Bosnia and Herzegovina

When will the problem with the position of the national team striker be solved? So far, this question is also unanswered, even though Róbert Boženík indicated that he could offer a solution. Róbert Polievka also commented on the matter, who at the same time believes that Slovakia closed the mouths of critics with the conclusion of the qualification.

At the end of September 2022, he made his way into the Belarus net in the League of Nations Adam Zreľák. It was done last time in the qualification to David Strelacwhen in the fight for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar he scored a goal against Slovenia on November 11, 2021. In the remaining matches, the Slovak goal scorers were silent until November 19, 2023, when he scored a goal in Bosnia and Herzegovina Róbert Boženík.

This unpleasant statistic only underlines the continuous problem of Slovakia with the position of “nine”, in which since Adam Nemec and his predecessors as Robert Vittek (23 goals for Slovakia) or Solid Németh (22 goals) cannot find an adequate replacement.

Coach Ján Kozák st. he still worked with Adam Nemec, but Czech Pavel Hapal a Stefan Tarkovic they already had to look for a new proven gunner. Not one of them succeeded, and now the Italian continues this task Francesco Calzonawhich works with several variants – Adam Zreľák, David Strelac, Ľubomír Tupt a Roberts Soup a Boženík.

Róbert Boženík on the fence of the guest sector in Bosnia, source: TASR

It is not easy to cope with it, claims Boženík

The latter was the one who managed to end more than a year’s wait for the “falcons” for a goal from the attacker’s boot. Slovakia waited up to twelve matches before it happened. It didn’t come until the sixth national team meeting.

“I will also say for Rob Polievka, myself and therefore the attackers that we would like to score goals, of course, we are a little special in that we are a little selfish, but we would like to score those goals. We would like to be the ones who score those goals, but we do what the coach requires of us and for now it falls to other guys.” said Róbert Boženík even before the flight to Sarajevo.

He celebrated his 24th birthday on Saturday and is delighted to have received football’s big gift of qualifying for EURO 2024, albeit prematurely. He would also be pleased with a “birthday” goal. Róbert Boženík is struggling as a striker in the national team, but he is happy that the team is still able to win.

The wish of the protege of MŠK Žilina was, understandably, to break the wait for a goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica. It also happened when he equalized at 1:1 in the 52nd minute. He celebrated his sixth overall goal in the most valuable jersey so emotionally that he received a yellow card for it. “Yeah, I guess it was for throwing myself against the fence where our fans were,” he laughed after the match.

However, Boženík admitted that as an attacker, a large boulder fell not from his heart, but from his back. “It’s been a really long time without a goal, but I’m really grateful to the coaches for the trust they put in me, even when I wasn’t scoring,” he said after the match with Bosnia “It is not easy to deal with it. When you sometimes look back at that game and hear people make you feel like you didn’t score, like sometimes you don’t realize it’s really tough. We do everything we can to score those goals, and when we don’t, it’s not easy.”

The striker of the Slovak national football team, Róbert Boženík, managed to break his long wait for a national team goal and only by doing so confirmed the excellent end of the qualification battles for the promotion to EURO 2024.

“Especially on the mental side. But, either me or ‘Robi’ (Polievka), we are currently doing well in terms of goals in the clubs and we would like to score goals in the national team as well. I broke it, and I believe that soon Robi will finally break it too, and we will help the team not only with performances, but also with goals.” Boženík wished.

Róbert Polievka, Slovakia, source: TASR

We pretend not to admit it, but it affects everyone

One broke it, others are waiting. Róbert Polievka is also in line for a goal, who got into the action in nine games, played 443 minutes, but did not manage to open the net even once. He is still waiting for his first national team goal.

“We all pretend not to admit it, but it affects each of us in a way,” admits the 27-year-old native of Krupina, who is currently the best scorer in the Niké League with eight goals together with Dávid Ďuriš.

Our football representatives completed the qualification for EURO 2024 with a victory. In Zenica, they defeated the home team Bosnia and Herzegovina 2:1 and confirmed that they rightfully deserved the second place and promotion to the championship in Germany.

“The first thing is for the team to succeed and that is happening. Of course, we attackers also put more emphasis and pressure on ourselves, so we would definitely like to score goals, but I’m also happy that Robo (Boženík) broke it.” he admits.

“Indeed, he too waited a long time. I am only in the national team this year and I hope that I will be able to do it in the next one as well,” laughed Soup.

“I will definitely work to return to this team. The pressure is there, of course, each of the forwards wants to score goals and it’s not just about the national team. If we didn’t face pressure, maybe it would be more difficult, because then we wouldn’t put more demands on ourselves. I am happy about the great success of our team and I firmly believe that I will see those goals as well. Either from my side or from the other attackers,” you wished

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Slovakia. Source: TASR/AP

We also want a stone to fall from our heart like Boženík’s

Already from his statements and also from the words that came out of Boženík’s mouth, it is obvious that there is not only a healthy rivalry between the Slovak “hot guys”, but also cohesion and a strong team spirit. One wishes the other and vice versa.

The Slovaks managed to make it to EURO 2024 after a run that had an upward character towards the end of the qualification. Peter Pekarík also thinks so. The full-back revealed what a pair of his teammates from Hertha Berlin told him.

“We have known Rob for a long time, but it is not only about him, but also about David Strelac and the other attackers. The party shows up here every single day and suddenly. The same applies to me. I was very happy when Robo (Boženík) scored a goal and you could see his emotion.” the striker of Banská Bystrica’s Dukla is thinking.

“Each of us strikers would show a similar emotion to him. We definitely want to experience it too. As we wish for him, he also wishes for us. That’s what it’s all about. And when we wish each other like this, I believe that one day it will break and all attackers will experience the feeling of a stone falling from the heart. But primary is the team’s success and the goal we achieved. We are all grateful for that,” states.

Francesco Calzona. Source: TASR

New experiences thanks to Calzona and a response to critics

Matches at the representative level, when players can measure their strength against much better quality footballers than in the league, give individuals a lot of invaluable experience. Polievka also feels it, who also highlighted the work of Italian coach Francesco Calzona.

“It gave me a lot. In particular, he showed me the face of European football, since so far I have only worked in Slovakia. Football is played a little differently here. It also gave me a lot from a human point of view, because not only the coach but also this cabin taught me many things.” he praises himself.

“I’m taking a lot of experience from here to my career and I’m grateful to be here. I will draw from this in my next career and we will see where my steps will lead in the future.” he looked over the horizon.

He successfully completed the qualification for advancing to EURO 2024 when he enjoyed a narrow 2:1 victory in the farewell match on the soil of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the match, the coach of the Slovak national football team, Francesco Calzona, spoke to his critics for the last time.

Róbert Polievka also thinks that Slovakia made great progress under Calzon during the qualification. According to him, the “Falcons” shut the critics’ mouths thanks to their improved performances and the promotion to EURO 2024 in Germany.

“For the few matches in which I worked under him, the progress is huge. Even people who may not know much about football saw it. I am happy that we closed the mouths of critics and people who doubted the coach and us.” states Polievka.

“I believe that people will finally start appreciating the players who are active in the national team, because the quality here is huge and you will hear a lot, a lot more about these players. I believe that the people who criticized us will understand what Slovakia actually achieved and where it got to,” he added in conclusion.

Final whistle and it’s done. Successfully. The Slovak national football team completed another qualification cycle, which can be described as successful without the slightest doubt. Despite the still unceasing dissatisfaction. However, the fact is that the goal has been achieved.

2023-11-21 17:55:00
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