Klimkova excited to start another journey
New Football Ferns coach Jitka Klimkova speaks to Michael Burgess ,of about the team’s upcoming games, growing up in a tiny Czech village and the chance meeting that put her on the path to coaching down under.
WHEN Jitka Klimkova first discussed her sporting dream with her parents, they thought she was crazy.
The Czech Republic native, who will take charge of her first Football Ferns match on Sunday after being appointed as the head coach last month, had a far from straightforward journey into the game.
Klimkova grew up in the small village of Moravany, about 200km southeast of Prague.
Her father, Eduard Klimek, was a bigtime motorcycle racer and her early life was spent at racetracks around the country.
It was enjoyable, but Klimkova had her eyes on another sporting pursuit.
‘‘Between those weekends I was the one who was first on the field, waiting for the boys to come to play football with me.’’
There were no girls teams to join, but Klimkova joined the informal village kickarounds, getting increasingly attached to the sport.
Later, as a teenager, she wanted to join a proper team, in a neighbouring town.
Klimkova did not play an official match until she was 15, but progressed quickly. She scored plenty of goals for a lower division team before two seasons with Sokoi Cejc in the second division.
Klimkova then spent four years with Slavia Holic, a first division team in Slovakia.
The most memorable years of Klimkova’s career were at Compex Otrokovice in the Czech first division. The club finished runnerup in the 2001 and 2002 seasons, a period that coincided with Klimkova’s international debut.
Klimkova made a couple of national squads, before getting caps for games against Yugoslavia and Greece.
‘‘I made it — I achieved my goal,’’ she said.
‘‘Was I a superstar? Nope. But I knew I started late, and players were ahead of me physically, technically, tactically. But I worked hard and did everything to make it. And I knew already I wanted to be a coach, so I was already thinking ‘OK this is great experience’, even if I’m not on the field so much.’’
Klimkova began doing her coaching badges in her 20.
‘‘I thought ‘this is my future, I love football, I don’t want to be without it’.’’
She became assistant coach when she was still playing, before transitioning to the top job at 30.
Compex Otrokovice finished third over six consecutive seasons, while also reaching the national cup final in 2009.
Klimkova expanded the club’s women’s programme, before taking on the Czech under19 team. But she always had overseas ambitions.
Klimkova attended the 2011 Fifa Women’s World Cup with the Czech federation, where a chance meeting changed her destiny.
Klimkova ended up sitting next to Canberra United chief executive Heather Reid at a conference, discussing her desire to coach overseas.
‘‘During lunch, Heather received a message from her former coach that he [couldn’t continue], so she was like, ‘OK, this is interesting’. It was a little bit of a miracle.’’
The pair talked more, with Reid offering her the WLeague job a week later, after doing some research on Klimkova’s background.
‘‘That [lunch] was my lifechanger,’’ she said.
Canberra United topped the 201112 WLeague table, crowning an unbeaten season by beating Brisbane in the final, and Klimkova was named coach of the year.
The team finished fifth the following season, before Klimkova accepted a position as New Zealand under17 coach. Her application was filed after the deadline, but she agreed to meet ‘‘for a coffee’’ a few weeks later, during a vacation in this country.
Klimkova took the Young Football Ferns to the 2014 Under17 World Cup and was an assistant for the under20 team, before six years working in the United States, where she coached national agegroup teams, including the under19 and under20 squads.
Klimkova, who speaks four languages including Russian and German, has been handed a rare sixyear mandate with the Football Ferns but is not concerned about her lack of international senior coaching experience.
‘‘I started as a senior coach, right, in the Czech Republic first division,’’ the 47yearold said.
‘‘I really believe that coaches should go through the stages, with younger players. I was under17 coach, under19 coach and I’m ready to coach the seniors.’’
Klimkova’s first assignment— two games against Olympic champion Canada — is a tough one.
‘‘I’m excited that we can start this journey,’’ Klimkova said.
‘‘The players are aware about what is next, what is in 2023. There is nothing better than to have the World Cup at home in New Zealand. I can’t wait to start working with them.’’
The Football Ferns take on Canada in backtoback games on October 24 and October 27.