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He is the first Slovak to change one big club for another. He will join the company of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé or Neymar. Is Milan Škriniar unique?
The closest was Hamšík, the transfer was blocked by the president
All of Europe is talking about the transfer of the native of Žiar nad Hron from Inter Milan to Paris Saint-Germain. The world’s largest media are competing to bring more detailed and exclusive information. It was similar only in the case of Marek Hamšík. However, his then Napoli does not belong to the most prominent company of European giants, and moreover the transfer to Juventus failed.
“It was before the European Championship 2016. One ‘yes’ from the president of Naples, Aurelio De Laurentiis, was enough. He said it too, but then he became silent and Juventus officials could not reach him. Finally, for three days he thought about why not to let Marek go. He called himself ‘Marek’s second father’, he said he could not give him up. Despite the fact that he promised it to Marek and Juventus officials,” he revealed to SPORT.sk Marek Hamšík’s father, Richard.
Big clubs fought for Škriniar, he represents modernity
From a historical point of view, PSG is also not one of the giants. Over the next decade, however, thanks to petrodollars from Qatar, it grew to gigantic proportions. According to the bookmakers, Manchester City is one of the biggest favorites for the overall triumph in this year’s Champions League. And that doesn’t have Škriniar yet.
Several Slovaks have already worked in the most prominent group of European big clubs – Peter Dubovský (Real Madrid), Juraj Kucka (AC Milan), Martin Dúbravka (Manchester United) and Vratislav Greško (Inter Milan). However, only Martin Škrtel made a significant impact – eight and a half years at FC Liverpool.
What makes Škriniar special? He has been playing regularly for Inter Milan for the sixth season, after all, he is wearing the captain’s armband, and even before signing with PSG, FC Barcelona and the English giants were also interested in him.
“He solves defensive tasks constructively and is also interesting going forward. It represents the modern trend, when even central defenders have to be involved in the construction of the play. With his autumn performances against Liverpool and Juventus, he showed that PSG’s offer of 60 million was justified. It wasn’t rumours, it’s his real football value,” he told pro SPORT.sk football expert Ladislav Borbély.
Do Škriniar and Lobotka have successors?
Apart from Škriniar, only one Slovak regularly plays for a leading European club – Stanislav Lobotka in Napoli. According to Borbély, will there be more? “Currently, I don’t see anyone with a similar aspiration. Tomáš Suslov offered brilliant things in some matches, but he has to show it permanently and in a better club than Groningen. If Dávid Hancko can whip himself to even better performances, Feyenoord can be a springboard for him. Otherwise, we don’t have anyone like that at the moment.”
In recent years, several young Slovaks have entered the prestigious competition with the label “great talent” – Ondrej Duda, László Bénes and David Strelec. However, at least so far they have not reached the heights that many predicted for them.
It’s good to read about talents, but…
“They can promote you in the media, but the reality is another matter. Only working in a quality club in a quality competition will evaluate what you are capable of. One is how you operate in Slovakia, the other is how you cope with competition abroad.
Football is a marathon. It is not enough to be the first at the 20th kilometer, it breaks down to 35-40. kilometers. How many times will I read what a super talent we have. It reads well, but the market will always show,” he tells pro SPORT.sk former Inter Milan or Bayer Leverkusen player Vratislav Greško.
He also points to the examples of the two most successful Slovak footballers at the moment: “Who would have thought after Škriniar’s arrival in Sampdoria, when he was not training with the team, but kicking himself behind the goal, that in a few years big clubs would want him?
With Lobotka, after the transfer to Napoli, it also looked like it was going anywhere. Fortunately, coach Luciano Spalletti came, who loves Slovak players and our school. I know this because he wanted me in AS Roma, but Blackburn wouldn’t let me go.”
Greško: Skriniar? I also saw more potential
Greško did not dare to predict which of the younger ones could reach the level of Škriniar. However, he says that several of his generation had the prerequisites to work in big European clubs.
“I even saw more potential than Škriniar and Lobotek. Szilárd Németh was an exceptional player. Robo Vittek and Marek Mintál were also excellent. They had what it takes to achieve more. They were just unlucky with injuries. It’s thin ice. Often one wrong decision can ruin everything.”
When Németh left Inter Bratislava, Inter Milan was also reportedly interested. Finally, he transferred to the English Middlesbrough, in four and a half years he scored 23 goals in the Premier League. In 2006, his transfer to French Strasbourg did not work out, he finished his career in Aachen, Germany.
Borbély: Mintál, Németh, Vittek one shelf below
“I don’t agree,” Borbély said to SPORT.sk even while asking the question: “‘Szili’ was a speed type, he knew how to score a goal. But nowhere abroad could he fulfill it to the extent that we could seriously place him at the level of the strong four of Škrtel, Hamšík, Škriniar and Lobotka.
Marek Mintál was an underappreciated player in his own way. He had fantastic stuff that I always rated highly. He left Žilina for Nuremberg and was immediately the top scorer of the second and a year later the first Bundesliga, it was a fantastic surprise. But I wouldn’t put him at the level of the named four. With Szili and Rob Vittek, I’d put them one shelf down.”
