BRATISLAVA – Slovak national football โคteam coach Francesco Calzona revealedโ Thursday that defender โDavid Hancko mayโข be unable to join the team due to the impending birth of his child.Hancko informed calzona of the situation via โmessage Wednesday evening,leaving theโ coach struggling โขto articulate a response.The situation โคpresents a challenge โฃfor Calzona โฃas he prepares for upcoming matches, but he emphasized prioritizing family needs. This advancement underscores theโค personal considerations often faced byโ athletes at the highest levelโข and โคhighlights the delicate balance between professional commitments and personal life. The team is hoping to find a way for Hanckoโค to join,โ even if only โfor the matches themselves.
“David sent me a message last night, he had aโค pregnant wife. He toldโ meโข he wanted toโฃ be close to her now as they hadโข a date of birth.โ I calledโ him backโฃ and he confirmed the words he wrote,” Calzona stated โคat a press conference.
calzona further โexplained, “He toldโค me about this situation after โฃLuxembourg. I said the familyโ comes first, but we want to โfind some way โฃtoโข attend this suddenly. โWe want to do thisโค to come to the matches at least.”
Drawingโ on personal experience, the 56-year-old Italian coach โคshared, “In 2018โฃ my daughter was born after a tough course, I worked in Naples at that โขtime. On Sunday afternoon I came to them and was โborn โon Monday evening. I knew they where fine that they were โfine. Then โI returned to work because itโ should be.”
Calzona concluded, “Everyone is thinking with hisโ head, so, of course, I don’t โwant to judge David.โ We have already missed some players in theโข past,โ I am happy to โtrain such a group. โIโ still say that everyone is replaceable fromโฃ the first player to the coach.”