New Hibs recruit's war hero grandfather provides constant inspiration

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The family back story is, as Josef Bursik admits, quite mad. An epic tale of valour, persecution, perseverance, and redemption. With one heroic figure leaping out of the pages like some history-making, epoch-shaping, revolutionary titan.

The new Hibs goalkeeper is proud to be named after his late grandfather, a Czech war hero who – take a deep breath here - was named a Hero of the Soviet Union, escaped imprisonment for dissent by the same communist regime, fled to post-war West Germany and then England, sent his medal back to Moscow in protest at the Soviets crushing the 1968 Prague uprising, lived to see the Iron Curtain collapse … and received further honours from the newly freed Czechs, who had never forgotten his determination to protect the freedom and independence of their homeland. Mad, indeed.

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Bursik, speaking about the almost mythical character buried with full military honours when he passed away in 2002, explained: “Oh yeah, of course. On my dad’s side of the family, they’re all Czech, from Prague originally.

“And my grandfather was a war hero. He was the first tank to liberate Kyiv in the Second World War, got the highest Soviet honour at the time.

“I’ve got a book about him, all translated for me. I’ve read it a few times, just so I can get all the facts straight. My dad used to tell me all about it, and I always urged him to write everything down for me, so I could remember it and pass it on through the family.

“It’s a big part of my heritage, and I go to Prague every summer, generally. I took my missus there at the start of the year because we’ve still got family out there. I am also eligible to play for the Czechs. So it’s something to think about, for the future. I’m always keeping an eye out for them.

“I’m extremely proud of that side of my family. If I can do my family proud, even if it’s impossible to get anywhere near what my grandfather did, I will be able to hold my head high.”

Bursik laughs as he acknowledges that, no matter what he achieves in football, he’ll never win a game of Show Us Your Medals with dear old granda. A part of the England squad who won the Under-17 World Cup, he’s used to being the SECOND most famous member of his family.

The 23-year-old said: “Yeah, although I actually overtook him on Wikipedia a while ago. My name comes up first!

“But it’s a massive part of my family. I lost my dad a couple of years ago, but he was immensely proud of his dad. I’ve got numerous stories to pass on through my family.

“One of my aunties, her husband has gone through the Czech version of my grandfather’s story, so I’ve got the full thing at home. It’s good to have because there are so many elements you can miss out. The story is mad, mate. Mad.

“My auntie who lives down south in England actually has some of is uniforms hanging up. My family are like that, the Czech side of it, they keep everything, medals, everything.”

In an era when every national FA has someone charged with finding eligible players of occasionally dubious lineage, it’s hardly a surprise to learn that the Czechs were all over a young Bursik when he was blasting his way through the England age groups, playing alongside the likes of Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Marc Guehi. Having the exact same name as one of the country’s greatest heroes was a bit of a giveaway.

“There was always dialogue about the youth teams,” he said, adding: “I don’t think anyone could blame me for sticking with England at the time because we had such a great team.

“But I’ve spoken to some of the representatives there. I spoke Petr Cech, who was my idol growing up. He phone me one day, which was amazing.

“It’s definitely something there. You don’t want to focus on it because you know the first thing is to do well at your club, just to get the opportunity. But for sure it’s something there. It would be an honour to represent them, of course.”

On his famous England youth team-mates, Bursik said: “Yeah, the whole team are pretty much doing bits in the Prem now, and a few of the lads are in the England senior team, as well. I was lucky to play with some great players right through from the 17s to 21s.

“We do keep in touch. I speak a lot to them because we developed some good bonds – and I played with some of them at Stoke, as well. It’s always a good thing to have on your CV; it was an honour to play for England at that level. Really enjoyable.”

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Bursik is on a one-year loan from Club Brugge, having become then-manager Scott Parker’s first big signing in January 2023. A serious knee injury sustained soon after contributed to a lack of game time. Something of an oddity for someone who burst onto the scene while still a teenager.

“It did make it harder, definitely, the fact that I’d had been playing constantly from such a young age,” said the 6’3” goalie. “I went on one of those non-league loans when I was 17 and 18, then jumped into League one with a few spells – and went into the team at Stoke. All of that happened before I was 20, you know?

“So I was thinking that was how my career would carry on. I know now that it would have been hard to maintain that pace, because you learn as you get older. But when you play so many games at a young age, you also learn a lot of things very early, so I feel in a much better place coming into this loan than I was back then, mentally and physically.

“Moving out to Belgium was OK because I had done it so often with all the loan spells in England. I’m pretty easy, I can just pick up and go.

“My missus found it a bit tougher because she hasn’t done it before. But I can pack a bag, head out and just live out of a bag for a while.

“We settled in all right in Belgium. Football wise, it was much more technical, more emphasis on the goalkeeper playing with your feet, which is the way the game is going, of course.

“I was working with Simon Mignolet, who has obviously had a top career. So although I didn’t play, I kind of had to find ways to learn as much as I could from the experience, because I was never going to let it be a waste.

“I’m looking to enjoy my football, having not played for quite a while. That was quite tough for me. Hopefully, I can play, and we can be successful as a team. That’s got to be the goal, hasn’t it? If I can help in any way, good. If I’m doing my job and going unnoticed, I’m also happy.”