"After the huge disappointment of the Olomouc game, we couldn't wait any longer. Even considering the fact that we are only fourth in the league table and have lost four games in a row."
"The current season is a big disappointment for all of us. Lubos Loucka is taking over the team temporarily and will give the team new energy. And the players have only two more games to prove that they care about the club," announced AC Sparta Prague sporting director Tomas Rosicky on the club's website.
"I thank Lars very much for everything he has done for Sparta and for his great contribution to the club's recent successes," the former player added.
The Danish coach joined Sparta in December 2022 when he became assistant coach to Brian Priske. Together, they led the club to two championship titles and a MOL Cup triumph. After last season, the fair-haired coach took over the reins from Priske, who left for Feyenoord.
In the summer, Friis became the first coach in 19 years to lead Sparta to the main part of the Champions League, having successively eliminated Shamrock Rovers, FCSB and Malmo in the preliminary rounds. In the league phase, however, they earned just four points in eight games with a win over Salzburg and a draw at Stuttgart.
Sparta seemed to be smoothly building on Priske's work with Friis, but ran into problems during the autumn. However, it was mainly on the domestic front that the Prague team had trouble during the season. They lost to Slavia, Plzen, Banik Ostrava and Sigma Olomouc. They also lost points in matches against Dukla and Teplice.
The big issue was the improvement of the defensive team, which led to the departure of Friis' assistant and compatriot Jens Askou, who was replaced by Michal Vavra.
Sparta were active on the transfer market - Jan Kuchta returned, they brought in stopper Emmanuel Uchenna from Banik, Magnus Kofod Andersen came from Venezia in Italy, and they brought back U21 international Patrik Vydra and Adam Sevinsky from loans.
The reinforcements have only partially helped the team. In the new year, they won their opening six games, including the home derby against Slavia, and seemed to be going for second place, but at the end of the regular season, they ran into trouble again.
A 1-0 loss in Liberec kicked things off, followed by a 4-2 home collapse against Plzen. Sparta couldn't even win at Banik, where they drew 1-1 in the 28th league round. The Prague team went into the championship round in fourth place.
It is now certain that they cannot finish better than fourth in the table, and they are at risk of being without European football next season. Fifth-placed Jablonec are only two points behind Sparta with two rounds to go.
However, losing the MOL Cup final was the last straw for Sparta's management, who decided to take decisive action.