When you think of a "football agent," you usually picture a middleman sending players anywhere just to earn good commission for himself. Some of them even might be like that; though when you meet the Zíkas - father and sons, the representatives of Global Sports, you’ll learn otherwise. Their attitude is quite different; what’s more, they are very pleasant to talk to.
How do you divide work in your family clan?
Pavel: We work as a team. Naturally, my boys take over the younger players born after, say, 2000, while I talk rather with players over thirty. The boys are involved more in the executive part, they go abroad, go to see the matches and so on. I, on the other hand, focus more on the strategic development of the company, monitor cash flow, deal with the club leaders together with the boys. All in all, however, it's really team work, we don't act as individuals. We can rely on each other, fill in for each other, no one steals the contacts to go and start their own business, which is usual in this line of work. We totally go by the motto of the musketeer: "One for all, all for one." And it is the same in our company. We are a joint stock company; we are the board of directors, my wife being the supervisory board. In fact, she can actually dismiss us all (he laughs).
Have you always planned to have a family business, or how did it come about?
Pavel: Having a family business was my dream. Because who can you rely on most? Family. We brought up the boys in this spirit from the very beginning, we convinced them how important it is to learn languages; it was obvious that were cut out for it. When I had Sport Invest, we used to travel around the world, they got to know international football, got familiar with the environment as well as with the players and coaches; like with Petr Čech, who I’d represented since he was 15 years old. In their spare time, they played games on PlayStation, played cards, tennis and so on. They entered the world of football gradually and in a natural way.
David: Looking into the past, Dad founded Sport Invest in 1998. Then, when he sold his shares to his partners in 2011, the agreement included a competitive clause prohibiting us to operate in this business for four years. Which we obeyed, and my brother and I worked in the Czech-Mexican Chamber of Commerce or in the export and consulting firm FIZA International. Incidentally, during that time, we succeeded in opening the market for the Ondrášovka mineral water market in Australia, Latvia and other countries, and we are quite proud of that. It was a great experience. However, we planned to return to football all the time, and looked forward to it. In 2015, immediately after the expiry of the competition clause, we took the plunge. We are really proud that we managed to achieve what we longed for in a relatively short time. We are thrilled to work with top clubs and top players and we enjoy ourselves immensely. I think, as we have seen Dad working in this field since our childhoods, it was probably the only way for us. By the time we had reached puberty my brother and I and were clear about what we would be doing.
Filip: I can just confirm that. We have always been clear about our choice in life, about wanting to do what Dad does. Not because we were forced to, it just felt natural. And we are very happy to be able to continue his work. He taught us really well; and in fact, he is still teaching us.
Pavel: That's right. I took them everywhere, they learned purposefully, gradually penetrating the football world. I always told them to learn languages, you can’t do without them; go to schools, and gradually, become part of the company. Moreover, I could see that they were, I dare say, the same way I am, nice people and communicative. Which is important, because even the famous players, popular with the media and often idolized by millions of people, are normal people in their civil life, whose concerns are whether to marry, when to have children, which school their children should go to, what should they invest in, and so on. You have to be able to communicate with them in a normal way.
Is there a big difference between your work environment at the turn of the millennium and now?
Pavel: There is a huge difference. At that time, FIFA was strictly in charge, there were licensed agents, you had to sit tough tests, deposit a substantial guarantee in a bank in case you caused a damage by your activities. There were around a hundred of us licensed FIFA agents all around the world; there was one in Africa, none in the former Soviet Union. There were three of us in our country, Pavel Paska, Zdeněk Nehoda and I. Now, it’s freer, FIFA has passed everything to national associations and there are thousands of agents. Which makes the competition tougher.
David: However, although the quantity has gone up, the quality got lower. There are a lot of not so respectable agents whose only goal is to rope in and sell for as much money as possible. And that’s it for them. Let me give you an example: we represent, let’s say, a Czech player who is sixteen or seventeen, systematically working with him, and suddenly, his parents call all excited that an Italian agent called them offering an internship in Italy. But in Italy, there are more agents than professional players, so they are desperately trying to hunt young boys from other countries luring them with internships clubs that are small and non-targeted on top of that. Several dozens of players from all over Europe arrive for a week, they train a little, but their chances to get a contract are slim. This is not how we work. We try to proceed with professional care, working systematically with the players. Besides, I have to praise the Football Association of the Czech Republic, because it is perhaps the only association in Europe that still makes you, if you want to become an agent, pass examinations and deposit a guarantee. There are countries where you basically just sign a self-certification, pay the annual fee and you can be an agent.
Have the players changed, as well?
Pavel: Yes, they have. It is very much due to the times, to the technologies. The generation of Petr Čech, Pavel Nedvěd, Karel Poborský, Honza Koller cared more about the sport as such, with the money being only second. First of all, they wanted to know what club it was, who the coach was, what system they used, whether the coach really wanted them and so on.
David: It's definitely because of the times and the changes in the society as a whole. Nowadays, materialism prevails. On social networks, you see a lot of self-love and self-centeredness, which is what shapes people today. We struggle with two things that are often limiting: over-ambitiousness and lack of patience. Many young players, whether it’s their ambition or their parents, think, from the age of thirteen or fourteen that at seventeen, they should be in the broader cadre of the league, playing the league when they are eighteen, playing abroad, when they are twenty and in representation when twenty-two, being well off for life. This destroys a lot of talents.
Filip: There should be more humility, self-criticism, decent behaviour. But again - today, very few people are capable of admitting their own faults, they rather try to blame everyone around them.
David: In the past, the players really worked hard. Today, it is often difficult for a young player to sacrifice all his free time, the best years of his life, to endure the pain.
Pavel: And again, it is a lot about psychology. Each player's path is a sort of riverbed, and we should help him enter the right port at the right time, to convince him that he has to stick to a strict regime, to give it everything they got, because with an average life expectancy of let’s say 80 years, his top career could last just a tenth of his life. The player has to simply trust you.
Do you sometimes find yourself in a position that you could sell a player right away, but you feel that for the benefit of his further development, it would be better to hold on? Which, in fact, is against your interests, against your profits.
Pavel: Yes, it happens. But it depends on how strong your company is financially. We are not, figuratively speaking, agents who rummage about the clubs, hunting the players and selling them immediately, and that’s it. We are a joint-stock company, we are associated with a big German sport holding company, we arrange international transfers. We know that everything must be done at the right time. Of course, we don't do business to end up in the red, but when you're a strong company, you can really afford to work with a young player truly systematically, and to decide whether he should join a big club right away, or whether it would be better for him to go step by step, so we could work with him, preparing him properly. However, yes, there are players to whom we recommend gradual growth, and who do not take it well.
David: It may happen that we have a young player who already plays the first league. Now, he gets two offers: one from Western Europe or the US, where clubs are responsible. On the other hand, there is an offer, for example, from Eastern Europe, Kazakhstan or Turkey, where the club often promises what the player wants. You tell the player earnestly that the club or the territory is problematic, recommending the first option. Now, it’s about the player's thinking. Whether he thinks in terms or sports or finance. You may give him advice, but if he decides otherwise, you simply have to respect his decision, and represent him in his best interest, even if you are not entirely convinced.
Filip: Some young boys often do not look to the future, they live only in the present, not realizing that a contract for maybe less money can be more advantageous from the sports or life-prospects point of view.
David: Of course, not everyone is like that. We now work with a goalkeeper from Pardubice, Lukáš Horníček, born in 2002. We believe in him, he is currently the goalkeeper of the national representation, nineteen, last year he was the goalkeeper of the Czech seventeen in Euro. In the summer, we discussed with him and his family two offers we had, one was from Braga, Portugal, the other from Valencia, Spain. Most would go for Valencia, a huge club with a renowned history. Lukáš and his family decided to go the way that Petr Čech had once opted for, knowing it would be better for him. Petr Čech, instead of going to Everton, preferred to go Rennes first, a less prominent French club. Lukáš had the same opinion, and wanted to go to Braga first, a smaller club, but great for young players, more like a family and more personalized in the sense that it was not a “football factory”. And we acknowledged and supported this opinion.
Pavel: Here, an important player-agent-family relation showed. That we respect each other, we believe each other. We respect each player's personality as well as his family background, while the other side respects our experience, references, how long we have been on the market and what we have already achieved.
Do clubs also contact you, looking for a specific type of player?
Pavel: Certainly. After all, I've been in this business for over twenty years, so the clubs know both my name and my company. My boys, also, make a good impression everywhere, which makes me very happy. However, to be successful and keep moving, you can't just sit back and wait for someone to contact you. You have to work seven days a week. At weekends, there are matches, you have also to travel abroad for. You have to watch the leagues in which you have players, you watch football on TV all the time. I'll tell you what's the key. If you are to be a good agent and have the players’ confidence, by arranging a transfer, your work with the player does not end, but begins. It's not about arranging a transfer to Newcastle, collecting the money and that’s it. The competition is fierce, in England there are bunches of agents available to the players. So how can you win the player’s confidence, to make him stay with you? By constantly watching him, watching his matches, communicating with his club manager and coach, visiting him, showing interest in him, talking to him not only about his matches, but also about his life outside football. If you want to be a professional and do your work for a long time, you cannot live off just one time transfer. The transfer is just the virtual tip of the iceberg.
It must be very time-consuming and mentally demanding. I'm surprised you even have families...
Pavel: Which is we are very grateful to our wives that they bear with us.
David: Today, we all live fast, I say we live in on-line times. In the past, mobile phones weren't smart, allowing you no more than to call or text. Today, you have all sorts of applications, social networks, WhatsApp, Viber; and if you want to be successful, you must be available 24 hours a day. It’s very demanding mentally, but also in terms of planning, whether when working or in private life. You need people around you to be very patient with you.
Pavel, do you think that should you get tired of work and decided to go for a two-year trip around the world, the boys would be able to run the business smoothly?
Pavel: Absolutely. After all, we are in the process of redistributing shares and we agreed with my wife that we want the boys to have a majority stake together. They will manage without problems. Over the past five years, they have already gained a name with Czech clubs and they do the most of the executive work. For instance, they went to Belgium to negotiate the transfer of Patrik Hrošovský. They are well-behaved, good people, from both human and professional perspective. They have good background - good upbringing, education and work morale.
Pavel Zíka
Born on 24th April 1959 in Vlašim. He graduated from the University of Economics in Prague, specializing in foreign trade. He then worked for Strojimport (Senior Sales Officer - Export Western Europe) and at the Embassy of the Czech Republic to Argentina (as a Commercial Delegate). In 1998, he founded Sport Invest. In 2011, he sold his shares to his partners and in 2015, he founded Global Sports, where he works with his sons and wife. In his free time, he likes to go for walks with his wife and their dog or watch sports. He is a big fan of tennis player Rafael Nadal.
David Zíka
Born on 21th August 1986 in Prague. He graduated from the Metropolitan University Prague and then he completed his MBA at the Business Institute Prague. He worked for Sport Invest (Project Manager), FIZA International (founder) and Czech-Mexican Chamber of Commerce (Chairman of the Board of Directors). He is married and has one daughter. His hobbies are family, travelling, music, movies and sports.
Filip Zíka
Born on 10th of January 1991 in Buenos Aires. He graduated from the Metropolitan University Prague, worked for Sport Invest (Project Manager) and FIZA International (founder). He is married and has one daughter. His hobbies are family, travel, books, cooking and sports.
Good Agent
The Zíkas really do their job highly professionally. According to the founder of the company, Pavel, what makes a good agent? “In addition to professional knowledge of everything that is happening around football, which goes without saying, you must be communicative, show genuine interest in the clients not only as players, but also as normal people. You should be human, have empathy, be a good psychologist. For me as well as the boys it is certainly an advantage that we have been doing a lot of sports ourselves. I played tennis at quite a high level, David played hockey and Filip football. For a sports agent - and even if it’s mainly about football, I am not deliberately saying I am just a football agent because I once brought Martina Sáblíková or Roman Šebrle to Sport Invest - the important thing is to feel the mud on your football boots, the odour of a sweaty hockey union suit, calluses on palms from a tennis racket. This puts you closer to the sportsmen, enabling you to better understand them.”
Players they Represent
On the list of players represented by the Zíkas’ Global Sports, you will find truly famous names. For example, goalkeepers Martin Dúbravka (Newcastle United), Florin Nita (Sparta Praha), Matouš Trmal (Slovácko) or Ondřej Kočí (Příbram), backs Matěj Hanousek and Semih Kaya (both Sparta), David Limberský and Milan Havel (both Viktoria Plzeň) or Filip Kaša (MŠK Žilina). Half-backs Ján Greguš (Minnesota United), Nicolae Stanciu (Slavia), Patrik Hrošovský (KRC Genk), Michal Trávník (Sparta), Jakub Hora (FC Riga), Tomáš Hořava (Plzeň), Bogdan Vatajelu (Universitatea Craiova) or Martin Fillo (Baník Ostrava). Forwarders Benjamin Tetteh (Sparta), Michal Ďuriš (Anorthosis), Zdeněk Ondrášek (FC Dallas), David Vaněček (Puskás Akadémia) or Davis Ikaunieks (Fastav Zlín).
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