Teplice II

Third-tier football in the Czech Republic, and Teplice's reserve side has never sat as high in it as it did in 2022/23, when a third-place finish in Group B of the Česká fotbalová liga marked a significant achievement for the club.

It exists because the senior side, founded on 7 June 1945 as SK Teplice-Šanov, needs somewhere for young players to sharpen and for those coming back from injury to find match fitness before a recall to the first team. That purpose has shaped its whole path through the leagues: FK Teplice II has shuttled between the ČFL and the fourth-tier Divize B rather than settling anywhere, and between 2012 and 2018 it played not in the regional pyramid at all but in the Juniorská liga, a competition built specifically for reserve teams of top-flight clubs.

The team plays on the artificial pitch within the Na Stínadlech complex, a smaller ground than the one the first team uses next door, holding around 1,500 — a fraction of the senior stadium's capacity.

The senior club's honours, a Czech Cup won twice and a runner-up finish in the top flight in 1998/99, belong to the first team, not this one. What the II side offers instead is a route through: Karel Piták passed through the Teplice set-up on his way to a senior career that included that cup success.