I would like to play, but I am not thinking about this now.
“All I can do is play well for Hearts, and help them win the league, or maybe come second. I am very happy making goals for Hearts and making the supporters happy.”
Skacel’s involvement in the Czechs’ qualifying campaign was restricted to the first half of a 4-1 home win over Armenia, and his way to the World Cup is barred by a rare crop of extravagantly gifted attack-minded players. The Czechs, ranked second in the world, scored more goals than any other European team in qualifying.
The peerless Pavel Nedved came out of international retirement to help the cause, and Thomas Rosicky, Vladimir Smicer, Karel Poborsky, Milan Baros and Jan Koller — for whom the cliché “He has a surprisingly good touch for a big man” was probably invented — hardly hamper the team’s offensive options. All Skacel can do is keep scoring for Hearts, and hope Karel Bruckner, the Czech manager, notices.
Skacel’s future in Edinburgh is unclear beyond the spring. He said: “I have a contract until May, and then who knows? I will talk to (Roman) Romanov then and we will see what is happening.”
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Skacel is the epitome of the modern, itinerant European professional. He began his career with Slavia Prague, before switching to Marseilles, who have sent him out on loan first to Panathinaikos and now to Hearts. But he hints that he would welcome the chance to spend longer than just one season in Edinburgh.
“Football is different in every country. In Scotland, there is more foul play, but it is also exciting, and I like this very much,” he said. “We have a fantastic dressing-room, the people in Scotland are friendly, and the first months at Hearts have been the best part of my career. I want to make many more goals to say thank you to the supporters.”