Josef Bělka

Josef Bělka was born on February 20, 1886, in Nehvizdy, Austria-Hungary. He began his career in 1905 with Sparta Prague, one of the biggest clubs of its time. But after two seasons, he decided to join rivals Slavia Prague. In his first match against his former club, the player scored twice in a tight 2-2 draw.

Becoming more consistent, the player continued to play in successive matches and score goals. He notably scored five goals in a 9-1 victory against Sparta Prague. In 1907, Josef, who played alongside club legend Jan Košek, scored a total of 99 goals, 22 more than Jan, enough to overshadow the legend.

Continuing his winning ways, Bělka continued to be the team's top scorer, having a very good year in 1908, scoring a total of 55 goals in the calendar year. But the competition with Jan became too great in 1909, and Josef no longer played every match and lost his place at the forefront of the team's attack. He then decided to return to Sparta Prague at the very end of 1909.

In 1912, Bělka won his first trophy, the Bohemian-Moravia Championship. But the following year, Josef Bělka would once again betray Sparta Prague by soliciting then-Slavia Prague coach Jake Madden to return to the club while Jan Košek was nearing the end of his career.

Bělka returned to Slavia Prague in 1913, once again playing as a center forward. He flourished and won two Bohemian Championships. Slavia Prague's main striker, he finally retired in 1918 at the age of 32. In total, he scored 422 goals in 428 matches.

A legend of Czech football, Bělka was also a legend of the Bohemian national team, playing a total of four matches and scoring four goals. He also won the Grand European Football Tournament in a legendary final, winning 2-1 against England, the tournament's favorites. Bělka was the man of the final, the best player on the pitch.

He died tragically at the age of 58 in 1944 in the extermination camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau.

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