Prague - The Czech national football team's form has been bouncing up and down during the 2008 European Championship qualifiying round.
Following a good start the team found themselves under heavy criticism, but in the end proved it still belonged to the world's top.
It is well discussed not only by Czech but by International experts too. The German National team, 2006 World Cup medalist, bowed to Czechs in the last home game.
READ MORE: Czechs beat Germany in Munich to reach Euro 2008
"The Czech Team is one of the 2008 European Championship favorites" stated Slovakia's national team coach after the former federation derby match loss last weekend.
What chances can Czechs take for the June Championship in Austria and Switzerland? Yesterday´s match against Cyprus could have served as a little hint.
Winning in Cyprus is never easy
Nothing short of a clear victory was expected and the Czech team confirmed their leading position in Group D by winning 2:0 in spite of the fact that the opponent did not seem to be that easy.
Cyprus, FIFA's 57th ranked team, is not known for giving the points away for free as attested by.Germans who only managed a draw on the Meditarannean island, as well as Ireland, and Wales who both lost to the home side.
Czechs knew they needed to win to clinch the top position in their group and they delivered. So instead of asking what happened to Germany that they lost a five point lead, let's ask what the reasons are behind the Czech team´s apparent return to the top form.
First of all, a youth venture worked well, and the Coach was finally not afraid to nominate players from the home league.
An era with players like Marek Heinz or Roman Týce is long past. Here comes the time for Marek Matějovský, Martin Fenin and Jan Šimůnek.
Coach Karel Brückner´s second wind cannot be discounted either. Two tactical variances and a precisely perused Slovakian team are the Coach's last offers.
He can hardly sit on the bench during the match and tries to instruct his eleven players at any given moment.
Turnover after the victory in Ireland
Winning the September double match against San Marino and hefty Irish team had a major influence on the Czech team´s last results.
Full points and success in those duels and the European Championship within reach, gave the players a sense of calm.
"We are a team and we have always stood up for each other during the past six years. There has never been a problem between the players and with the Coach," stated Milan Baroš after the winning game in September.
But it did not always look that way. Especially with the crisis that happened last spring when Czechs lost against the German favorites and as a result struggled in the game with Cyprus.
The criticism of the team culminated in the wake of the now infamous celebration of Tomáš Ujfaluši's birthday, catching a couple of them during a compromising evening in one of the hotel apartments.
Of course now, bad times seem to have been exorcised and not even the defeat with Cyprus would have changed it. No one can argue that the team built around Tomáš Rosický didn´t deserve to qualify themselves to a third Championship in a row.
Whether the Czech national team will be able to defend their bronze medals there is an entirely different question, and the chapter that has not been opened yet.
At least until the December 2nd when the 2008 European Football Championship draw will take place in Luzern in Switzerland.
