UEFA Champions League

The Dutch colossus will appear in the capital for the first time since August 2007. At that time, they surprisingly lost 1:2 in Strahov, which sent Slavia forward who were waiting to never into the Champions League.

At that time, the almost thirty-seven-year-old Vaniak was working his magic in her gate, which reported after an unforgettable evening: “When I sit in a rocking chair as a pensioner, I will play the tape and tell him. a story for my grandchildren.”

He is not sitting in the rocking chair. Cassettes don’t cry. And the grandchildren? “I’m not yet. The daughter is not thinking about them yet and the son is studying,” he laughed.

But a trip to Ajax is more than a good time to remember, which is, of course, extinguished by the burden that is present. The legend of Slavia trains goalkeepers in the second league Opava, which was flooded with heavy rain in September. “It’s like after the war here,” says Vaniak.

We arrived at the stadium the day after the rain subsided. And misfortune breathes on you, their houses had a meter and a half of water. The windows are open, it is ventilated. There are washers, dryers, beds, wardrobes and other rubbish on the street. It is like barricades and it is not pleasant to sympathize with the feelings of the residents. In comparison, cleaning a heated stadium is still a pain in the ass.

Is it hard to focus on football?

At times like this, fun falls by the wayside. But I’m glad we put our hands to work after training. The entire production team, players and other volunteers were cleaning up debris, mess and mud, and that was the hardest part. After the training sessions, we pumped rubber boots and worked.

Did you think you wouldn’t be involved in cleaning?

Not at all. Together we decided to help. The youth section was also involved, as well as injured boys from the team A such as Jirka Janoščin, Adam Rychlý or Adam Blecha, who worked at the stadium for ten hours instead of training. It is our home and the club that sustains us. We play for him and we want football to return there as soon as possible.

I really liked it. Sometimes we train on artificial grass. We are grateful that the surrounding clubs allowed us to train with them. Kozmice, Kobeřice or Dolní Benešov, which also provided us with facilities from Monday to Friday. We will play home games again in Hlučín. It is complicated to distribute and organize.

Can anyone watch the football events around?

But then again, yes. You watch football on TV. You come home and you don’t think about the flood. And you know what’s interesting? It is also special in Opava itself.

It looks like a war zone, but you can walk a few hundred meters to the center of the city, where nothing happened. People go to pubs, the weather was beautiful last week. At the same time, a disaster and two-meter water was not far away. It is unreal.

We talked a little about football. Are you looking forward to the Ajax game in Prague?

I’ll be commenting on the match for live TV in Eden at the stadium. They called me to ask if I would come. On Wednesday we will have a tour in Olomouc with Opava. Training after the game on Thursday, then I get in the car and drive to Prague. I will comment, return to Olomouc, sleep and train again on Friday.

Busy days; and maybe I understand them. The double header with Ajax made you famous, didn’t it?

For sure. You know very well which teams I caught. I haven’t seen it before and Prague can make you rich and famous. At that time, Slavia was being reborn, a new team was being put together. Slowly we all met together before the first round in Jablonec. The team was sitting on the run. And if we don’t succeed in Europe, that could move again with the budget.

It didn’t happen. You almost eliminated Žilina in the preliminary round. And after her came Ajax.

The game was widely watched. It was well known which players were kicking there. No one from the Czech Republic expected us to go through. I’m not saying that the Dutch underestimated us, but thanks to that we had peace and also a clique.

A stadium for 50,000 spectators, a retractable roof, a modern Ajax pitch and big names on the list. Didn’t you out yourself?

I was lucky enough to catch a few cup matches in Olomouc. We just kept catching the Spanish manchaftas, we ran without the ball and we got kicked out. I had some experience, but I was also old enough that I had nothing to lose. I came to Slavia more as a substitute.

Huntelaar or Suárez played for Ajax. They were still young men with great careers ahead of them. Jaap Stam was there too, but otherwise Ajax was built on younger players, who he sold on.

You won 1-0 in Amsterdam because you took a penalty from one of them. Did you load Huntelaar?

Nothing like that, pure instinct.

Almost unbelievable today.

Our sport is getting closer to American football. Each opponent’s player will be checked for you. This is how it works in the top teams. At least seven people only care about videos or analysis. It is a movement, everything is dissected in detail, because there is a lot of money involved.

You didn’t even check the scorer for the rematch with Ajax? Burning has not been prohibited.

Not at all! We were worried about being able to handle the game in Kladno. We came back from Holland and the league was settled. We knew Ajax had the strength and the underdog role helped us.

True, a 2:1 win, euphoria, historic progress.

Slavia had already entered the Champions League in the past, but we succeeded. He arrived full Strahov, beautiful.

This was not common in the league.

Jesus Christ! The league was scary because two thousand people went. And I really appreciated them for coming to us at all. After all, you could hardly see the field because of the athletic track. He was a refugee with a small cabin, but it had a special charm.

No comparison to today’s Eden?

He showed us up, the stand is still beautiful. I had the chance to visit him during the Champions League summer qualifier against Lille. The atmosphere was amazing. As a player, I only experienced a sell-out Eden once against Aston Villa, otherwise 15,000 people attended. I envy the players of today that they play in front of full stadiums all the time.

Did you expect such a boost from Slavia? He brings in expensive signings, kicks the Europa League, and is indeed seen as a failure.

I could see how she changed after I left. The club was in dire straits, but after Mr. Šimáně came, there was a recovery. Mr Tvrdík became involved in the running of the club, which brought in a major sponsor from China. And great football began to happen. It was essential that the coaching group be involved in coach Trpišovský.

After your career in Slavia, you coached goalkeepers for a few seasons. In 2014, you left with the words: I will return one day. Does it apply?

I can try, but my own life journey is behind me. I don’t need to rush to Slavia because the implementation team is well coordinated and understands each other. I have no reason to worry. I am happy in Opava if the unfortunate floods pass. I am grateful that the club came to me and I enjoy the work. I believe we could succeed with Opava. I want to leave something behind and after a certain time go on to a league where we would not be just in numbers.

Before joining Opava, you worked on construction sites in Switzerland for a few years. Why did you leave the football environment?

It was about the negative atmosphere in Czech football, the management of the society, the passions and the issues that came up. It bothered me that the football was not clean. The media was also negative about it, which I’m not saying wasn’t justified. People had a hard time finding their way to the stadium. I am glad there is a turning point.

Does your return mean that football has been cleaned up in your opinion?

I believe so. On the other hand, something can always happen because football is a living organism. But I don’t think it will be as terrible as it was before. We can get involved with our referees, but they are under a lot of scrutiny now and I don’t think they are deliberately refereeing games in a biased way. Instead, I see behind the mistakes that they are just people. Another thing worries me more.

Reactions of players who tend to be aggressive. The behavior of the implementation teams at big games also worries me. Big teams like Sparta, Slavia or Pilsen should cultivate our football. I know coaches are under a lot of pressure, but they have to hold their own and stay on top of things. I will be happy if the derby does not turn into an unnecessary war. It’s tough, but you don’t want young guys looking at their role models and imitating them when they’re fighting.

Overall, however, we can see that Czech league football has come a long way. It is amazing to be able to compete against opponents with big budgets and options in cup games. And we can beat them, and even dominate games. I believe this will be confirmed by Slavia’s match with Ajax.