The new Feyenoord coach overseeing the Rotterdammers triumph on penalties after scores had finished 4-4 after normal time.
The victory over PSV Eindhoven adds to a trophy cabinet which now boasts two league medals and a Cup medal with Sparta and also a league medal with FC Midtjylland. At 47, Priske has emerged as one of the most talented young coaches in Europe and just days before taking the Feyenoord job, the Dane sat down with Tribalfootball.com to discuss his career journey from player, which included a season with Portsmouth, to coach.
Brian, before we discuss your coaching career, you did enjoy time abroad as a player. How did that benefit you?
“My first time abroad was at Genk and I enjoyed it a lot in many aspects not only related to football but also personal aspect because my family and I had a good time there. Our son was born there, the people in the community were very good and nice to us and I had a good feeling of being part of a good team and a good club.
"So I mention Genk as one of the places where I enjoyed playing and being. Also if I look back my playing time in the Premier League of course from a football perspective it was of course an amazing experience for me.
"My two seasons at Brugge were difficult in some aspects because I played many games, but I didn’t perform at the levels that I was expecting from myself so Brugge was one of the places where I struggled a little bit more as a player and also a person."
What can you tell us about Pompey and your time in the Premier League?
“As I already said, the Premier League was an amazing experience for me and it was a good year for me in many aspects despite that there was a period in January and February that I didn't play that much but in the end, I ended up playing around 30 games that season and I performed at a good level.
"Outside of the pitch my family were also very happy, we enjoyed the time there and enjoyed life. It was an amazing experience for me to be able to compete in the best league in the world and to be part of a good team."
Of course, your manager at Portsmouth was Harry Redknapp...
“You need to remember that this was close to 18 years ago so it was a different time. The British managers worked in a different way than I was used to coming from the European continent but as I said it was the culture in England, how we trained, and how we prepared things.
"It's without any doubt that Harry with everything he has achieved is one of the biggest managers in England, so it was a different experience in many ways positive and negative. With every manager, there are things you like and things that you don't but at the end of the day we turned things around with Harry and we ended up surviving in the Premier League which was crucial for the club in that time.
"So in the end I can say it was a great experience for me working with one of the greatest English managers."
Within five years of that time with Portsmouth, you were taking your first steps in coaching...
“Yes of course it was a fantastic start for my career. I was lucky to get onto the coaching staff of Midtjylland and become the assistant there. It was the perfect place to start my career as a coach, there were a lot of possibilities to learn to develop and it was my foundation that was being made in Midtjylland. I had a good season also at Copenhagen which was a completely different club but also good for my development as a coach and after my spell there I was more aware of what I wanted to do."
How important was the opportunity with Antwerp for you?
"Of course, I knew a little bit of the football there from my time as a player and I knew it was a difficult league with really good players and a lot of powerful players in the league as well. So I knew the league was really good and I am grateful for the chance I got at Antwerp despite it being only one year.
"It was a great experience to get under my skin as a coach, I am still young in some aspects as a coach because this is only my fifth season as a head coach so I am grateful to have had the chance to train abroad. During my time there we qualified for Europe, we qualified for the Champions League playoff, had some good games and in the end, the President decided that it was just the one year. But this was another good experience for me to take along which I am grateful for."
And then it all clicked with Sparta...
"It has been an amazing two seasons, it’s an amazing club with lots of good people and really good management. I have a really good cooperation with them especially with (Tomas) Rosicky, the club is for years now the biggest in the country, we have an amazing fanbase and our fans have been unbelievable in these two years for us. The cooperation and understanding across the whole club is getting better and better, we have been able to turn things around also with the B team and academy.
"I am really happy and proud to be part of this amazing club."
Tell us about that first title and breaking the nine-year drought...
"It was a big moment to lift the trophy for everybody, especially for the Czech people and players that are here at the club. For us foreigners we felt that it was a big pain for them that they weren't champions for many years and at the moment we lifted the trophy a lot of grown men and women were crying so it was a huge moment. For us foreigners coaches to come in a new league and become champions it's, of course, a big thing.
"The keyword for me for this success was teamwork without working together as a club, as a group we would never have achieved this thing. It was an amazing team feeling from the first second to the championship and the whole club stuck together and made winning this league possible."
And you had a great season in Europe, really putting Sparta back on the map.
“Yes it has been an unbelievable season in Europe, it started a little bit hard as we got eliminated from the Champions League, and from then on it has been an amazing journey and we played some good games against Betis, Rangers, we won against Galatasaray and also played some tough games against Liverpool. The European campaign has been amazing for us and the boys have played some outstanding games with our style of play every time we have played at home our fans have been amazing and have played an important role in our success in Europe."
How did you find pitting wits against Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool?
“I think how Liverpool played, how the players played was a great inspiration to watch, they were phenomenal and showed that it is a big difference from the Premier League level that Liverpool has and Sparta Prague. They had a different speed of the game, it was amazing to watch how they played the two games against us.
"And at the same time, I had a feeling when we played at home that we had a chance to compete against them in some aspects but the individual quality was too big.
"But I think it was a good experience and to see what is needed to play in the best league."
After two years now in the country, what about the strengths of Czech football? How is their game developing?
“I think that is going up the level, how they are competing, how they are playing. They qualified for Euros and this says something about the quality that the Czech Republic has. I know some of the players very well and I watch a lot of games of the national team."