UEFA European Conference League

Slovan Bratislava had to submit the roster for the spring part of the Conference League by midnight from February 2nd to 3rd. How did you manage during the winter transfer period and how did you fulfill the plans you set out?

“It needs to be revived a bit. We have to bring at least three players into the competition. Three, four, five players will definitely leave the team. I believe that we will get stronger. So that we are ready for summer. Not for us to chase players in the summer,” wished coach Vladimír Weiss senior. after the last match of the autumn part.

He is not going to settle. Slovan Bratislava coach Vladimír Weiss senior. talked about the changes in the team a few minutes after the end of the successful autumn.

The coach’s request was justified. The start of the season is the most important for Slovan, they need a complete and well-matched squad already for the preliminary round of the European Cups. More than once, he glued the line-up on the fly, and the players were just getting to know each other in the preliminary rounds or were not physically ready.

Contrary to Weiss’s statement, General Director Ivan Kmotrík Jr. said: “I certainly do not anticipate drastic changes during the winter transfer period. After that, there will be enough time to prepare for what we will demand from the team in the next season.”

Weiss also drew attention to the high average age of the staff. “I believe that we will also rejuvenate the team. We have an experienced team and no one will play until they are 100 years old,” he said after advancing from the Conference League group.

How did it all turn out?

Slovan roster for the Conference League Goalkeepers: Milan Borjan, Adam Hrdina*, Adrián Malovec, Martin Trnovský

Defenders: Kenan Bajrič, César Blackman, Guram Kašia, Richard Križan, Lukáš Pauschek, Spyros Risvanis, Matúš Vojtko, Kevin Wimmer

Midfielders: Uche Agbo, Tigran Barseghjan, Samuel Habodasz, Džaba Kankava, Juraj Kucka, Filip Lichy, Martin Mišovič*, Kyriakos Savvidis, Marko Tolič, Vladimír Weiss Jr., Jaromír Zmrhal

Forwards: Rudolf Božík*, Nino Marcelli*, Gerson Rodrigues, David Strelec, Sharani Zuberu
* – B-list

Changes in Slovan during the winter Arrivals: Spyros Risvanis (free agent), Gerson Rodrigues (guest.)
Left: Aleksandar Čavrič (guest.), Lucas Lovat (Akhmat Groznyj), Malik Abubakari (end guest.)

VIDEO: Watch what Kmotrík said about the changes in the squad after promotion from the Conference League group:

Instead of strengthening, weakening

The Slav weakened during the winter. The loss of top scorer Aleksandar Čavrič is especially noticeable. He is to be replaced by the Luxembourg striker Gerson Rodrigues from Dynamo Kyiv, who spent the autumn in Sivasspor. Typologically, he is a different player than Čavrič. In previous clubs, he started on the wing rather than at the point of attack.

Čavrič scored 24 goals in all competitions last year. Rodrigues’ maximum is 13 hits from the 2016/17 season, when he worked for Luxembourg’s Fola Esch. It was the only time he surpassed the double-digit mark for accurate hits in one year.

In the last two and a half years, he played in five clubs, scoring only eight goals. He excels in speed, technique and dribbling, he lacks the final product in the form of scoring goals. In the autumn in Sivasspor, he did not play much, it is questionable when he will get into ideal form.

“Gerson is here for a short time and is unprepared because he did not train with us. We have a short time for everything and we will try to make miracles,” said Weiss’ assistant coach Boris Kitka: “Typologically, he is a completely different player than Čavrič. In the Luxembourg national team, he had a lot of freedom in the offensive. We will need him especially in the ‘nine’ position.”

The exclamation point is Rodrigues’ label of a problem player. It will be a challenge for coach Weiss to manage him and get the potential out of him, which he indicated in the recent national team matches against Slovakia.

“We will concentrate on how he will behave with us. If we manage it here, everything from the past will be forgotten. If we can’t handle something, we will deal with it internally,” said Kitka.

Although with a delay, Slovan Bratislava brought a replacement for Aleksandar Čavrič.

Attacker Malik Abubakari ended his stay at Tehelno polí and returned to Malmö. Slovan did not reach an agreement with Banská Bystrica on the arrival of the national team striker Róbert Polievka. Who will be in charge of scoring goals? Rodrigues, Sagittarius or someone else?

The departure of the Brazilian left back Lucas Lovat is also a noticeable loss. He was important mainly because of his contribution to the offensive. Thanks to his excellent left hand, he addressed the center of the goal, and played standard situations. There was no replacement for him, Jaromír Zmrhal and Matúš Vojtko will fight for a place on the left wing. Coach Weiss even tested Sharani Zuberu here in the first preparatory duel.

The situation surrounding the Ghanaian speedster is interesting. He was in Slovan on loan from FC Dreams until December 31, 2023 with an option for a permanent transfer. Belasí did not inform that they would apply it or extend the loan.

According to Futbalnet, the database of the Slovak Football Association, it currently belongs to the Ghanaian FC Dreams. However, he played in the preparatory meetings before the spring part and is also on the roster for the Conference League.

Richard Križan and Uche Agbo are also on it. Coach Weiss told them at the end of autumn: “Križan has a torn cruciate ligament, he will be out of the roster for six months and his contract expires in the summer, so he is the second one (to whom we will say goodbye). Agbo is probably going to leave, he is also out of contract in the summer and we will try to find a solution for him.”

The squad was expanded by the 30-year-old Greek stopper Spyros Risvanis. He came for free as a free agent, he didn’t even play in Dunajská Streda in the fall. He signed until the end of the season with an option for two more years. He was injured immediately after arriving.

Slovan Bratislava tried to get the hussars a bit in the transfer market, but failed. According to experts, it was a naive attempt.

Instead of getting younger, the cadre is getting older

The average age of the staff in January, despite the announced rejuvenation, still rose. And not just in 31 days. Čavrič (29 years old), Lovat (27), Abubakari (23) left. Risvanis (30) and Rodrigues (28) arrived.

The average age of 28.1 years is the highest not only in the Nike League, but also among all participants in the group stage of the Conference League. Slav pushes the problem away, and the later the rejuvenation comes, the more painful it will be.

The best scorer and also the most expensive player left Slovan Bratislava. Srdciar, without whom coach Vladimír Weiss sr. he could not introduce the team. What now?

Slovan pushes the problem aside

Slovan currently has a 24-member squad. Up to ten players are in their thirties, many of them seniors – Kankava (37 years old), Kucka, Kašia, Borjan (36), Weiss Jr. (34), Wimmer, Pauschek (31 each), Barsejgan, Zmrhal, Risvanis (30 each).

Only nine players have a contract for the following season, Rodrigues only until the end of the calendar year. For others, their contracts or loan spells end in the summer. Among them, all players are over thirty, with the exception of Wimmer. David Strelac and Marko Tolič’s loan spells end in the summer.

Slovan chooses a hard-to-sustain staff building strategy. It currently does not have a single monetizable player. In the future, the 18-year-old talent Nino Marcelli may be, but he still has a long way to go.

The general before the spring part of the season, a different opponent than was originally agreed, the new successor of Aleksandar Čavrič with a controversial reputation, dissatisfaction with the staff and a heavy heart for Slavia Prague. After Saturday’s match with NK Bravo, ŠK Slovan Bratislava assistant coach Boris Kitka spoke.

Weiss’s Assistant: We’re not happy

Weiss’ assistant coach Boris Kitka mostly chooses diplomatic answers. However, after Saturday’s game against NK Bravo, he did not hide that the coaching staff had different expectations from the winter transfer window.

“It’s one thing to add to the squad and another to put it together. I’m going to be honest and not tell you any nonsense here. We are certainly not satisfied. I’d be lying if I said otherwise. You could turn off the microphones here. Let’s talk about expectations that were high. It is possible that we can still achieve something, but we certainly imagined more.

I believe that Vlado (Weiss senior) will sit down with the management and the owner and we will find the best solution. It is difficult to play three competitions. It’s probably stupid if we stand here in front of you and lie to you, also the people who support this club, that we don’t need better players. We have to be self-critical and to ourselves, because not all transfers have worked out for us,” he said.

Head coach Vladimír Weiss last communicated publicly on January 10. His words showed that at that time he also expected something else from the following days and weeks in the transfer market. To date, Slovan has not organized or announced a press conference before the spring part, so the experienced helmsman will probably summarize the winter transfer period only after the opening round of the spring part. Slovan plays on Friday from 17.30 in Žilina.

2024-02-07 14:45:00
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The best scorer and also the most expensive player left Slovan Bratislava. Srdciar, without whom coach Vladimír Weiss sr. he could not introduce the team. What now?

Serbian footballer Aleksandar Čavrič left Slovan Bratislava and transferred to the Japanese club Kashima Antlers. The club reported about it on its website.

Coach Weiss knows how to flowerily criticize his players, but he also knows how to praise them. He had nothing to criticize Aleksandar Čavrič, especially in the last two years.

If he played in France, he would cost 50 million

“He is experiencing probably the most beautiful period, he has not scored so many goals in his life. These are decisive goals against difficult opponents. He is dominant, our best scorer. His speed is admirable. I have not coached such a fast player, and perhaps I have not even seen live the acceleration that Čavrič has.

A football player should look like him. Tall, fast, has a beautiful figure, developed muscles. It’s innate to him, and he also likes football and this club,” Weiss gushed in November.

It was after the match in which the 29-year-old Serbian striker had arranged a draw with French side Lille: “Their players cost 20, 30, 50 million. But if Čavrič played in the French league today, he would have the same price, because he matches them.” With an estimated value of two million euros, he was Slovan’s most expensive player.

Slovan would not be where it is without Čavrič

Čavrič was on the verge of leaving the club several times. Last summer to Rubin Kazan, the year before to Legia Warsaw. Once he bought a plane ticket, the second time he even handed over an apartment in Bratislava. He never pushed for a transfer, he wanted the offer to be advantageous for Slovan as well.

He came to Bratislava in the summer of 2016 for a year or two, and finally stayed for seven and a half. He fell in love with the city and wants to live here with his family even after his career. He is waiting for Slovak citizenship, he would like to represent. Coach Francesco Calzona is also counting on him. It is questionable how Čavrič’s departure to Japan will change his view.

Last season he scored 24 goals for Slovan in all competitions, now he had 14 after the fall. He significantly contributed to two advancements to the knockout stage of the Conference League. “Without Čavrič, we would not be where we are today. Neither in Europe nor in the league. At the moment, I can’t imagine the team without him. He puts his heart into the game and has great quality,” Weiss praised him.

Čavrič had a promise from the club that he could leave in case of a meaningful offer for all parties. At the same time, he received a draft of an improved contract to remain at Tehelno polí. The call for a new adventure grew stronger.

One of the key players of the Slovak champion SK Slovan Bratislava is leaving.

If Čavrič leaves, there will be a new player the next day

CEO of Slovan Ivan Kmotrík Jr. already on January 10, he claimed that the club is ready for the eventual departure of Čavrič and has negotiated an adequate replacement. Coach Weiss also relies on it: “We have three players selected for Čavrič’s position. If he leaves, the next day there will be a new player. So we have it ready.”

Neither of them specified who it was. Godfather Jr. he just ruled out that the representative striker of Banská Bystrica, Róbert Polievka, should have been the replacement for Čavrič.

Behind the scenes, there have been whispers in recent weeks about the arrival of the Luxembourg international Gerson Rodrigues from Dynamo Kyiv, who is currently visiting Sivasspor. However, the transfer allegedly failed due to the fact that Slovan played a friendly match with Dinamo Moscow. As is known, Ukraine has been facing a military invasion by Russia for almost two years.

2024-01-29 13:50:28
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