7560 Minutes Later - Slovakia at World Cup 2010

Interview for "The People's Game Radio Show"

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:34:00 +0000

"7560 Minutes Later" features in a recent episode of "The People's Game" - catch up with what I have to say on a range of topics, mainly Slovakia's World Cup past, present & future as well as watching football in Hong Kong. My work is currently keeping me rather busy, but I will do my best do upload some more articles by the end of this week! I am on from approx. 24:40.

The People’s Game Radio Show for Tuesday June 29, 2010

We keep it simple today with a roundtable discussion about the latest games and the ill-fated Inarritu Nike add where, with Ronaldo’s exit, all the featured stars are now exiled from the mundial. Tony Presido joins us to examine how Spain has turned it around. Then Lukas, a Slovakian blogger in the far east, discusses one of the darlings of the tournament, his home nation which slayed the defending champions, and conveys the passion for the World Cup in Hong Kong.

200 Words on Slovakia v. Netherlands

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:32:00 +0000

Slovakia's win over Italy gave its fans something they had lacked - hope. The outlook of most fans ahead of the Netherlands game was no longer desperate - many acknowledged the strength of their team's opponent, yet had enough courage to ask the "what if?" question. Slovakia's players were on a similar boat - they found courage at the right moment, only to lose it when it mattered the most.

What stroke me about the Dutch was the fact that they were not everything I had expected them to be. Arjen Robben was plainly brilliant, but what/who else was there? Enough to beat Hamšík & co., who did not dare, and hence did not win.

The match resembled Slovakia's group stage encounter with Paraguay - and not only by the timing of the second conceded goal - they could have done so much better. Vittek and Stoch should have exposed the "Emperor's New Clothes", but did not shout "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" when they had a chance to do so...

Slovak fans celebrating their country's exit by chanting "ďakujeme!" [thank you!]

All I wished for was a dignified exit. Retrospectively, a 1:2 loss against one of the tournament's favourites is a success - just ask England or Chile.

200 Words on Slovakia v. Italy

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:25:00 +0000

When Pandora opened her pithos, she released all the evil spirits of the world, leaving Hope trapped inside. The joy of Slovakia's fans was extinguished and replaced with disappointment when their team conceded a goal in the dying seconds of their first-ever World Cup game. Agony continued against Paraguay - even if La Albirroja played without their goalkeeper, they would still win 2-1.

Despair took over - fan forums were filled with posts, posts were filled with anger. Slovakia's presence at the World Cup was described as a matter of pure luck, Weiss's coaching skills were questioned, many players labelled as hopeless. Weiss's outburst of rage lead him to swear at Slovak journalists.

Pandora must have reopened her pithos on Thursday and it certainly contained more than just Hope. Most match reports focused on Italy's shambolic play, overshadowing their opponent's performance. Slovakia delivered played like a real team. Rookie Kucka was one of the best players on the pitch; veteran Štrba kept playing despite suffering a knee injury which later on required twelve stitches; the often-criticized striker Vittek scored two goals. It was a moment of great pride for every Slovak - those, who made it happen, deserve one big "ďakujem".

200 Words on Slovakia v. New Zealand

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:03:00 +0000

Three days later I finally mustered the courage to reflect on Tuesday's match. My expectations were nearly as high as disappointment that kicked in after Winston Reid scored - it has been with me ever since. I am not bitter about his goal - I am happy for New Zealand and disappointed about what I saw on the pitch. It reminded me of the dark days of Slovak football that lasted for over 15 years.

Apologies for the lack of length - you may find this reflection in The Observer this coming Sunday and they have their limits. I have also started my job in HK, leaving me with very little spare time - I will, however, try my best to keep things as up-to-date as possible.

* * *

84 games, 7560 minutes and 17 years later Slovakia finally saw its World Cup premiere. It was going to be a memorable occasion and everyone’s hopes were high, especially since they played the group’s underdog. Slovakia’s performance in its final pre-World Cup friendly against Costa Rica should have been a sign of things to come – Slovaks played offensively, imposing themselves on their opponent, creating a lot of chances and scoring three goals. Three points against the All Whites were seen as a must.

[sme.sk]

The important lesson of the Cameroon friendly was that a goal is not enough to win a game of football – in Klagenfurt Slovakia conceded with seven minutes to go; in Rustenburg the figure was much more punishing. Weiss Jr. had a great game – if Stoch played too, I am convinced that Slovakia would have scored more than a goal. Jendrisek, his replacement, was invisible. Everyone expected much more from captain Hamsik, who could have and should have stopped Smeltz’s cross; Sestak and Vittek failed to convert their (half-)decent chances; Durica and Strba left Reid unmarked, enabling him to score that (in)famous goal. New Zealand played with heart and did not give up until the very end – they deserved to equalize. Regardless of their ranking, they are an inspiration to any team.

Interview for Italian 'Serie A' Football FanCast

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:19:00 +0000

"7560 Minutes Later" features in the most recent "Italian 'Serie A' Football FanCast" - please find all the details below. I'd advise you to listen to it in its entirety - the insight of its guests is truly unique. If you are only interested in what I have to say, I am on from approx. 38:20 - enjoy my podcasting premiere!

World Cup 2010 Preview - Italian 'Serie A' Football FanCast 084
Posted: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:16:30 -0400
Play Now

The Italian Football FanCast is the podcast for fans of Serie A, Calcio and the World Cup.
In this edition of the Italian Football FanCast, we look ahead to the World Cup and in particular, the chances of Italy retaining their title as World Champions.
To help us decide whether Italy will make it out of Group F, we have a series of guests on the show.
We have Rupert Fryer of SouthAmericanFootball.co.uk and Goal.com to give us the lowdown in Italy's first opponents Paraguay.
Lukas Gajdos of the Slovakian correspondent in the Guardian Fans Network, also with his own blog 7560min.blogspot.com.
Finally, we have a special guest, it is none other than Susy Campanale of football-italia.net and Calcio Italia magazine, on the line to discuss all things Nazionale.
Not forgetting our very own 'Man in Milan', it is of course Kris Voakes.
Remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Join the Facebook group - Italian 'Serie A' Football Fancast.
Follow us on Twitter - SerieAFFC
or email us - italianfootballfancast@googlemail.com

Ciao
Dov, Dave and Kris
You can also download and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, alternatively listen online at
http://podcasts.footballfancast.com/italia_fancast

Slovakia World Cup 2010 fan's preview: Paraguay will be make or break [unabridged & Aptured]

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:43:00 +0000

You might have come across my Slovakia-centric World Cup preview for the Guardian Fans' Network and some answers might not have made much sense [e.g. why am I worried by Paraguay's striker Lucas Barrios?] - below is the unabridged version of the preview that should put some answers into perspective.

World Cup draw

[screencap]

1. YOUR NATION

The fact that Slovakia has qualified for the World Cup is an unprecedented success – not even the staunchest of fans had much faith in a succesful outcome at the beginning of the WC qualifiers. Watching Slovakia's first-ever World Cup game will finally bring a long wait to its close!

Slovakia's fate in South Africa may be decided by a single goal and the second game against Paraguay will be the make-or-break moment – a win against New Zealand is seen as a must, whereas a loss against Italy is, given Slovakia's poor record against much stronger sides (such as England – 0:4), more or less expected.

If one could predict the outcome purely on the basis of past performances, I would conclude that Slovakia will not make it beyond the group stages – November's friendly against Chile showed that most Slovakian players, especially defenders, are finding it hard to cope with the South American style of play, with the speed, agility and technical skills on which it relies.

Slovakia's strengths are solid goalkeeping (Ján Mucha was a real revelation) and quick counter-attacks – Hamšík, Stoch and Hološko have what it takes to «blitz» they way to the enemy's half and beyond.

7560 minutes later

[sme.sk]

2. YOUR PLAYERS

Napoli's star Marek Hamšík is the shiniest of Slovakia's stars and the team is likely to revolve around him. Ján Mucha was easily the biggest revelation of the qualifying campaign and Slovakia's fate might as well lay in his gloves, while forward Stanislav Šesták scored the team's most important goals, including two in two minutes that brought Slovakia back from the abbys in a crucial home encounter against Poland.

Slovakia's starting XI is likely to feature three to four young players – captain Hamšík is only 22 years old, winger Miroslav Stoch, who helped Steve McLaren's FC Twente to secure its first-ever title, only 20. Erik Jendrišek, who scored the game-winner against the Czechs in Prague, might play on the wing or upfront, and will be keen to continue in his scoring streak (16 goals in 33 games for 1. FC Kaiserslautern) and prove to FC Schalke 04 that he was worth of signing. The last youngster to watch is the manager's son – Vladimír Weiss Jr. – the World Cup might be the defining moment in his career.

Slovakia's «weakest link» can be found in defence and is called Ján Ďurica. Defensive partner of Liverpool's Martin Škrtel is rather error-prone, has scored a fair number of own goals and had a worryingly low game time in the last season. What is even more worrying is that he is pretty much irreplaceable – Slovakia does not have a better central defender. The «Ďurica» factor uncovers a deeper problem – Slovakia's squad lacks the necessary depth, and two or three injuries can pose a major problem for its manager.

Slovakia does not really have a «bad man» - the team has shown a good deal of discipline and fair play during the qualifiers and friendlies.

Martin Škrteľ

[sme.sk]

3. YOUR COACH

Vladimír Weiss Sr., the man behind Artmedia Bratislava's 2005-06 Champions League campaign, is the right man for the job – I cannot possibly imagine anyone else. Weiss Sr. should rely on disciplined performances, good defence and pacey counter-attacks.

Vladimír Weiss

[sme.sk]

4. YOUR RIVALS
- Who will win the tournament? Why?
If I had to pick just one team, I'd go for Spain – an impressive side without a major weakness. If injuries stay away from them, they could go all the way.

- How far will England get? Please include your exact prediction for them. What do you think of their team?
To be quite honest, I do not really care – I am not a big fan of all the pre-WC hysteria that surrounds this team. My exact prediction is that England will be eliminated in the semis. Capello might be the silver bullet, and the talent at his disposal is considerable, but the lack of a «great» keeper might be the team's Achilles' heel.

- Who will finish as overall top scorer in the tournament?
David Villa

- Which nation do you dislike most, and why?
None.

- Who is the rival player you really love to hate?
Paraguay's striker Lucas Barisso, who seems to be a worthy replacement for the tragically injured Salvador Cabanes – he acquired his Paraguayan citizenship only a few months ago – he's got some cruel intentions when it comes to playing the Slovaks :D

Fans

[cas.sk]

5. YOUR FANS
- What is your nation's favourite chant?

Nothing exceedingly exciting on the chant-front. Slovak fans may be joining the list of South Africa's endangered species – less than a thousand are planning to come over to see their team in action. Chants include the mandatory «Slovenskooooo!» (Slovak for «Slovakia»), «My to aj tak dneska vyhráme!» (We are still going to win this game – usually chanted when we are trailing behind). A popular chant during the last qualifying campaign was «Stretneme sa o rok v Afrike!» (See you in Africa!).

Slovakia v. Costa Rica

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:52:00 +0000

A visit to the Pasienky stadium on a warm Saturday afternoon brought back memories from more recent as well as more distant past. Pasienky [Slovak for "pastures"] used to house Inter Bratislava, a club that provided Slovakia with much of its exciting young talent in the late 1990s and the early 2000s [see this "7560 Minutes Later" article for more detail - subheading "Mirage 2000"], a club where three Vladimír Weisses spent parts of their football careers [the eldest won a silver medal at the 1964 Olympic football tournament; Senior is Slovakia's current manager; Junior one of the rising stars of Slovak football], a club that sold its major players and, some years later, ceased its existence, a situation that was repeated earlier on this year with the legendary Artmedia Bratislava. Pasienky is also the last remaining stadium in Bratislava - Artmedia's old stadium was sold for "property development", whereas Tehelné Pole, located just across the road from Pasienky, is awaiting its demolition and should rise from the ashes as the new "National Football Stadium". All in all, it was a very symbolic place for concluding Slovakia's World Cup preparations and Costa Rica, that recently narrowly lost to France [1:2] and beat another World Cup side Switzerland [1:0], seemed like a decent-enough opponent.

Official poster

[ticketportal.sk]

Game

Weiss had promised to show that his team can attack and the Slovaks played offensively right from the start. Stoch looked in fine form on the left and his shot in the 4th minute was slightly deflected and missed the goal, with Vittek's volley after the subsequent corner doing just the same and missing an empty net in the process. 10,000 fans held their breath as Škrtel was lying on the pitch in the 15th minute, holding his previously injured right handle and punching the grass. He limped off and was replaced by Saláta. [His injury did not prove to be serious and he should play in Slovakia's opening game against the All Whites].

Škrtel injury scare

[pravda.sk]

Škrtel's injury did not make Slovakia lose any of its momentum and a goal followed shortly - all it took was a short corner between Stoch and Weiss, Slovakia's 20-year old wingers, with the latter making it past his marker and dispatching a pass towards the goal. Although the ball did not reach any Slovakian player it still ended up behind Navas's back - courtesy of Sequeira. See the whole situation here [turn your volume down - I failed to find a better video].

The Costa Ricans did not fold and Hernandez as well as Urena had their chances but it was yet again Slovakia that came painfully close to scoring - Hamšík and Šesták showed some good chemistry and Šesták's lob made it past the Costa Rican keeper, only to be cleared off the line by his team mate.

Marek Hamšík

[sme.sk]

Although Slovakia failed to score another on in the first half, the home side started the second half in an impressive manner and Vittek scored after mere two minutes. Sapara, who replaced Hamšík, dispatched the ball into the box - Šesták's half-volley hit the cross-bar, but Vittek's attempt was a successful one and the Slovaks found themselves 2:0 up - see the goal here.

Slovakia had several chances to make it 3:0, with the most notable one being that of Jendrišek who, following Hološko's pass, had a one-on-one with Costa Rica's keeper but whose finish could not have been any poorer as he failed to lift the ball over Navas.

Slovakia did eventually score after a foul on advancing Weiss inside the box - a penalty followed and Šesták converted it.

Weiss Jr.

[sme.sk]

Analysis

Slovakia has not won since beating the United States on 14/11/2009 [1:0] - Weiss's side lost to Chile three days later [1:2], Norway in March [0:1] and recorded a draw against Cameroon a week ago [1:1]. The Cameroon game was all about defending, counter-attacks, and a handful of wasted chances - many doubted whether the players were capable of imposing themselves upon their opponent, dominating the game and, most importantly, converting chances and scoring goals - after all, the last time Slovakia scored more than a goal was in September 2009 [Slovakia - Czech Rep. (2:2)].

Vittek was better than expected

[pravda.sk]

The Pasienky stadium saw a different Slovakia. The Slovaks were good on nearly every front - the defence was solid and coped surprisingly well with the loss of Škrtel. Saláta, who replaced him, plays in the Slovak league but it did not show. The error-prone Ďurica played without making a single mistake, earning the manager's praise with a focused and dedicated performance. Čech's start as the right defender was intriguing, as he took Pekarík's spot in the starting XI - it remains to be seen how Weiss will resolve this dilemma [Čech usually plays on the left, just as Zabavník]. Stoch on the left and Weiss on the right were marvellous and had it all - confidence, creativity, good passing as well as shooting - after seeing them in action on Saturday, one could expect the two to start against New Zealand from the very beginning. Hamšík and Sapara [playmakers] did a decent job and the way the latter played was a pleasant surprise - he had not played this well for Slovakia for a long time.

The only weakness was the team's efficiency - given the number of clear cut chances they had, the final score might seem a bit disappointing - a mix 'n' match of unconverted empty netters and hit cross-bars could easily cost Slovakia some precious points in the near future. It was important that Vittek as well as Šesták scored - they had not had the most fruitful of seasons for their clubs. With eight days until Slovakia sees some real action at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg the only question that remains to be answered is "what style of play will Weiss choose?". Having seen the Costa Rica game with my own eyes, I can safely conclude that the offensive one suits Slovakia well - it should definitely try to score as many as possible against the All Whites.

Šesták's penalty

[pravda.sk]

Reactions

Vladimír Weiss: "I am glad that we parted with a good play, score and chances. We are not going to the World Cup as an outsider, we are going there to play good football and to fight for a chance to advance beyond the group stages. I am saddened by Martin Škrtel's injured ankle - I hope that he will be OK. The fans were fantastic. The fact that Vittek scored a goal is a great impulse for him as well as for the entire team."

Ronald Gonzáles: "First and foremost I would like to congratulate manager Weiss and Slovakia's players for today's very good performance. They were the better side and won deservedly. The home team made more out of the game for about seventy minutes, whereas we were short of three players, especially Ruiz. My players failed to impress but I still hope that we were a worthy opponent."

Martin Škrtel: "I think that the spectators were pleased with our performance as well as the final score. We wanted to win this game in order to get into the right mood before the World Cup - and we managed to do it. The only disappointment was my injury - to stop playing after mere fifteen minutes is nothing pleasant. There might have been some minor mistakes in the way we played but we won 3:0 and that is what counts."

Ján Ďurica: "Those who came to the stadium created an excellent atmosphere - I am glad that we thanked them by playing well. The game with Cameroon was definitely more challenging, they pushed us much harder than Costa Rica. I went through numerous difficult challenges today, but that is football - I am fine and flying to Africa in full health. Kornel Saláta played brilliantly, he replaced Martin Škrtel just as we expected him to. We did not concede a goal and that says it all, although it was not only the defense that played decently today."

Stanislav Šesták: "The heat was not too comfortable, we were getting more and more tired in the second half, but the fans helped us out. I am happy about the well-deserved final score. I hope that our fans will stay positive during the entire World Cup - we promise that we will do our best."

Róbert Vittek: "I think that our first half performance was great - we showed some nice moves that must have pleased the crowd, despite the heat that made things more difficult. It is quite paradoxical that one half of Slovakia is battling with floods while over here it is sunny and warm. I had several chances in the first half but all the passes were a bit too difficult - I tried to get the ball down and did not succeed."

Miroslav Stoch

[sme.sk]

Essentials

Goals: 16. Sequeira (OG), 46. Vittek, 87. Šesták (penalty)

Yellow Cards: Parks (PAR)

Slovakia: Mucha - Zabavník, Škrtel (16. Saláta), Ďurica, Čech (46. Pekarík) - Štrba (46. Kopúnek) - Weiss Jr., Hamšík (46. Sapara), Stoch (77. Jendrišek) - Šesták, Vittek (67. Hološko)

Costa Rica: Navas - Myrie (80. Gonzales), Segeras, Sequeira, Diaz - Guzman - Ureňa (46. Gamboa), Hernandez (80. Mena), Barrantes (70. Paniagua), Madrigal (70. Estrada) - Parks

Well-deserved applause.

[sme.sk]

Verdict

Positive. Very Positive. The atmosphere at the Pasienky stadium was very telling - I lost the track of Mexican waves and joined in to chant one big "ďakujeme" [Slovak for "thank you"] after the final whistle. There is, however, one Slovak saying that makes me slightly wary about what is to come - "ľahko na cvičisku, ťažko na bojisku" [as with most sayings, it is rather difficult to translate, but essentially talks about things going well in the training ground but not so well in the "battleground"]. The pressure at the World Cup gets to even much better and much more experienced players that those of Slovakia. A win against New Zealand is, as I wrote before [e.g. here], a must and could be the first step towards something great and unexpected - but there is one big "if" - New Zealand will not give up without a fight, while Paraguay and especially Italy will be much tougher nuts to crack...

World Cup in Slovakia - Part 1 - TV adverts

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:43:00 +0000

The World Cup fever is finally on in Slovakia and local TV screens are more and more often filled with adverts that try to make the most out of the debut of the country's players at the tournament.

Captain Marek Hamšík and central defender Martin Škrtel are Slovakia's top players and most likely to be recognized by domestic as well as foreign audiences - therefore they feature/are referred to in most of the adverts. Manager Weiss can be seen in the STV's World Cup promo, telling fans to "cross their fingers".

"It is not mandatory - it is your choice. No one looks after you - you are on your own. No one keeps an eye on the score and you are not blinded by camera flashes. The strictest manager has always been in your head. You hate him on the steepest slope but then you realize how great it feels to be standing on the top. Yeeeeee-eeeees!"

"My name is Dédé, but everyone calls me Hamšík. I found him online, over here in South Africa. He is the best football player - and I play just like him! My mum says that I even look like him. We Slovaks might definitely win."

"Now we all know where Slovakia is and all of us want to be like Marek Hamšík - but some guys' hair is not long enough. Never mind - he can be Škrteľ! We support Slovakia. And when we win, we dance."

"Come out, Dédé! - Someone is calling you - Here's Dédé, who's there? - Hey Dédé, this is Marek Hamšík, how are you? - Hamšíííík.

"I am Martin Škrtel and I would like to ensure you that I'll always give out my best."

"Be the twelfth player and earn your nomination to [South] Africa!"

"Cross your fingers!"

Slovakia's final 23-man squad named

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:35:00 +0000

With only two weeks separating Slovakia from its first-ever World Cup game against New Zealand [15/06 @ 1.30pm in Rustenburg], manager Weiss named his final 23-man squad for the tournament.

The squad consists of 21 players who play abroad and 2 who [Saláta and Kopúnek] play in the domestic Corgoň Liga. Those who did not make the cut include:

goalkeeper Ľuboš Kamenár - his FC Nantes finished 15th in the Ligue 2, having conceded 54 goals in 38 matches. It seems that Kuciak's injury was not as serious as it seemed. More importantly, Dušan Perniš has had a great half a season with Dundee United ever since his December '09 transfer.
defenders - Ľubomír Michalík, who has found himself out of favour in Leeds United; Tomáš Hubočan and Mário Pečalka, who did not feature in Slovakia's qualifying campaign.
midfielder Dušan Švento - this is a controversial decision as many think that Kozák [some fans call him "Weiss's horse" or "Johnny Walker"], who lacks the necessary speed, does not play on a regular basis for his club and had a poor game against Cameroon should be out instead [I see their point but Stoch as well as Jendrišek can play on the left - a spare central midfielder is more handy]; defensive midfielder Miroslav Karhan, out with an Achilles tendon rupture.

Vladimír Weiss commented:

"My decision was not easy - it is based on players' performances, in the qualifiers or during the training camp. This is my decision and everyone should respect it. The team consists of those players, who got Slovakia to the World Cup. The only exception is Juraj Kucka."

"As you know, some players were not fit during the training camp. Miro Karhan [Slovakia's most experienced player that has played in every single qualifying campaign in Slovakia's history] is definitely out because of his injury - he truly deserved to play at the World Cup. Football is about joy and pain. I think that every single player deserves to be there - the squad consists of the best players we have at our disposal. I hope that they will confirm this in South Africa."

"Kucka's performance [in the Cameroon game] and sheer dedication during trainings earned him his place in the team - he was the one rookie who seemed to be telling me 'I am here and I want to make it'. Unfortunately, even after publishing this team sheet we are still encountering some problems - neither Filip Hološko nor Róbert Vittek are fully ready yet [they have been injured]. They have two more weeks to show what is in them."

"Against Costa Rica [05/06 @ 5pm] I am going to field a team that should secure a win. It does not always work - today's football is physically as well as tactically challenging, as we saw against Cameroon. We were better upfront [than the opponent] in the first half and defended well in the second half - with the exception of one small mistake [conceded goal]. The make-or-break moments of today's football are about small mistakes and we still need to improve some details of our play."

Goalkeepers: Ján Mucha (Legia Warsaw/Pol.), Dušan Kuciak (FC Vaslui/Rom.), Dušan Perniš (Dundee United/Scot.).

Defenders: Peter Pekarík (VfL Wolfsburg/Ger.), Martin Škrtel (FC Liverpool/Engl.), Ján Ďurica (Lokomotiv Moscow/Rus.), Radoslav Zabavník (1. FSV Mainz/Ger.), Marek Čech (West Bromwich Albion/Engl.), Martin Petráš (AC Cesena/Ita.), Kornel Saláta (ŠK Slovan Bratislava).

Midfielders: Kamil Kopúnek (Spartak Trnava), Ján Kozák ml. (FC Temešvár/Rom.), Juraj Kucka (AC Sparta Praha/Cze.), Marek Sapara (MKE Ankaragücü/Tur.), Marek Hamšík (SSC Neapol/Ita.), Vladimír Weiss Jr. (Manchester City/Engl.), Miroslav Stoch (FC Chelsea/Engl.), Zdeno Štrba (Škoda Xanthi/Gre.).

Forwards: Stanislav Šesták (VfL Bochum/Ger.), Erik Jendrišek (Schalke 04/Ger.), Róbert Vittek (OSC Lille/Fr.), Filip Hološko (Besiktas Istanbul/Tur.), Martin Jakubko (Saturn Moscow Oblast/Rus.).

Slovakia v. Cameroon

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Mon, 31 May 2010 09:17:00 +0000

The LED advertising panel could not have put it more bluntly, mixing the words "готовся" and "get ready" - if it did not bear the logo of Russia's 2018-2022 World Cup bid, it would reflect what was about to happen on the pitch of Klagenfurt's Hypo-Arena. The stadium, filled nowhere close to its maximum capacity, hosted two teams that would most definitely not have met under any different circumstances. With preparations for the World Cup reaching their peak, Weiss's Slovakia and Le Guen's Cameroon locked horns in a game that was supposed to provide answers to some pressing questions.

Captain Hamšík in action.

[pravda.sk]

Game

The game started at a decent pace, with Cameroon's striker Webó threating Kuciak's goal from inside the box after mere 4 minutes of play. The chance was set up by Tottenham's Assou-Ekotto, whose decent runs upfront and good crosses made him one of the best players on the pitch [Assou-Ekotto also provided an interesting insight into what makes a football player tick off the pitch]. It was, however, Slovakia that scored first, using the same weapon that propelled them all the way to South Africa. A long ball by freshly recovered Škrtel converted Cameroon's attack into Slovakia's counter-attack, Hamšík passed the ball to young Stoch, whose run into the box distracted Cameroon's defense - instead of shooting, Stoch chose to give the ball to Kopúnek, whose shot from outside the box beat Souleymanou and put Slovakia in the lead. See the goal here.

Spartak Trnava's Kamil Kopúnek scored his first goal for Slovakia.

[topky.sk]

Slovakia remained active and could have added another one after corners, but both Škrtel's [8th min.] and Kucka's headers [14th] missed the goal. With 20 minutes on the clock, Slovakia was pressed back and faced some pressure by Les Lions Indomptables, and Webó's shot was dealt with by Kuciak and Ďurica. Eyong Enoh and Emana failed to succeed 10 minutes later, as the game was gradually losing its pace. Just when it seemed that the first half was to end, Slovakia launched another speedy counter-attack and outnumbered the Cameroonian defense [four against two], but Kozák's pass failed to find any of his teammates and the ball ended up with a Cameroonian defender instead.

Kozák failed to impress.

[pravda.sk]

Second half started with substitutions, as Kozák, Stoch and Jendrišek were replaced by Švento , Weiss Jr. and Šesták. The presence of the latter two was felt almost instantaneously - Weiss Jr. did some decent work on the right and gave the ball to Šesták, whose shot made it past Souleymanou but bounced off the underside of the cross bar and flew straight out of the goal in a manner reminiscent of that famous Wembley 1966 moment. The same duo impressed five minutes later, as Weiss Jr. stormed past Arsenal's Song but Souleymanou dealt with Šesták's shot. Just as in the first half, Slovakia slowly but surely lost the momentum and withdrew to defense, as Les Lions Indomptables threatened Kuciak's goal - Song's long-range shot was a miss [75th minute], but Cameroon did, nevertheless, equalize, with Eyong Enoh punishing some poor Slovak defending after Assou-Ekotto's cross - see it here. Kuciak injured his left knee while attempting to prevent the goal and might miss out on the World Cup.

Škrtel was one of Slovakia's best players.

[topky.sk]

Analysis

Slovakia, ranked 34th in the most recent FIFA Ranking, was an equal opponent to Cameroon, ranked 15 places above, and was not far from winning the game. It may be that Le Guen was Eto'o-less, but Weiss did not field his full team either.

We can expect Slovakia to play defensively, especially against stronger sides, such as Cameroon or Italy - Weiss is extremely wary of opening up the game. Slovakia's key strength was reflected in its first goal and Šesták's disallowed goal in the 56th minute - all it takes is a single pass from the back and Stoch, Hamšík, Šesták and Weiss Jr. are a force to be reckoned with. Seeing what sort of tactics Weiss comes up with against New Zealand will be interesting - both goals against Northern Ireland, arguably a weaker team, were scored after counter-attacks as well.

Another advantage of Weiss's team is its age - it is mostly composed of young players who have plied their trade in foreign leagues since very early age and have what it takes [speed, technique, confidence] to win even in difficult games - Weiss Jr. and Stoch are just 20, Hamšík 22, Kucka, Jendrišek and Pekarík 23, Škrtel 25.

Kucka [19] should get to South Africa.

[pravda.sk]

Players

The friendly against Cameroon was a sign of things to come, albeit it in a slightly different form. In an interview for Slovak media Weiss claimed that he had, by and large, made up his mind about the World Cup squad. Goalkeeper Dušan Kuciak had never been in a position to threaten Ján Mucha's monopoly on goalkeeping [Mucha has played solidly for Slovakia ever since his debut against the Czechs in Prague], and his knee injury seems to have got him out of the World Cup race for good - Ľuboš Kamenár and Dušan Perniš [many clean sheets & solid performances for Dundee United] are expected to come as second/third keepers.

As far as the back four is concerned, it should remain roughly the same, with Pekarík on the right, Škrtel and Ďurica in the centre, Zabavník on the left and Čech acting as Zabavník's substitute [or replacement should he play as DM]. Error-prone Ďurica had a relatively good game, without any major blunders, while Škrtel, who had not had played a competitive game since late February [broken metatarsal], played reliably in the back and did well to put his teammates into breaks [he could have, however, tried slightly harder to prevent Eyong Enoh's goal]. Weiss commented on Čech's performace, naming him alongside Kopúnek as Slovakia's best player in this friendly. Zabavník, who was substituted on in the second half, pulled a number of great performances in the past qualifiers and should be see full action in the upcoming friendly against Costa Rica [05/06 in Bratislava].

Midfielders did not have the best of games - Kozák was far too casual, fairly immobile and his passes were poor - this game might have been his swan song as hardly any fans are keen on seeing him at the World Cup. The goal-scorer Kopúnek [defensive midfielder] should make it to the World Cup and be ready to cover for Štrba as Miroslav Karhan [Mainz/96 caps], Slovakia's most experienced player, is out with an Achilles tendon rupture - which is a real shame since he featured in every single post-1993 qualifying campaign. Juraj Kucka is a rookie and did not play any qualifying game, yet is likely to make it to South Africa, as manager Weiss praised the physical edge of his game - if he commits slightly less fouls and shoots from the distance at least as well as for Sparta Prague, he could be a worthy addition to the squad. Captain Hamšík should play as the much-needed playmaker.

Things were not ideal upfront - Weiss is planning to field three men - two attacking midfielders/supporting strikers and a centre-forward. Stoch, who had an amazing season with FC Twente, will play on the left. Švento, who substituted him, is nowhere his standard and it remains to be seen whether he is truly going to make it to the final 23. Šesták, who scored most Slovakia's goals in the qualifiers, should start on the right. Weiss Jr. once again proved that he is an impact-making substitute, just as towards the end of his loan at Bolton. His explosiveness and confidence caught even Ricki Herbert's eye [NZ manager], who singled him out during his press conference [when asked about Cameroon v. Slovakia which he watched]. Weiss Jr. has, however, still a long way to go, as he needs to work on his passes, remove those unnecessary step-overs and learn to pass the ball at the right moment, making him unlikely to start under his father from the very beginning of Group F games.

Weiss bemoaned the lack of centre-forwards during the post-match interview since both Hološko and Vittek were injured - the former has rejoined the training process, whereas the latter is still out with a knee injury and, just as Karhan, might not be able to make it to the World Cup. Erik Jendrišek, who played upfront in the first half, is accustomed to playing wide, while tall Martin Jakubko, a tall target-man, lacks the necessary skill as well as speed - this was made clear at the end of the game, when Assou-Ekotto, who had already played nearly 90 minutes, easily outsprinted Jakubko, who was just substituted in. His reputation with Slovak fans is extremely low and he is another candidate for a "no".

Pekarík can rest assured - he is definitely in.

[profutbal.sk]

Reactions

Vladimír Weiss: "It was an excellent game against an excellent opponent. Cameroon is one of the world's top teams and we had to play defensively, otherwise we would have paid the price. I am disappointed about the conceded goal, Kuciak's injury and our wasted chance for a 2:0 lead. Kucka showed that he deserves a World Cup nomination, he is well prepared. We played without forwards, Hološko and Vittek are injured. I am sad that we did not manage to win."

Paul Le Guen: "I am really satisfied with the result - Slovakia has a decent team and they showed it on the pitch. I think that our goal was well-deserved, shame that it was scored towards the end of the game. We displayed dedication, we did not give up, which is very important in the light of the upcoming World Cup. With Samuel Eto'o upfront we will be even stronger."

Peter Pekarík: "We could have been even more satisfied as we played well. We were 1:0 up but conceded in the 83rd minute, something that we will have to watch out for. Cameroon was a real test for our defense and I think that the friendly served its purpose. Our manager told us to put some pressure on the opponent in the opening minutes, which we did, scored a goal and controlled the first half - the second half was different. This game was physically demanding, Cameroon has physical players."

Juraj Kucka: "On the one hand we should be pleased [with our game], on the other dissatisfied with the conceded goal towards the end of the match. The opponent was very good indeed and controlled the game in the second half. There are things that we still need to improve. Cameroon's players are very strong and quick - sometimes it worked and I deprived them off the ball, sometimes it did not. We had to run a lot in the second half, break down their play and be compact in the midfield, which was rather tiring."

[screencap]

Essentials

Goals: 83. Eyong Enoh - 6. Kopúnek

Yellow Cards: 38. Pekarík, 60. Šesták, 64. Škrtel (SVK)

Cameroon: Souleymanou - Chedjou (67. Geremi Njitap), Nkoulou, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto - Aboubacar (67. Ndjeng), Alex Song (86. Matip), Eyong Enoh - J. Makoun (46. Mandjeck), Emana (73. Kouemaha) - Webó

Slovakia: D. Kuciak (85. D. Perniš) - Pekarík (88. Jakubko), Škrtel, J. Ďurica, M. Čech - Kopúnek - J. Kozák (46. Švento), Kucka (77. Zabavník) - Stoch (46. Weiss Jr.), Hamšík - Jendrišek (46. Šesták)

Jendrišek is not a centre-forward.

[topky.sk]

Verdict

Another advert that alternated with the Russian World Cup bid was by Adidas, and it repeated the well-known shred of [sports] wisdom - "Every Team Needs the Spark". Slovakia seems to have the necessary spark, and once its starting XI contains Mucha in the goal and a dedicated center-forward upfront, it would not necessarily be without a chance. Saying that, two of its upcoming opponents performed well in their friendlies - New Zealand beat Serbia [1:0] and Paraguay drew with Ivory Coast [2:2]. Group F promises to be an exciting one!

It is the Final Countdown!

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:12:00 +0000

With only two weeks to go until the start of the World Cup, it is about time to wake this blog up from its hibernation. I have been rather tardy with keeping it up to date, relying mostly on Twitter as I was busier than anticipated with some other things. At the same time, Slovak press has been relatively calm, and the Slovak football scene without any major developments, so you have not missed out on much.

Just as every other World Cup participant, Slovakia is also currently gearing up towards the big occasion, with its provisional squad working hard in a training camp in Bad Kleinkirchheim, near Klagenfurt, Austria.

Slovakia's 29-man provisional squad:

Goalkeepers: Ján Mucha (Legia Warsaw), Dušan Kuciak (SC Vaslui), Ľuboš Kamenár (FC Nantes), Dušan Perniš (Dundee United)

Defenders: Peter Pekarík (VfL Wolfsburg), Martin Petráš (AC Cesena), Martin Škrtel (FC Liverpool), Ľubomír Michalík (Leeds United), Ján Ďurica (Hannover 96), Radoslav Zabavník (1. FSV Mainz), Marek Čech (West Bromwich Albion), Kornel Saláta (Slovan Bratislava), Tomáš Hubočan (Zenit Petrohrad)

Midfielders: Kamil Kopúnek (Spartak Trnava), Ján Kozák (FC Timisoara), Juraj Kucka (Sparta Prague), Miroslav Karhan (1. FSV Mainz), Marek Sapara (MKE Ankaragücü), Mário Pečalka (MŠK Žilina), Marek Hamšík (SSC Napoli), Vladimír Weiss Jr. (Bolton Wanderers), Erik Jendrišek (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Miroslav Stoch (Twente Enschede), Zdeno Štrba (Škoda Xanthi), Dušan Švento (FC Salzburg)

Forwards: Stanislav Šesták (VfL Bochum), Martin Jakubko (Saturn Moscow Oblast), Róbert Vittek (MKE Ankaragücü), Filip Hološko (Besiktas Istanbul)

The team's first real test is coming right up, as it is to face an Eto'o-less Cameroon on Saturday [29/05] at 2pm CET in Klagenfurt. It should be noted that the same stadium is hosting Serbia v. New Zealand on the same day [5.15pm CET].

Coach Weiss released the starting XI earlier on today, opting in for an interesting 4-3-3 formation:

D. Kuciak - Pekarík, Škrtel, J. Ďurica, M. Čech - Kopúnek, Kucka, J. Kozák - Stoch, Jendrišek, Hamšík.

Expect a full article, with proper game analysis, players' comments, photos and video highlights at some point on Sunday. I am also planning to watch the New Zealand game ["Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer"] and might do something similar [albeit much shorter] with their match too.

Slovakia v. Norway

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:10:00 +0000

With 99 days and 7 hours left until the long-awaited kick-off, Slovakia donned slightly redesigned World Cup tops and faced Norway in the first of three pre-WC friendlies. Manager Weiss had to do without a couple of key players, Liverpool's centre-back Martin Škrtel [broken metatarsal] and VfL Bochum's Stanislav Šesták [back injury], whereas Norway's Olsen missed John Carew, sidelined with a knee injury. This game was seen by many as preparation for the must-win game against New Zealand - most fans were not prepared to settle for anything less than a win. Instead, Slovakia displayed its clinical weaknesses, namely sloppy defending and inefficient attack, failing to convert numerous clear-cut chances. The lack of the squad's depth is a constant problem - without Škrtel's support, his fellow centre-back's [Ján Ďurica] performance suffers significantly, and it was after his defensive blunder that Norway scored the only goal of the game. Šesták is similarly influential upfront - afterall, his 6 goals made real difference during the World Cup qualifiers [especially these two against Poland].

Norway's Knudsen (35) had a decent game.

[aftenposten.no]

The Game

SVK: Mucha - Pekarík (84. Petráš), Štrba (74. Kopúnek), Ďurica, Zabavník - Karhan - Jendrišek, Sapara (71. Stoch), Weiss (77. Švento) - Hamšík (84. Kozák) - Vittek (61. Hološko).

NOR: Knudsen - Hogli, Wähler, Hangeland (74. Demidov), J.A. Riise - B.H. Riise (62. Skjelbred), Hauger, Grindheim (90. Tettey), Pedersen - Moldskred (84. Ruud), Braaten (62. Huseklepp).

Vittek's impact was minimal.

[sme.sk]

Weiss fielded a 4-1-3-1-1 formation, with defensive midfielder Štrba replacing Škrtel [it was done before, in Slovakia's final qualifier against Poland] and Vittek playing upfront. Given his height, Vittek's inclusion in the starting XI meant that Weiss anticipated a physical game- the Norwegian defended extremely well and often filled the box with their own players as their opponent stormed forward.

Mucha kept Slovakia in the game.

[pravda.sk]

The first 30 minutes of the game were dominated by Norway, and Slovakia's keeper Mucha once again confirmed his qualities and was not short of luck either - Braaten's shot in the 20th minute hit the post. On the other side of the pitch, Štrba was close to scoring on two occasions, failing to dispatch the ball into the empty net in front of him [in fact, failing to hit it completely] and Norway's Knudsen showed some impressive reflexes in dealing with his header in the 39th minute. Slovakia was the more active team in the final 10 minutes of the first half and it was Marek Sapara's free kick [most definitely intended to be a pass, not a shot] marked Knudsen's post.

Ďurica was a liability.

[aftenpost.no]

Slovakia failed to maintain the pressure and Norway punished Ďurica's mistake in the 67th minute - Mucha managed to deal with Huseklepp's shot, but only watched helplessly as Moldskred converted the rebound. Slovakia was forced to open up the game and nearly conceded again after another poor display from the back four - Grindheim's one-on-one [83rd minute] was dealt with and Moldskred was on this occasion less successful with the rebound. Four minutes later Hološko's header hit only Knudsen and Norway came, once again, close to scoring yet again, but Skjelbred was prevented from making the most out of Huseklepp's breakthrough by the excellent Mucha - Slovakia's man of the match.

Moldenskred scored the only goal of the game.

[aftenpost.no]

The Analysis

Slovakia failed to repeat its impressive performances from the autumn qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland, showing other Group F teams the extent to which two injuries can disrupt their future opponent's game. Mucha's performance was meticulous, yet the lack of a reliable centre-back was fully exposed. Although Zabavník [Mainz/left-back] as well as Pekarík [Wolfsburg/right-back] were not shy of going forward, Ďurica, who is still on cold streak [just ask any Hannover 96 fan], kept leaving the back door open, making Norwegian counter-attacks too easy. Hamšík the playmaker was not given much space by the Norwegians and Weiss Jr., surprisingly preferred to Stoch on the left wing, had a mixed game, often upsetting the rhytm by messing up crucial passes and making a number of unnecessary stepovers - he still has a long way to go.

The real winner of this friendly is, however, New Zealand, as Norway made it clear that a combination of solid goalkeeping, disciplined defensive performance and deadly counter-attacks is the way forward against the Slovaks, especially when they are missing one or two key players. With only two games left [Ghana on 29/05 and Costa Rica on 05/06] for that painstaking tweaking, there are still many loose screws in Slovakia's engine and worryingly little time left.

The Three Young Hopes of Slovakia - Epilogue - The Future is Bright

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:26:00 +0000

Germany ended Czechoslovakia's semifinal hopes at the 1990 World Cup after converting a controversial penalty in the quarter-finals. Czechoslovakia waved goodbye to one generation of players, such as Kocian, Hašek and Chovanec, but the team retained its quality - Skuhravý, Moravčík, Kubík and the young talent Dubovský came painfully close to qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, only to experience the bitter disappointment of 1990 for one last time. The final game of the qualifiers ended in a goalless draw, despite RCS ["Representation of Czechs and Slovaks" - Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 01/01/93; the game was played on 17/11/93] pressuring the 10-men Belgium for over an hour. The match was a sign of things to come - Slovakia had only two players in the starting XI [Moravčík & Dubovský]. The Czech Republic retained most of Czechoslovakia's football talent throughout the 1990s, and youngsters Šmicer, Nedvěd and Poborský [with his legendary lob against Portugal] shone brightly during the Euro 1996, whereas Slovakia failed to produce a player capable of suppplementing Dubovský's and Moravčík's brilliance.

Ľubomír Moravčík v. Paul Gascoigne

[gettyimages.com]

Mirage 2000

The tide seemingly turned in June 2000 - Slovakia's U21s beat Lampard's & Carragher's England 2:0 and, because of their previous win against Turkey [2:1] and 1:1 draw against Pirlo's and Gattuso's Italy, made it to the semifinal of the 2000 U21 Euro Championship and so qualified for the summer Olympics. The sense of excitement was tremendous and many felt that Slovakia was finally catching up with its "big brother", although the young Czechs finished second in the same U21 championship. Szilárd Németh and Peter Babnič formed a potent partnership upfront, Karol Kisel's technical skills stood out in the midfield just as the fighting spirit of captain Juraj Czinege's. Vratislav Greško, with his well-executed direct kicks [especially v. Turkey - nowhere to be found on YouTube], runs up and down the left wing and crosses, fared equally well, whereas Kamil Čontofalský conceded, on average, less than a goal a game, keeping a clean sheet against England. While many European clubs expressed their interest in the above mentioned players, many fans were already speaking of Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup as possible highlights of Slovakia's football in the noughties.

Vratislav Greško v. Carlos Puyol

[Slovakia U21 finished 4th at U21s Euro 2000 after losing to Spain 0:1]

[gettyimages.com]

These hopes, however, never materialized. Németh was sold to Steve McLaren's Middlesbrough [McLaren is currently in charge of Stoch's FC Twente], but did not to match his tally from Inter Bratislava [40 goals in 58 appearances] or national team [22 in 59]. He recorded 117 games [in four seasons] and 23 goals for Boro, but failed to establish himself as one of its major players [you can see some of his goals for Boro here]. After recovering from a life-threatening pulmonary embolism he continues his career in 2. Bundesliga's outfit Alemannia Aachen. Another group of players made it to Slovakia's senior team, but fared even worse than Németh. Greško was bought by Inter Milan, signed a four-year contract and played alongside the original Ronaldo. His career with Inter ended abruptly on 05/05/2002, in Inter's last game of the season. Lazio's Poborský scored the game-winning goal after Greško's deflection and Inter lost the scudetto in the very last game of the season to Juventus. The wrath of Inter's fans was great [and Greško is still well-remembered - one Italian blogger named the trophy for the worst own goal of the season after him, while a small group of fans is petitioning on Facebook for Greško to become Inter's president]. He played in Parma the following season, making just 5 appearances, and was loaned and later sold to Blackburn Rovers. His spell of bad luck continued - he scored an own goal in his first game for the Rovers and suffered cruciate ligament damage [aged 27], which ruled him out for one entire season. His career has never fully recovered and, following brief spells with 1. FC Nuremberg and Bayer Leverkusen, Greško has been a free agent since summer 2009.

Greško's fatal mistake cost Inter Milan the scudetto

[YouTube screencap]

Čontofalský was eventually transferred to Zenit St. Petersburg, but spent most of his time as the team's no. 2 keeper [partly due to the Russian league's quota system], playing only 45 games in nearly 6 years [although he had some decent games - see this fan video]. He became Slovakia's no.1 keeper, but proved to be a liability on a number of occasions and did not play a single game for Slovakia in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. He is currently with AEL Limassol. Captain Czinege and striker Babnič were the greatest disappointments - both ended up in below-average teams and have been largely forgotten - Czinege currently plays for the struggling MFK Petržalka, whereas Babnič for SV Haitzendorf, the runner-up of the local league of the Austrian Bundesland (federal state) Niederösterreich. Most of Slovakia's U21 heroes faded away once transferred abroad, unable to compete at the highest level and confined to their teams' benches. Did these transfers come too late, or did their proverbial well of talent dried out? It was most definitely the combination of the two. The promise of June 2000 proved to be a mere mirage.

Šebo scores against Brazil.

[gettyimages.com]

2002-03 - Here We Go [Again]

While the stars of 2000 were shining less and less brightly, another promising generation emerged. Slovakia's U19s finished third at the 2002 European U19 Championship and qualified for the 2003 World Youth Championship. Young Slovakians scored 11 goals in the group stages, more than their Spanish [7], German [8] and English [6] counterparts. They beat the Czech Republic in a convincing manner [5:2], with Filip Šebo [3] coming second after the tournament's top scorer Fernando Torres [4]. The team reached the World Cup's knockout round a year later, narrowly losing to the overall winners Brazil [1:2] in the round of 16 [after extra time]. In many ways, history repeated itself yet again. Šebo had a Greško-esque spell with Paul Le Guen's Glasgow Rangers, which bought him for £1.85m from Austria Vienna. Just as Németh before him, Šebo failed to convert his goal-scoring tally from the Slovakian league [22 in 33 games in the 2004/05 season] and national team [5 in 8, although this includes a hat-trick from a friendly against Malta], but did so in a most unimpressive manner, netting only two goals from 24 appearances. He earned comparisons to Desperate Dan as well as distinctive "seeebbooo" chants, which ensued whenever he was substituted on or attempted a shot on goal. "Seeebbooo" chants remain popular in Scotland - according to a website dedicated to Celtic slang:

"Doing a "Sebo" is when a player performs a long-range shot at goal which can be ranked as outrageous, overly-optimistic or just plain daft, and in general the shot simply goes nowhere near the target. During matches after any player has done a "Sebo", chants of "Sebo, Sebo, Seeebbooo" ring around the stadium."

After a story of how Rangers were manipulated to sign Šebo appeared, he was sold to Ligue 1's Valenciennes, where he occupies a marginal position. Other players followed the 2000 trajectory - team captain Marián Kurty, just as U21s captain Juraj Czinege, has never made it, whereas goalkeeper Peter Kostoláni, who had a number of convincing performances at both Championships, has had a fate comparable to that of Peter Babnič, and after years in the wilderness resurfaced in Frenaros FC 2000 of Cypriot Second Division. Striker Juraj Halenár has failed to move beyond Slovakian league, despite scoring a hat-trick against Celtic Glasgow in the 2005/06 Champions League qualifying round tie and some good performances in the group stages. The 2002/03 generation was, however, not a complete failure. Filip Hološko has been likened to Thierry Henry [albeit by "News of the World", which diminishes the value of such a comparison significantly] and his career in Turkey has been rather successful - he scored 25 goals in 56 appearances for Manisaspor, and 18 in 51 for Besiktas - the one against Fenerbahce is particularly famous - Hološko took the ball from his own half, made its past five Fenerbahce players and slotted the ball in. Most Slovak fans remember him for a similar strike against Northern Ireland from September 2009. Although he broke his leg in a Champions League match in the autumn of 2009, he has fully recovered and extended his contract with Besiktas earlier on this month [until 2013 - earning €2m a season]. Sparta Prague's Igor Žofčák is also a contender for a World Cup place, whereas West Brom's left back/winger Marek Čech should be a certainty [watch his classy overhead kick for FC Porto - the video also shows more of his game - passes, crosses, dribbling, left foot, etc.]. Defensive midfielder Kamil Kopúnek is generally seen as a replacement for the ageing Miroslav Karhan, and hence took part in the latest qualifiers. The 2002/03 generation was a step forward, despite several notable failures [namely Filip Šebo] - 3-4 of these players play for Slovakia's senior side and their clubs on a regular basis and Hološko is one of Besiktas's most valued players - expect to see him and the rest in South Africa.

Hološko v. Barry

[zimbio.com]

Break On Through [to the other side, yeah]

The current generation of young Slovakian players seems to be the most promising one yet. Marek Hamšík and Miroslav Stoch play key roles for SSC Napoli and FC Twente - Vladimír Weiss has yet to catch up with these two midfielders - the quality of his performances for Bolton Wanderers, where he is on loan from Manchester City, will be crucial. The pool of young talent from Slovakia is, however, far from exhausted. Milan Lalkovič, who turned 17 in December, plays for Chelsea's Youths as well as Reserves - just as Stoch before him. He can play anywhere in the front three [mostly on the right-hand side], has some decent skills, good crosses, great shot as well as sufficient speed. Lalkovič [his story is briefly summed up in this video] would be an ideal replacement for Weiss. Róbert Mak [18] is another promising midfielder - he left Slovan Bratislava [former club of Dubovský and Hamšík] at the age of 15 for Manchester City's football academy. He currently trains with the As, plays for Man City's Reserves and scores goals on a regular basis - last weekend against Liverpool's Bs, a month ago against Hull's Bs. He has already received offers from Championship and Bundesliga clubs and has indicated his readiness to leave Man City in order to gain match experience [in an interview for "Denník Šport"]. Goalkeeper Filip Mentel, also a graduate of Man City's Academy, has been tipped to replace Ján Mucha in Legia Warszawa - its goalkeeping coach Krzysztof Dowhan has a reputation for nurturing goalkeeping talent, such as Mucha [recently signed a pre-contract with Everton], Celtic's Artur Boruc and Arsenal's Lukasz Fabianski. FC Twente's striker Andrej Rendla is the youngest player ever to start in the Slovak football league [earned his debut for FK Dukla Banská Bystrica a day after his 16th birthday], played a major role in FC Twente win of the Dutch Youth Super Cup and had his first start in the Dutch Eredivisie at the age of 17. Although he suffered a knee ligament injury in January 2008 and was out for the entire year, he was substituted on in Twente's game against FC Groningen [last weekend] and hopes to get his career back on tracks.

Andrej Rendla

[fctwente.nl]

Another generation is following in Lalkovič & Co.'s footsteps. Jakub Vojtuš [16], an MŠK Žilina striker, was snapped up by Inter Milan earlier on this week for €550,000 [although the deal might be worth as much as €2m] - hopefully he will be more of a Hamšík than a Greško. There has been a considerable amount of hype surrounding his transfer, with Slovakian dailies quoting Italian media and calling young Vojtuš "the best player from Central and Eastern Europe born in 1993 ". In the meantime, Chelsea has expressed interest in yet another young Slovakian - Jakub Kosorín. He was a given in trial in November and with Man City and Man Utd also interested, the deal should reportedly be sealed in the summer, once Kosorín finishes his studies. The mill keeps spinning - according to xtratime.org, "striker Tomáš Malec of AS Trenčín [16, ±2m tall!] ... spent last week on trial with FC Genoa. He played a game for their U16 vs U17 and helped his team to win 6:3 with no less than 4 goals + 1 assist" and centre-back Patrik Banovič [18] of Spartak Trnava was recently on trial with Fulham. On the one hand, a place in a top European club's academy does not guarantee a young player's success - on the other hand, it makes him compete with the best players in his age category, often from all over the world, and does so from a very early age [15-16]. Consequently, graduates of foreign youth academies are by and large much more accomplished and experienced that their domestic counterparts - Hamšík, Stoch and Weiss are in a category of their own and cannot be compared with the previous generation of young Slovak players, not even the brightest "starts" of the 2000 and 2002/03 youth championships. Whether this trend is circumstantial [Slovakia joined the EU in 2004, hence making transfers of young players westwards much easier], related to the success of the "Three Young Hopes of Slovakia", or simply reflects the quality of Slovakian youngsters, is a completely different issue. The future seems bright - at least for now. All the necessary cogs are in motion. The likelihood of the final product being another Dubovský, Moravčík, Hamšík or Stoch, rather than yet another mirage, seems much higher than in the previous decade.

The Three Young Hopes of Slovakia - Part 3 - Vladimír "Vladko" Weiss

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:24:00 +0000

The inclusion of Vladimír "Vladko" Weiss alongside Peter Dubovský, Marek Hamšík and Miroslav Stoch might seem controversial. While the latter two players feature prominently in their respective team's starting XI, Weiss spent the first half of the current season on Manchester City's bench, getting more playtime for Slovakia than for his club. His current predicament runs in a perfect parallel with that of Stoch a season ago - a promising graduate of his club's youth academy who suddenly finds himself in a squad filled with some of the most expensive football players of the EPL and beyond. Even the club's strategic thinking is similar - both Chelsea and Man City have used Stoch and Weiss as proofs of their vision for the future player policy, based not only on record transfers, but also on youth academies. With Weiss loaned out to Bolton less than a week ago and expected to feature in tonight's game against Burnley, the time is right for looking at Weiss's past, present and short-term future.

Two thirds of the Weiss football clan.

[sme.sk]

Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants

Father-son duos in football are not uncommon - there are the Maldinis [Cesare + Paolo], the Schmeichels [Peter + Kasper], the Redknapps [ye-es - Harry + Jamie] - and the list goes on. Can you name a grandfather-father-son trio? Yes, you might wikipedia [is that a verb?] Diego Forlán and read that his father Pablo "was also a Uruguyan international", playing for his country at the 1966 and 1974 World Cup. You may also read that his [maternal] grandfather Juan Carlos Corazo "played for Independiente in Argentina". But can you name a player whose father's father played at a major tournament? The Weiss family is, in this sense, unique. Vladimír Weiss the Eldest played as a centre-back, faced the likes of Pelé, Jairzinho and Vavá, has a silver medal from the 1964 Summer Olympics Football Tournament and is infamous for missing a crucial penalty in the 1966 World Cup qualifier against Portugal - the match was played at muddy Tehelné Pole and Czechoslovakia's failure to get three points meant that the silver medalist from the 1962 World Cup was not to compete in England. Vladimír Weiss Senior played as a midfielder and saw action for Czechoslovakia at the 1990 World Cup. He stayed on in the world of football and coached Artmedia Petržalka, one of two teams [along with Liverpool] ever to make it to the Champions League group stages from first qualifying round. Artmedia famously beat Celtic Glasgow in the second qualifying round [5:0], giving an unpleasant debut to Gordon Strachan, Celtic's recently appointed manager. Although Artmedia's annual budget was just around £1m, it fared extremely well in the group stages - its two games against FC Porto are legendary. Weiss's team was 0:2 down - only to beat the home side 3:2. Artmedia's second [home] fixture against FC Porto was played on one of the worst pitches ever seen in the history of the Champions League - it had rained for nearly a week before the kick-off, yet the game still went ahead. The club's goalless draw confined it to the third spot, after German Markus Merk deprived the Slovak side of two legitimate penalties [quoting O Jogo, Portuguese football portal]. Weiss's greatest moment was to arrive fours years later - it was under his management that Slovakia's long wait [7560 minutes] was finally over and the country qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. A photograph of Weiss's tears of happiness was more telling than all the editorials that flooded Slovak dailies the following morning... Vladimír "Vladko" [= diminutive of his first name] Weiss started, just as his father and grandfather, his career in Inter Bratislava, only to be snapped up by Man City as he turned 16.

Winning the FA Youth Cup

[dailymail.co.uk]

Manchester, England, England

Weiss found himself in a highly gifted Man City youth team, which also featured the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Dedryck Boyata and won the the 2007/08 FA Youth Cup, beating Gael Kakuta, Miroslav Stoch & Co. Weiss played a prominent role in the two-legged final against Chelsea, storming towards Chelsea's box after getting past several Chelsea players and providing Sturridge with a pass to Man City's only goal at Stamford Bridge [1:1]. Weiss scored Man City's game-winning goal in the second leg from a superb free kick. Weiss then won a penalty, which was converted by David Ball, effectively sealing Man City's triumph. Weiss earned a considerable amount of praise for his performance - The Daily Telegraph spoke of Man City, "the changing face of football ... thanks to the eye-catching talents of a Slovakian winger ... Vladimir Weiss, whose wing play has already earned local comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo, [who] proved the difference for City's academy players" [see the entire article here].

Debut v. Bolton

[zimbio.com]

Weiss received his debut for Man City against his current employer Bolton in May 2008, replacing Stephen Ireland in the 71st minute of the game [1:0]. It was his only game of the season, but proved his qualities in a friendly against FC Barcelona. Weiss was praised for his performance by Man City's manager Mark Hughes - "Barcelona have great depth, great young talent, but I thought Vladimir Weiss was the best young player out there tonight," he said. Despite this praise, Weiss found himself in a marginal position over the past three to four months. Man City got off to an unconvincing start of the 2009/10 season, despite Hughes's record-breaking shopping spree over the summer. City's line of draws was seemingly never-ending and Hughes found himself under more and more pressure. Weiss featured in just three Cup games, always coming on as a substitute. Weiss played well in a Carling Cup match against Scunthorpe United [28/10 5:1], crossing to an unmarked Carlos Tevez [5:32] to make it 4:1 and coming close to scoring a goal or two minutes later. He scored his only goal for Man City against Arsenal's youngsters [02/12, 3:0, Carling Cup], after a great run & pass by Craig Bellamy. The two players hugged themselves while celebrating, only to be diagnosed with swine flu a week later. The club extended Weiss's contract a week after his recovery, with Mark Hughes praising his improvement - “Vladi has come on leaps and bounds in the last four months and is fast maturing as a player", he claimed. It was quite possibly one of the last decisions that Hughes took as City's manager - he was sacked 24 hours later and replaced by Roberto Mancini. Weiss found himself in Mancini's starting XI against Middlesbrough [03/01, 1:0], but did not have the best of games and was substituted after a rather disappointing performance. Mancini recognized his talent ["Vladimir has shown what he can do in a couple of substitute appearances"], yet two weeks later conceded that the young Slovakian might go on loan ["He is a good young player who is going to be important to this club in the future. But he needs to play. We have not decided where though. That will be Vladimir's choice."]. Weiss decided to go on loan, refusing offers from 1. FC Cologne and Hull City, joining Owen Coyle's Bolton.

Weiss's only City goal

[soccergoalx.com]

Bolton and beyond

Weiss, who turned 20 just a couple of months ago, has most of his career before him. It is questionable to what extent had his three months on Man City's bench a positive or negative impact - the bottom line is that Weiss, just as every young player, needs to gain match experience. Owen Coyle seems to be excited about Weiss's move - "He's a young player and an exciting player ... a very positive player who likes to get at full-backs, who likes to get crosses in and shots in ... the type of player that I want at the football club - one that excites the fans. I also believe there is an edge to his game and a quality that will help the ones we already have." Are these just plain words? The matter-of-fact is that Bolton's Lee Chung-Yong is having an amazing season - not only does he play on the right wing, like Weiss, but he is only a year older and has a permanent deal with the Wanderers - Coyle has a clear interest in nourishing his talent. What will he do? Move Lee to the left hand side of the pitch and start Weiss on the right? Or vice versa? Or will Weiss become Lee's substitute? As things stand at the moment [5 minutes till Bolton v. Burnley], the last option seems most likely - at least for now. If Weiss is to shine in South Africa, as Jeffrey Marcus from New York Times speculates, he has to play on a regular basis. His Bolton loan is a make or break moment - either he will prove his talent, displayed in Man City's Youth Academy, or he will become yet another player that "hasn't made it".

Weiss in Northern Ireland v. Slovakia [0:2]

[pravda.sk]

Weiss the Player

Weiss has his qualities - the manner in which he got past Man Utd's Jonny Evans and crossed the ball to Stanislav Šesták is undoubtedly one of the classiest moment of Slovakia's World Cup qualification - he is a player with great dribbling skills and good crossing abilities. He does, however, lack consistency, as shown by his display against Middlesbrough or some games for Slovakia. He might be a "twinkle-toed youngster", but too often forgets to pass on the ball and/or does that unnecessary extra step-over, which costs him the ball - something that he is criticized for not only by Slovak fans, but also his father [Slovakia's coach]. Weiss is only a month younger than Twente's Stoch, but still has some way to go to catch up with his countryman - the importance of his next five months with Bolton cannot be emphasized enough.

The Three Young Hopes of Slovakia - Part 2 - Miroslav "Miňo" Stoch

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:01:00 +0000

While Marek Hamšík's ascend to the world of top class football was gradual, with a stop-over at the Seria B side Brescia Calcio, winger/attacking midfielder Miroslav Stoch found himself near the summit before he reached the age of 17. A decent amount of technical skill combined with young Stoch's drive towards the opponent's goal compensated for his short stature [1.68m/5 ft 6 in] - Chelsea was more than convinced and signed the youngster, who was to become the pride of Chelsea's Youth Academy. The story, however, did not stop there.

Stoch the Kid

Stoch's early days seem similar to those of young Marek Hamšík - a football-crazy kid that dedicates his childhood to the game, turns up for every training session early and leaves late in order to practice dribbling and shooting on the goal, plays with his friends whenever he is at home. Young Stoch's efforts bore fruits and he quickly became FC Nitra's shining prospect. Following his hat-trick in an U-17 match against ŠK Slovan Bratislava just a couple of weeks before his 16th birthday, "Miňo" earned a promotion to FC Nitra's A-team as soon as he reached the "legitimate" age to play in Slovakia's top league [16 that is]. Stoch was soon trialed by OGC Nice, but received an offer he could not have declined once the trial was over.

Joining Chelsea

[sme.sk]

Stoch the Teenager - Beyond The White Cliffs of Dover

"Playing out wide or behind a front player, he's a quick and tricky, two-footed and good in one- v-one situations. A Slovakian international who is joining us this season, Miroslav is a good goalscorer." - such was the assessment of young Stoch as he joined Chelsea's Academy in July 2006 by Neil Bath, its manager. Stoch did not disappoint, became the U-18s top scorer with 11 goals in the 2006/7 season and earned his place in the reserve team the following season. He scored two in 10+3 games for the reserves and made 14 appearances for the youths, with a solid record of 10 goals.

Stoch v. Carragher

[pravda.sk]

Stoch was promoted to Chelsea's first team in the 2008/9 season, and received his first start in a game against Arsenal [1-2], replacing Deco in the 81st minute in November 2008. Stoch's most memorable game came less than two months later. Yet again, he was substituted on with Chelsea trailing by a goal to Stoke City [with around 10 minutes left]. His impact was significant - to quote Graham Findle from CFC.co.uk, "it wasn't until Stoch came on that we showed any invention". After Belletti's goal Stoch received a wonderful pass from Lampard jut outside the penalty area and got frustratingly close to deciding the game in the home side's favour after getting rid of a Stoke defender inside the box and having his shot blocked by Sorensen.His contribution did not end there - after Sorensen's block Stoch showed some fighting spirit and ran after the ball, only to be fouled by another Stoke player. A free kick followed and it was in the aftermath of Stoch's cross from the right hand side of the pitch that Lampard scored the game-winning goal in the dying seconds of the match. "Miňo" finished the season without playing in Chelsea's starting XI - his record was 4 substitutions in the Premier League and one in the FA Cup. For Hiddink, he was "a good guy, [but] there are more young good guys and Ray [Wilkins] and I we are talking a lot about this of course" [a Chelsea TV interview]. Chelsea has been slowly but surely moving from an "all-you-can-spend" model [it was reported that as of May 2008, Abramovich had spent £600m on the club] towards one based on making the most out of their Academy graduates [paradoxically by signing U18 players worth ±£20m in total]. In November 2008, The Observer's Duncan Castles wrote of a "multi-million-pound failure to establish a single youth signing in the first team; a year later, Frank Arnesen, Chelsea's sporting director, rejected any criticism and summed up the situation in the following words:

"It is clearly laid out in our long-term planning for 2004 to 2014 – after which we aim to be self-financed – that from 2010 and onwards our top priority is to introduce one player [per year] into the Premiership squad. ... It was never the objective that I should be delivering two talents for the best team from 2007 on a yearly basis ... You don't create talents at the assembly line. Patience is a virtue. In a top club like Chelsea you do not waltz into the team at the age of 18-19 years."

It was becoming that that if Chelsea's young stars were to shine, it must have been outwith Stamford Bridge - albeit for a limited period of time. In the summer of 2009 Chelsea sent its most prospective young players on loan - Di Santo to Blackburn, Mancienne to Wolves and Stoch joined FC Twente, a Dutch Eredivisie side managed by Steve McClaren, who was exiled to the Netherlands in the aftermath of his failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 [ask England fans for a story or two].

"The Flying Dutchman"

[sme.sk]

Stoch on loan - The Flying Dutchman

"Miroslav is probably the sensation of the Dutch League this year", said Frank Arnesen in his recent assessment of Chelsea's on-loan players. FC Twente is currently sitting on top of the Eredivisie and has yet to be defeated - very decent effort from a side that has failed at all 48 efforts to win the competition [although came close last season, finishing 2nd]. Steve McClaren is picking up the pieces of his shattered reputation and putting them quickly together, with many British media not quite knowing what to make out of the man and his club. Stoch has formed a prolific partnership upfront with the Swiss veteran N'Kufo and Costa Rica's Ruiz who is currently chasing Ajax's Luis Suarez, with the former scoring 13 goals in 17 games and the latter finding the net on 18 occasions [wow!]. Stoch has impressed with his speed, dribbling skills and great shot. He, however, took his time to get into goal-scoring form, something that he attributed [in an interview for chelseafc.com] to playing on the right hand side as opposed to his favourite left-hand side. Goals started to fall in once McClaren put him on the left - he scored a double against Heerenveen in September, single-handedly securing Twente's 2-0 triumph. "Miňo"'s first goal for Twente came after he managed to fool three opponent's players; his second after a long ground pass from Ruiz - Stoch was too quick for two Heerenveen defenders and hit the ball well despite losing his balance. Stoch had to wait for his third goal over a month, but the goal [against Groningen] was worth the wait - a splendid shot from outside the penalty area that even the keeper failed to reach. Roda Kerkrade - another week, another goal - Stoch made yet another classy run only to finish from about 11 yards out with an even classier shot. Six days later he shot the Sheriff by getting a double - the first one from a perfect pass from a Sheriff, the second in a manner reminiscent of his Groningen goal. Four more goals followed - against Tilburg in late November, against Nijmegen in early December [another long range shot] and, most memorably, another double - this time against NAC Breda. Young Stoch showed a healthy dose of confidence after converting a penalty - a la Panenka; his second goal was sheer excellence. "Miňo" has summed up his half a season in Twente in an interview for Chelsea's website - "I can say I am happy", said Stoch. And so he should be - the buzz among Chelsea fans is substantial.

Scoring for Slovakia

[cas.sk]

Stoch the Player

Miroslav Stoch is, despite his young age, a key member of Slovakia's team - most fans hope that his current goalscoring record for Twente [8+2] will be extended in the second half of the season and, most importantly, in South Africa. Stoch's place in Slovakia's starting XI is more or less secure - his qualities cannot be overlooked. His speed, shooting and dribbling will come handy; his ball control and crosses are equally good, just as his agility. Stoch's lack of defensive skills might be his Achilles' heel - as an offensive midfielder he tends to forget to make it back on time and help out, something that more than numerous Slovakia's opponents exploited in the past. The big question is whereto next - McClaren's weapon of choice is a 4-3-3 formation, Ancelloti relies on a 4-1-2-1-2 "diamond" - if Stoch returns to Chelsea for the 2010/11 season, [where] will he play? If not, will Chelsea extend his loan in a league that has provided invaluable playing experience to so many top class players? Will he be loaned to another Premiership side? Will he be sold? Regardless of the answer, I am sure that this is not the last time you are hearing about Miroslav Stoch, one of the "Three Young Hopes of Slovakia".

Slovakia v. New Zealand - penalty shoot-out [?]

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:48:00 +0000

Most Top 100 tennis players are participating in various tournaments in the Antipodes in the build up to the first Grand Slam of the year - at Auckland's ASB Classic, Slovakia's Dominika Cibulková met New Zealand's Marina Erakovic in what Slovakian media called a "World Cup prequel". A penalty shoot-out took place and unlike a certain daily, "7560 Minutes Later" is not going to spoil the outcome for you. Enjoy the show!

Slovakia to face Norway in friendly

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:19:00 +0000

The SFZ confirmed that Slovakia will start 2010 with a friendly against Norway, which is to be played on Wednesday, 03/03/2010 at a yet to be confirmed venue in Slovakia [most likely Stadium Pod Dubňom in Žilina that also hosted Slovakia v. Chile in November].

Norway in Group 9
[wikipedia.org]

Norway [32] is ranked right above Slovakia [33] in the most recent Fifa/Coca-Cola World Ranking. Norwegian football has been in the doldrums since Euro 2000 - the last major tournament it managed to qualify for. Its ranking suffered significantly in the 2000s, dropping from 14 in 2000 to 59 in January 2009. Although Norway finished second in Group 9, between the Netherlands and Scotland [on goal difference], their record was poor - two wins from eight games played, confining Norway to the only non-play-off spot in the European part of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Norway's John Carew

[telegraph.co.uk]

Justifying the choice of such an opponent is a difficult task. Apart from their thrashing of 10-men Scotland in Oslo, Norway did struggle offensively, finishing their qualification efforts with a poor goal difference of +2. Norway displayed some defensive qualities in games against the strong Dutch side, conceding just three goals from two games, but will such an opponent test the Slovaks sufficiently enough before their first-ever World Cup?

Why Norway?

[wikipedia.org]

This friendly may be seen by Vladimír Weiss as preparation for Slovakia's opening game against New Zealand, but that is about it. If there is one thing that Slovakia needs to do before the World Cup commences, it is playing teams that are a really tough nut to crack. A South American side or a Pot 1 team from Europe would be ideal, and even another Pot 4 team [plus Russia, Croatia and Ukraine] would most probably be a better choice than Norway.

The Three Young Hopes of Slovakia - Part 1 - Marek "Marekiaro" Hamšík

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:47:00 +0000

Marek Hamšík is the oldest of the "Three Young Hopes of Slovakia", a group of players that in many respects differs from Peter Dubovský, whose star shone so brightly on the Czechoslovak football scene in the early 1990s. Hamšík, just as his fellow midfielders Miroslav Stoch and Vladimír Weiss Jr., left Slovakia in his teenage years, aged 16. Stoch and Weiss Jr. were products of well-established "football factories" - youth teams of first-league sides - FC Nitra in Stoch's case [Ľubomír Moravčík's former club] and Inter Bratislava in Weiss's case. Both players were transferred to Premier League teams, [Chelsea and Man City respectively], excelled in their youth academies and, following their "graduation", faced quite a fight to secure a place in their clubs' "we-do-not-buy-a-player-for-less-than-£10m" line-up. The story of "Marekiaro" is different.

Very early days [Jupie Podlavice in mid-1990s - M.H. in bottom-left corner]

[hnonline.sk]

Hamšík the Kid

Hamšík, aged four, joined his local youth team Jupie Podlavice. The team was founded by a couple of youth coaches and although it might have stood in the shade of Dukla Banská Bystrica, the first-league side of Hamšík's home town, it has produced a surprising number of promising players [Slovakian U21s Jakub Sylvestr and Andrej Rendla]. His single-mindedness put him a step ahead of his teammates, and he was given a trial for Sparta Prague - the transfer did not go ahead as Hamšík's father Richard [a former football player] failed to find a job in Prague [transfer conditions for U18 players at the time specified that either the player's parent had to find a job in the club's town or the player in question had to attend a local school]. Marek was given another trial for ŠK Slovan Bratislava, which was keen on signing him, but not that keen on paying the transfer fee that Jupie Podlavice demanded. In the end, Richard Hamšík stepped in and after taking out a loan in order to settle the bill, Hamšík found himself in Slovan, winning the league title in both youth categories ["junior" and "senior cadets"], an achievement not seen at Tehelné Pole since the days of Peter Dubovský. Hamšík also featured in numerous U17 and U19 fixtures for Slovakia and played a single game for Slovan's senior side, sealing its victory 4:1 against Tatran Prešov in the extra time. He caught an eye of Brescia Calcio and €500,000 later moved to the soon-to-be-relegated Seria A side. Two things should be noted about Hamšík's move that contrast so starkly with Dubovsk ý's story - firstly, even at his early age, Hamšík had already been through an experience of living away from his parents (Dubovský suffered quite heavily from homesickness after his move to Real Madrid); secondly, Hamšík found himself in a club that offered him a realistic chance of playing - and the young Slovakian took this chance by the scruff of the neck.

Brescia days
[calciatori-online.com]

Hamšík the Teenager - "The Italian Job"

Hamšík's debut for Brescia came four moths before his 18th birthday, in a 3-1 defeat to Chievo Verona in March 2005. He played 25 games for Brescia in the 2005/06 season without scoring a goal - the following season he got cool 10 [goals] in 40 [games]. According to one football rumour , which is reportedly true, during one Brescia training session he converted 56 penalties in a row. The 2006/07 season was a real breakthrough - Hamšík earned his first cap for Slovakia in a friendly against Poland in February. Following a qualifier against Germany [1-2], in which Hamšík played full 90 minutes, Slovak dailies displayed a transfer hype unseen since the days of Dubovský - SME reported that Inter and AC Milan, Juventus, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid were keen on signing the youngster. These transfer rumours excited the Slovakian football public, with the general consensus being that finally, after more than 15 years, Slovakia produced a talent comparable to that of young Dubovský; some did, however, warn against such an early move, remembering how quickly Dubovský's star faded away in Real Madrid. It was Adam Smith's "invisible hand of the market" that settled the deal once for all - Napoli's €5.5m bid came rather unexpectedly and Hamšík penned a 5-year long contract on 28/06/07. The stage for a player, who was to be known as "Marekiaro", was finally set - in the words of Aurelio de Laurentiis, Napoli's chairman, he was to be "the one for the future".

Second cap for Slovakia

[sme.sk]

Hamšík had a solid start of his first season for Napoli - in his first-ever competitive game for the Partenopei [against Cesena in an Italian Cup fixture], he provided an assist for Ezequiel Lavezzi's opening goal and scored one himself just minutes later [after Lavezzi's assist]. A new partnership was formed and the words of De Laurentiis, Napoli's chairman, were already being revised by some and left others wandering, whether the future had arrived much earlier than expected. A month later, Hamšík scored his first league goal in a game against Sampdoria. He scored 8 more goals for Napoli in the 2007/08 season [in 37 games], becoming the club's top scorer - an impressive achievement for the young midfielder. His goal against AC Milan was a particularly good one, with "Marekiaro" opening the scoring sheet after an impressive run from Napoli's penalty area. Napoli did beat their rivals from the north 3:1 and "Marekiaro"'s status as the fans' favourite was cemented as he was being substituted off in the 89th minute - the San Paolo erupted with a roar unheard since the days of legendary Diego Maradona and Careca. During the same season [in February 2008] he was voted the second best Slovak footballer of the year, and also received the Peter Dubovský award for the best U21 player.

Scoring his 7th of the 2007/08 season.

[bolapedia.com]

Hamšík's streak of solid performances has continued - in the 2008/09 season he became [yet again] Napoli's top scorer [with 9 goals (and 6 assists) in 31 games]. The current season promises to be the best one so far - after 17 Seria A games "Marekiaro" is once again providing Napoli with a steady input of goals [8G+2A]. Another of his vintage performances came on the last day of October 2009, when "Marekiaro" led Napoli's comeback [from 2-0 for the home side to 2-3] on Juve's Stadio Olimpico - he scored Napoli's first and, more importantly, the game winning goal - you'd better watch the reaction of one Italian commentator [Carlo Alvino] to this decisive strike - it does not disappoint.

Juventus-Napoli [2:3]

[puntosport.it]

Ever since his transfer to SSC Napoli Hamšík has been at the centre of most transfer rumours associated with the Seria A club and the league as such - as early as January 2008 Inter Milan's manager Roberto Mancini lamented his side's failure to sign the player in the summer of 2007. The latest transfer frenzy revolves around Manchester United ["Marek Hamsik in frame as Sir Alex Ferguson plans ahead for Manchester United"], with Hamšík "viewed as a player capable of filling Scholes’s goalscoring midfielder role, but Napoli are likely to demand a fee of £25m for a player whose value could escalate on the back of a successful World Cup", writes The Daily Telegraph. Ferguson's interest in "Marekiaro" is far from a recent development - in September Hamšík headlined The Guardian's "latest football transfer gossip". Chelsea's interest in Hamšík seems to have peaked, [at least according to Google News stats] in November - although the club's transfer cauldron is no longer boiling after Ancelloti's New Year resolution included a promise that "he would run around the club’s training ground naked if he is shown to have been deceitful by repeatedly claiming over the past few months that he has no need for new players" [as featured in The Times] - on top of the club's possible transfer ban. The "usual suspects" Juventus and Inter are never too far from a Hamšík transfer rumour either - in summer 2009 Inter reportedly offered €15m plus Mancini the man[ager] in exchange for Napoli's star and last week Inter's director Lele Oriali confirmed his team's continuing interest in the player. The latest team to add some more wind [or water?] to the Hamšík rumour mill is Pep Guardiola's FC Barcelona ["Barcelona Tracking Napoli Midfielder Marek Hamsik"]. The other side of the equasion is equally interesting - Napoli's management is consistent in their claims that the player is there to stay ["Hamsik is an important player and he will remain with us." - Riccardo Bigon, Napoli sporting director]. A great article by Gabriele Marcotti is even more revealing - it offers Hamšík's own perspective - when talking about his salary, he says:

“I make more than I can spend already, far more in fact. I will give 100 per cent regardless, because I’m happy to be here.

So if that extra money makes somebody else happier to play for Napoli or helps the club attract better players, I would rather they spend it that way.
I’m not crazy, I’m realistic. I’m still young, I’m improving, I’ll have plenty of years to make a lot of money. Right now it’s certainly not a priority.”

"It’s the kind of talk which infuriates agents and delights supporters", adds Marcotti.

M.H. hugging R.H. after qualifying for the 2010 World Cup

[cas.sk]

Hamšík has played a major role in Slovakia's successful qualification for the 2010 World Cup and captained the team [aged 22] in the decisive encounter with Poland in November. Some fans criticized him for not scoring enough goals in all the important games [he got two in the entire qualifying campaign - against Northern Ireland in September 2008 and converting a penalty against the Czech Republic a year later]. Other fans showed their anger in the aftermath of the September encounter with the Czech Republic - following his successful penalty conversion [that put Slovakia 2-1 up], Hamšík was booked for over-celebrating [more precisely jumping across the advert barriers] and a mere minute later sent off, following a clumsy challenge on Milan Baroš. Slovakia conceded a goal ten minutes later and was rather fortunate not to have lost this crucial derby. Despite this crucial mistake, Hamšík's overall contribution cannot be praised highly enough. In contrast to his role in Napoli [attacking midfielder], his attacking appetite is slightly more constrained when wearing the Slovak white/blue top - he is the crucial link between the back four and the attacking players, a position that requires tireless running up and down the field, flawless passing and often even gritty defensive work. Hamšík disappoints only rarely and earned the team's captaincy in the final [make or break] game of the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign. He has the same ability that made Peter Dubovský such a great player for Czechoslovakia and Slovakia - the ability to lead by example and inspire his teammates to above-average performances. Hamšík is an absolutely vital component of the Slovakian football machine and most fans will be looking to him in Slovakia's Group F fixtures against New Zealand, Paraguay and Italy.

Sent off

[cas.sk]

Hamšík the Player

At 22, Marek Hamšík looks like an accomplished player, willing and able to assume both defensive and offensive roles and excelling in the latter for his side SSC Napoli. The man who took him to Italy, former Brescia's sporting director Gianluca Nani [now at West Ham], says:

“He was tall, strong, quick and could run all day, and he could strike the ball beautifully with either foot. I think in those first two years he must have played every position except centre-forward and goalkeeper. We tried him out everywhere, there was nothing he could not do.”

He has been compared to Frank Lampard and some even claim that Hamšík is, given his age, even better. At the same time, "Marekiaro" remains modest and leads a settled life. He often claims to find mistakes in his performances ["I’m still young, I’m improving"] and always tries to shift the media attention away from [his] individual to team performance [just watch some of his post-match interviews - in case you speak Slovakian/Italian]. Unlike many other young football stars, he seems settled down and his long-term girlfriend [they have know each other since the age of 13] is currently expecting a baby boy - various Slovakian dailies have quoted Hamšík saying that he wanted to raise his son in Neapol, hinting at his long-term commitment to the club that showed his talent to the wider world. Is it all too good to be true?

The Three Young Hopes of Slovakia - Prequel - Peter Dubovský

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:10:00 +0000

The rise of Peter Dubovský on the Czechoslovak football scene in the first half of the 1990s was rapid and stayed unmatched for nearly two decades. Aged 19, he earned his first cap for Czechoslovakia right after the 1990 World Cup; aged 20, he won the Czechoslovak Golden Boot, having scored 27 goals in a single season for Slovan Bratislava - and 24 the following season; aged 22, he became the first ever "Slovakian Player of the Year".

[1993 Slovakian player of the year - aged 22]

[slovakianfootball.com]

In September 1991 Dubovský scored Slovan's only goal against Real Madrid [1:2] in a UEFA Cup fixture. Following Peter's performances in the Czechoslovak league, his transfer became imminent. Two major teams sent away their offers to Tehelné pole, home of ŠK Slovan Bratislava and their young star. Ajax Amsterdam and Real Madrid were keen on signing the player, and in 1993 Dubovský was sold to the latter for a record transfer fee, a move that was to have a profound influence on his future career, a move that many have regretted.

[czechsoccernet.cz]

Peter played a decent amount of games [25] in his first season in Real Madrid. After Benito Floro Sanz's dismissal in 1994, "Dubák" struggled to keep his place in Real's XI under Jorge Valdano [the current Director General of Real Madrid]. He was sold to Real Oviedo and kept earning caps for Slovakia at international level. Although he remained a decent player [this goal is perfect], his career throughout the second half of the 1990s was not as shiny as in his early 20s - and remarkably short-lived. His rapid rise was followed by a dramatic fall, as Peter Dubovský, aged 28, died in a tragic accident on June 23 2000 after slipping off a wet cliff in Ko Samui, Thailand.

"Friend or foe?"

[Real Oviedo v. Real Madrid - Dubovský on the left]

[tacodejara.blogspot.com]

Many unanswered questions remain. What if Dubovský played in Slovakia's friendly against Japan instead of going on holiday to Thailand? What if young "Dubák" turned Real Madrid down and accepted an offer from Louis van Gaal's Ajax Amsterdam, legendary for nurturing excellent young football talent? And, most importantly, would Slovakia ever find another Peter Dubovský?

Tribute to "Dubák" by Slovan's fans - "We won't forget!"

[by "Papa Noe" @ fmko.cz]

These questions are driven by numerous memories among Slovak [as well as Czech] fans. Peter's performances from the early 1990s cannot be easily forgotten, whether his game winning goal in the derby against Slavia Praha in the 1992/93 season, which secured Slovan's the last-ever "federal" title, or the remarkable hat-trick against Romania.

“I remember back in the early Nineties, we (Czechoslovakia) were playing a Romanian team who were at their peak after a good World Cup,” Moravcik [former Celtic winger] said. “They came to Kosice expecting to win. But they forgot about Dubovsky. That day, Peter scored the best hat-trick that I ever saw. He was the difference between the two sides. The match was level at two each and then Peter scored his three goals. It was a really important hat-trick considering that we had already had two players sent off. Dubovsky made Hagi and Co look ordinary that evening. How often did that happen?”

Classy strike by Peter for Real Oviedo

Throughout the 2000s, the three questions kept reappearing on a regular basis. Slovakia clearly missed Dubovský, who was able to make all the difference on the pitch and pull the rest of the team along. An award for the best U-21 footballer, bearing Dubovský's name, was created as the search for another player of similar qualities commenced and memories of his tragic death remained fresh and painful. Many of the award's winners were unable to copy Peter's brilliance and proved to be major disappointments [e.g. Ľubomír Meszároš or Roland Števko]. Other promising players [e.g. Szilárd Németh] ran out of steam following transfers to clubs that were probably too big for their shoes. Towards the end of this decade, however, three major young players emerged - Marek Hamšík, Miroslav Stoch, and Vladimír Weiss Jr. Each of them contains, in one way or another, a bit of Peter Dubovský, and each of them has many lessons to learn from his short but dramatic football career. The upcoming articles in "The Three Young Hopes of Slovakia" series will be dedicated to them...

A View From Slovakia - Part 3 - Italy

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:35:00 +0000

With the notable exception of the host country, every Pot 1 team has displayed qualities that are superior to those of Slovakia. The dream of being drawn into the same group as South Africa did not materialize and Slovakia ended up in Group F with the 2006 World Cup winners - Italy.

"Campioni del Mondo"

[soccermusic.net]

Having emerged victorious from Group 3, Slovakia's abilities were far from properly tested during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Four games [in total] with the Czech Republic [seed 1] and Poland [seed 2] provided the team with a sense of hope and self-consciousness that was nowhere to be found throughout the 1990s and the first half of the 2000s. The Czechs have found it difficult to replace their "golden generation", which fared so well at the Euro 2004 in Portugal - Pavel Nedvěd bid his farewell in the aftermath of the 2006 World Cup, Jan Koller is by no means the force upfront he once was, and the career of "The Little Mozart" [Tomáš Rosický] has been ravaged over the past three seasons by countless injuries. The Polish side did not prove to be any better, and some miserable goalkeeping on Artur Boruc's behalf, and a truly remarkable own goal by Seweryn Gancarczyk, all but paved Slovakia's path to the upcoming World Cup in South Africa. Moreover, Czech and Polish football had to cope with scandals that involved corruption within their football associations [more info on Czech and Polish scandals], squad members spending their nights on the bevy and with the ladies of the night [Czech and Polish], sackings of their coaches, Petr Rada and Leo Beenhakker, and even a fan boycott ahead of Poland's last game in Group Three.

"Don't Stop Me Now"

[Šesták scores against Poland after Boruc's poor goalkeeping]

[sme.sk]

When faced with formidable opposition, Slovakia stumbled on all four occasions. The 2-1 defeat in Slovenia was slightly unfortunate as Martin Petráš's equalizer was disallowed. The 4-0 defeat at Wembley was a painful one, although it is hard to tell whether a better performance could have been expected ahead of a crucial encounter in Prague [1-2]. In the autumn of 2009 Slovakia faced the excellent Slovenian team once again and failed to convert a chance to seal the World Cup deal [0-2 - a draw would have sufficed]. In November it played a friendly with Chile and lost yet again [1-2].

"Jump around"

[Rooney scores against Slovakia]

[the90thminute.com]

With six months to go, it seems that the cup is half-empty rather than half-full. Will Ellis Park Stadium witness a comfortable Italian win or is there still hope?

Italia [Italy]

My personal connection with Italian football is rather strong - aged three, I received a metal model of a Ferrari bearing an "Italia '90" logo on its roof. In the summer of 1994 I found myself passing by a nameless beach on the Italian eastern coast, only to see an Italian fan burning his country's flag in the aftermath of Roberto Baggio's (in)famous penalty miss. Twelve years later I was getting deja vus yet again - sitting by another beach in north-eastern Italy, the Italians seemed to lack another Baggio and converted all five penalties. As Fabio Grosso slotted the fifth one in, the crowd in the cafe below erupted with joy and the fan-van's roof [an old Fiat Uno with Il Tricolore painted on its roof] must have experienced the most demanding 15 minutes of its unreliable life...

"Simple twist of faith"

[smh.com.au]

The past three years have not been easy for Italian football. Calciopoli [2006] shook the very foundations of Seria A. In 2007, football hooliganism reared its ugly head with the most serious of outcomes, as the Italian poliziotto Fillipo Raciti lost his life during the Catania v. Palermo football derby. Two months later, more violence followed during the Champions League AS Roma v. Manchester United fixture. Although AC Milan won the 2006/07 Champions League, most Italian clubs have not been too convincing over the past couple of years - just recall AS Roma's abysmal result against Manchester United [1-7], AC Milan's recent Champions League clashes with FC Zürich, or the defeat that Juventus suffered to Van Gaal's Bayern that is having a rather catastrophic season. At the club level, Italian football seems to be struggling with all sorts of problems, on as well as off the pitch and the major Italian teams seem to be losing touch with their Spanish and English counter-parts [fair dues to Fiorentina though!].

"To the left [?]"

[Villa beats Buffon at Euro 2008]

[bbc.co.uk]

Although equating club to international football is a dangerous endeavor, filled with many pitfalls, Italy's performance in June 2008 [Euro] was far from convincing. In Group C ["C" for "death"] the Azzurri suffered a comprehensive defeat to the Dutch, drew with Romania and only a 2-0 win against Raymond Domenech's France [that name says it all...] enabled Donadoni's men to progress into the next stage. Italy lost to the overall winners [Spain] on penalties in the quarter-finals, exactly a year and a half ago. Italy did not lose a single game in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, finishing six point ahead of Republic of Ireland, with which it drew twice [the Croke Park match was a real spectacle - Group 8 could have got an interesting spin had Gilardino not scored in the dying second of the game].

Gilardino is a heart-breaker

[italysfootball.wordpress.com]

In my opinion, Italy may succumb to the "Czech disease". The team is not getting any younger, and Fabio Cannavaro recently told Francesco Totti and Alessandro Nesta to return to Italy. Andrea Pirlo is a prolific player, but what would his injury do to Italy's midfield? Can Italy's defense keep up with fast-paced football or could it do a "Maldini"? Will Gilardino continue his impressive performances and can you imagine him upfront with Totti? Will Marcello Lippi resurrect the spirit of 2006? These questions might not matter as far as Group F is concerned, although Lippi has been somewhat careful, commenting that the Azzurri "aren't satisfied or disappointed". Italy did "overcome monumental NZ effort", as a TVNZ headline proudly announced, but yet another meeting of the two sides in South Africa is likely to take place under completely different circumstances and with a much higher amount of effort [or motivation?] on the Italians' behalf. Even if the Italy-Paraguay game promises be a good one, the bookies and most experts alike still see Italy as Group F's favourite, with the odds of 1/2 to win the group and 1/10 chance to qualify. What will happen on 24 June 2010 in Johannesburg?

"Put on a happy face"

[marocama.it]

Slovensko [Slovakia]

This article could have been much different - in October Vladimír Weiss announced that Slovakia was likely to face Italy in a friendly on 18 November. In the end, Italy decided to play Sweden in a game that lacked many great players on both sides [Buffon, Pirlo, Cannavaro and Ibrahimovic were absent], but which the Azzurri reserves won 1-0.

Ellis Park Stadium

[South African Tourism via Flickr]

Italy and Slovakia have met only once - in January 1998 in Catania. An Italian side that included the current West Bromwich Albion manager Roberto Di Matteo, Milan legend Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Del Piero, but also Alessandro Nesta and Filippo Inzaghi, cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory. Vladimír Weiss has a personal experience with playing the Italians at the World Cup [Czechoslovakia lost 0-2 and current Slovak coach played 58 minutes] - it is quite a shame that Roberto Donadoni is no longer Italy's coach, since he played in the very same match and in the very same position [midfield].

"Then and now"

[Slovakia manager Weiss at 1990 World Cup]

[gettyimages.com]

Given Slovakia's poor record against much better sides, it be could easily concluded that this will be yet another 3-0 victory to Italy. Republic of Ireland did, however, show that Italy is not invincible, having drawn 1-1 in Italy and 2-2 at home. Slovakia's most gifted player and team captain Marek Hamšík [SSC Napoli] seemed rather pleased with the draw and claimed that "we know more about the Italians than they do about us", but also conceded that the Squadra Azzurra is a "particularly strong opponent". Will this be sufficient to secure a point or push for three?

Marek Hamšík

[SSC Napoli midfielder]

[italiansoccerseria.com]

A Slovak daily claims that 2 points might be enough for Slovakia to go through [although a sentence later warns that not even 6 points guarantee the second spot]. The game against Italy will be Slovakia's third at the World Cup - giving it enough time to get things right - something that the manager and most players emphasized in their post-draw reactions. Moreover, most commentators in Slovakia were fine with playing Italy as opposed to Brazil, Argentina, England, Spain or the Netherlands - i.e. Italy is seen as an "acceptable" option when it comes to Pot 1 teams. There is a ray of hope, and fans on some forums see the possibility of salvaging a draw. The concept of the final fixture of the group stages does create a certain amount of hope - fans hope that the Azzurri might end up either calculating [trying to avoid the Netherlands?] or resting their key players ahead of the second round, giving Slovakia a greater chance of securing a good result. Relying on the opponent is, however, short-sighted and could easily backfire. Let me therefore conclude on a similar note as in my Paraguay preview - Slovakia needs more experience and more games against solid opposition. The March friendly against England had a similar effect to the one played against Chile eight months ago, showing that Slovakia is no match for big teams that easily punish (nearly) every single mistake. Experience comes from big games and does not necessarily emerge from drawing boards or video analysis of the opponent. If Slovakia was to play Italy today, I would say we do not stand much chance. The real question is - how much can Weiss get done within the next half a year?

A View From Slovakia - Part 2.5 - Paraguay

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 10:26:00 +0000

Two days after "7560 Minutes Later" published an article on Paraguay, a major Slovak daily came up with an interesting interview with Jindřich Krous (48), a Czech teacher, who not only lives in Paraguay, but is also an avid follower of the Guaraníes.

"Look at all the flags and banners waving"

[pravda.sk]

According to Jindřich Krous, Paraguay is "good enough to beat even Italy ... according to Paraguayan football experts, this particular squad is the most able in the country's history, better than that of Argentina and comparable with Brazil's". The word on the street is that Group F is "easy", with "Italy seen as the strongest opponent and New Zealand as the weakest". When it comes to Slovakia, the lack of information among Paraguayan fans is evident - "hardly anyone knows the country, most people cannot distinguish it from other Slavic countries, whereas others still associate it with Czechoslovakia". Paraguayan football experts are slightly more diplomatic and warn against complacency, claiming that the group is "even".

"#1 Fan"

[bbc.co.uk]

Krous considers Paraguay to be even better than Chile and warns against two players - Salvador Cabaňas, nicknamed "Cordinho" [fattie], and Nelson Haedo, nicknamed "El tanque alemán" [the German tank]. The team has "quick and technical players and if they are doing well, they can put a lot of pressure on the opponent". Their main weakness is the occasional "lack of mental strength - if they concede the first goal, they tend to have difficulties with coming back into the game".

A View From Slovakia - Part 2 - Paraguay

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:34:00 +0000

Although the excitement among journalists and fans alike tends to rise as the tournament progresses, the World Cup group stages are my personal favorite. Watching the diverse styles of football, and the encounters of teams or even countries that are half the world apart from each other [e.g. Iran v. Angola or Korea Rep v. Togo in 2006] is a true spectacle. The upcoming World Cup guarantees to provide several of such "encounters of a third kind" - and Group F should not disappoint on this front either. An NZ sports portal challenged its readers about the glamour of the upcoming NZ/Slovakia clash. I wonder what they say in Paraguay [any idea, anyone?]. It has already been established that Slovakia has more information about the All Whites than one would ever assume. Where does Paraguay fit in? Is it a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma? Or does another Ivan Hucko [Bahrain's assistant manager from Slovakia] operate somewhere in Central/South America, ready to enrich the Weiss crew with his knowledge?

Twist...

[football-wallpapers.com]

Paraguaj [Paraguay]

A brief look at Paraguay's performances over the past decade or so reveals that it is a tough nut to crack. My first memories of seeing Paraguay in action date all the way back to the '98 World Cup. Who could forget its iconic goalkeeper - Jose Luis Chilavert that conceded only two goals in four games? The second one, scored by Laurent Blanc in the 114th minute, killed Chilavert & co.'s quarter-final dreams and my hopes of seeing a penalty shootout [Chilavert v. Barthez, quite literally facing each other...]. Four years later Paraguay lost in the second round to a strong German side after conceding a goal in the 88th minute, and at the last World Cup it failed to make it beyond the group stages after narrowly losing to England after a third-minute own goal and narrowly missing out on a draw with Sweden [Ljunberg scored in the 88th minute - history does tend to repeat itself...].

...and shout?

[guardian.co.uk]

Despite its lack of luck at the World Cup, the Paraguayan side did extremely well at the 2004 Olympics, reaching the final, where a single goal by a certain Carlos Tevez confined the Guaraníes to the second place. At this point it would probably be worth of mentioning that despite its small population (6m is more or less comparable with Slovakia's 5.5m), Paraguay possesses a major pool of talent - around 250,000 children between the ages of eight and fourteen attend footballing schools and it shows - at the most recent U-20 South American championship [2009], Paraguay finished as runners-up to Brazil [population of 191m]. The senior team fared equally well in the World Cup qualifiers, missing out on the second spot only on goal difference and managing to beat Brazil and Argentina whilst keeping a clean sheet [2-0 and 1-0 respectively].

"Numbers"

[wikipedia.org]

Gerardo Martino recently said that his team was "ready for a great World Cup", whereas Juan Napout, who is in charge of the Paraguyan Football Association apparently feels that his side "can succeed". Jose Luiz Chilavert expects Slovakia to "play in a similar style to Slovenia, which we can still remember from the 2002 World Cup" - Paraguay beat Slovenia in the final match of the group stages and by doing so secured the second place in Group B (ahead of South Africa on scored goals!).

The current Paraguayan team has a great deal of experience with the international scene - 9 players have 40+ caps - the quartet of defenders Caniza, Silva, Caceres and Bonet share respectable 267 appearances for their country and Paraguay's defense showed its quality in the recent friendly with the Netherlands [0-0]. Even if Roque Santa Cruz is injured and/or hardly plays for his club, Valdez and especially Cabañas seem capable enough to replace him. Where does this leave Slovakia?

Slovakia - Chile [1-2]

[sme.sk]

Slovensko [Slovakia]

Slovakia's encounters with South American football had been minimal, but anticipating a possible confrontation with a team from Central and/or South America, a friendly match with Chile was played in Žilina [NW Slovakia] approximately three weeks ago. This game was an important lesson - and quite possibly a sign of things to come.

It was a game that Slovakia lost by a goal, but the gap between the two teams was visibly wide. Chile controlled the game (and the ball) for about 75 minutes straight, scoring their two goals after two poor defensive displays by the Slovak back four [watch the highlights above]. Ľuboš Kamenár's goalkeeping [Slovakia's no. 2, FC Nantes] was not entirely faultless either. Slovakia did manage to score a fine goal, but most Slovak players agreed that the opponent was, as Martin Škrtel [centre-half, FC Liverpool] put it, "at a totally different level". The Chileans "exceeded" Peter Pekarík's [right back, VfL Wolfsburg] expectations, Stanislav Šesták [striker, VfL Bochum] called the team "simply fantastic", and Vladimír Weiss [manager] summed everything up by saying that the opponent "deserved to win". Chile was very dynamic, great at keeping the ball and going forward - by the end of the game, Slovakia's players were visibly tired, if not exhausted. Šesták said that after the game "each player agreed not to had faced a better team on the international scene". South American football is, at least from a Slovak point of view, in a league of its own - Marek Hamšík [midfield, SSC Napoli] even explicitly stated his wish to avoid a South American side at the World Cup - yet Slovakia ended up with Paraguay.

"The boys are back in town"

[sme.sk]

Verdikt [Verdict]

Vladimír Weiss is currently trying to arrange some friendlies and is more than keen on playing another South American side - Uruguay. One dose of South American fútbol, did, in his words, give him and his team a "a lot". It was a wake up call - was it enough? If Slovakia was to play Paraguay, a team that beat Argentina, Brazil and Chile, tomorrow, I would put my money on the Guaraníes. With over half a year left until the kick off of Slovakia's second game at the World Cup, there is still time to fix and improve bits and pieces - the overall effect, however, depends (among other things) on the friendlies that the Slovak Football Association manages to arrange. The word on the street is that Italy is interested in playing Uruguay on the same date too. Another option is playing Venezuela, but is that good enough? The importance of preparation cannot be underestimated. While discussing the draw in general and mentioning Group F in particular, BBC's Phil Minshulled listed Slovakia as one of the teams to reach the second round, saying that "Paraguay are probably favourites for 2nd place but I'll take Slovakia to surprise them". All I can say right now is - time will tell!

A View From Slovakia - Part 1 - New Zealand

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:19:00 +0000

After missing out on Group C and Group D, and with only three balls left in Haile Gebrselassie's pot, Slovakia ended up in Group F along with Italy, Paraguay and New Zealand.

"Ladies & gentlemen, now the moment you've all been waiting for..."

[YouTube screencap]

Many immediate reactions were rather positive - Vladimir Weiss (manager) and a number of his players used words like "good", "satisfied", and their various synonyms. What is probably even more surprising is the reaction of Slovak fans - according to a poll by a major Slovak daily, 66% out of nearly 7000 participants were "pleased" with the draw (and 31% did not care...). 52% respondents believe that Slovakia can make it beyond the group stages - with the major difference being that this particular poll comes from the Czech Republic.

"Smiley Faces"

[Weiss the manager in the middle & Laurinec the Slovak Football Association president on the right]

[YouTube screencap]

As things stand at this very moment, a major British bookmaker gives Slovakia a 6/4 chance to qualify [does not quite compare with Italy's 1/20 & is somewhat bleaker than that of Paraguay (1/2)]. A fifa.com Group F analysis managed to score three own goals by a) failing to list Marek Hamšík on its "players to watch" section [he deserves at least one full article, so wait for it...], b) mentioning Marek Mintál, who no longer plays for Slovakia and c) naming Robert Vitteck [sic] as a star and misspelling his surname [his chance conversion rate is close to the recently abolished Zimbabwean dollar and his surname is Vittek - no "c" there]. Beyond this inglorious hat-trick, it poses an interesting question - "Do Paraguay and Slovakia have what it takes to trouble Italy? And can New Zealand claim a first FIFA World Cup point?". Fancy a view from Slovakia?

"My futuristic linguistics turn fools into statistics"

[fifa.com]

Nový Zéland [New Zealand]

Slovakia's captain Marek Hamšík called New Zealand "the great unknown". When asked about Group F, All Whites coach Ricki Herbert claimed that "Slovakia and Paraguay are two new sides to us. They are two big obstacles but we go in with some confidence". With 18,000km/11,200m separating the two countries, the lack of information is somewhat understandable. Wait - what "lack of information"? Slovakia has an ace up in its sleeve - and an instant advantage.

"I don't share your greed, the only card I need is the Ace Of Spades"

[Ivan Hucko]

[denniksport.sk]

Ivan Hucko makes his living in a far away Middle Eastern kingdom of Bahrain - as its national football team's assistant coach. What team did Bahrain face in the WC play-offs? Following the World Cup draw, interviews with Hucko appeared in several Slovak dailies, and he does know the All Whites well enough... So what does he say?

"The team has 4-5 players, who are over 190 cm [6 ft 2 in], but not very agile. When inside the box, they rely on headers. Their players are strong and good when it comes to direct kicks and corners." He identifies Simon Elliot as the team's key player - "he might be 35 years old, but his role in the midfield cannot be overlooked".

Can Slovakia cope? Based on what Ivan Hucko says - ye-es.

"Simon says that your mind is requesting furliugh."
[Simon Elliot]

[daylife.com]

If New Zealand truly lacks agility, it should have difficulties with keeping up with the pace of Miroslav Stoch [Chelsea, on loan to FC Twente], Vladimír Weiss Jr. [Manchester City], Marek Hamšík [Napoli], Filip Hološko [Besiktas Istanbul] and Stanislav Šesták [VfL Bochum]. In case you are not familiar with any of these players [and I definitely do not expect you to be], dry your eyes - each one of them deserves a shorter or a longer article at some point in the nearer future.

When it comes to defending in general and headers in the box in particular, Slovakia should be careful. Slovakia conceded 10 goals in the qualifiers - more than Slovenia [4 goals - 2nd in the qualifying group], the Czech Republic [6 goals - 3rd] and Northern Ireland [9 goals - 4th]. More importantly [or embarrassingly], both first pick centre-halves, Martin Škrtel and Ján Ďurica, scored an own goal each - the former against the Czech Republic, the latter against Northern Ireland. These very own goals could have cost us the World Cup and conceding one in South Africa could be lethal. Both players are prone to mistakes - maybe understandably in Ďurica's case, since has made only three appearances for his club [Lokomotiv Moscow] over the past four months. On the other hand, goalkeeper Mucha has proven to be very reliable indeed and if he keeps his current form, he is guaranteed to catch 2-3 New Zealand's goals. Watch the Northern Ireland v. Slovakia video above to see what I mean - it has it all - speedy breaks, defensive mistake by Škrtel and Mucha's great save...

"I've got my kiwi symphony, yeah, yeah."
[New Zealand just qualified]

[soccerbyives.net]

And what is Hucko's conclusion? Can Slovakia beat New Zealand?

"Of course, but we cannot afford to underestimate them and cannot give them room to play their style of game. We have better players, but we must prove it on the pitch. It will be vital to focus and prepare well by analyzing the opponent and the different aspects of their game."

Any Kiwis out there? What say you?

Draw Reactions - Group F

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:40:00 +0000

	Vladimír Weiss (Slovakia manager) "I think this is a good group. There are some more difficult ones too, but it is important to keep our heads down and prepare well. Italy are the group's favorite, the other three teams will fight for the other spot. Towards the end of the draw I wished to get drawn into this particular group. All the teams in it are tough, but our team is decent enough to face them as equals. Even the order of play is good - we start with New Zealand, then play Paraguay and face Italy towards the end. We have to respect every opponent, play with modesty, but also with a sufficient amount of self-belief."
	Marek Hamšík (midfield/attack/captain - SSC Napoli) "I am satisfied with the draw and the order of play. We are starting with New Zealand - a great unknown, but we should beat them. Paraguay's style of play is similar to that of Chile - we played them in November and it is good that we had a chance to play against a South American opponent. The Italians are favorites of the group. Since I play in Italy, I will have the advantage of knowing every single player of the Squadra Azzurra. I saw the draw on TV, it was a big occasion here in Italy. After seeing the first three groups, I was hoping for the one with Italy, Paraguay and New Zealand. And it worked!"
	Stanislav Šesták (midfield/attack - VfL Bochum) "I got to see the draw from the moment our country got picked. With regard to our opponents, I think we can be satisfied. Of course, Italy is the group's favorite - after all, they were a seeded team. In my opinion, the Italians are beatable - if we do our best. They made it to South Africa after the very last match - had they not scored, they would go into play-offs. We will try to beat them. We should be pleased that we are playing against another European team. I have also seen New Zealand in action, but Paraguay remains a mystery."
	Róbert Vittek (forward - OSC Lille) "Definitely one of the more acceptable groups. Italy is the clear favorite, Paraguay is a formidable opponent too. I am convinced that if we retain our luck, we will succeed, although all games will definitely be challenging. I am satisfied with the draw, it is a group, in which we can play our game."
	Ľubomír Moravčík (Celtic legend - now retired) "We should be very pleased as we got a good group. Of course, Italy is the favorite, but it is good to have New Zealand there as well. We should beat them and the Paraguay match should be the decider. Therefore I am very pleased that we got into such a group. The chance to advance is very high indeed, but let's not get complacent. We have to get ready for every single opponent and we cannot afford to underestimate even New Zealand."
	Marcello Lippi (Italy manager) "Paraguay have been at the top of their qualification zone for the last two years, they are adversaries. Slovakia have also done very well, they have knocked out some big sides. Every opponent is formidable, if we give a little look towards the last 16 and the quarter-finals. We aren't satisfied or disappointed."

Ricki Herbert

(New Zealand manager)

"We're pleased. You always go into it (the draw) a little bit tentative on who you might get. Italy is obviously a huge one but great to get. But the other two we've got to back ourselves (against) ... will be tough. That will obviously be the hardest thing for us but we can do our homework now. (They are) two sides that the country hasn't experienced before and I think that's important too. The planning and preparation really needs to start now against them."

Gerardo Martino
(Paraguay manager)

"Italy have some of the best players in the world ... they are a very good team, they are the world champions. We need to be at our very best when we face them. A good result against Italy in the first game is the most important for us. If we can do that, that will be a great start for us. Playing Italy will be a great experience for our younger players and in the World Cup anything can happen. We don’t know too much about Slovakia and New Zealand but we have time to learn and study.

Draw Hopes & Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (LG) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:02:00 +0000

	Vladimír Weiss (manager) 1. South Africa "Playing against South Africa in the opening game at a stadium filled with 90,000 spectators would be magnificent. The whole world would see us." 2. X 3. X "I do not want to speculate about our opponents. I will wait for the outcome of the draw." Many players (e.g. Skrtel, Vittek) share his attitude and declined to comment, claiming that "every opponent is hard."
	Ján Mucha (keeper - Legia Warsaw) 1. South Africa 2. New Zealand 3. Ivory Coast/Honduras
	Peter Pekarík (right back - VfL Wolfsburg) 1. Germany 2. Honduras/North Korea 3. Algeria
	Marek Hamšík (midfield/captain - SSC Napoli) "Group of dreams": 1. Brazil (South Africa) 2. New Zealand 3. Algeria "Group of death": 1. Brazil 2. Mexico 3. Ivory Coast
	Stanislav Šesták (midfield/attack - VfL Bochum) "Group of dreams": 1. Brazil (South Africa) 2. New Zealand 3. Algeria "Group of death": 1. Spain 2. USA 3. Chile
	Ľubomír Moravčík (Celtic legend - now retired) "Group of dreams": 1. South Africa 2. New Zealand 3. Algeria "Group of death": 1. Brazil 2. USA/Mexico 3. Ghana/Uruguay "With a bit of luck we can exceed our fans' expectations."
	Slovak fans (according to pravda.sk poll) "Group of dreams": 1. South Africa (Brazil) 2. New Zealand (North Korea) 3. Algeria (Ivory Coast) "Group of death": 1. Spain 2. South Korea 3. Chile