Get closer to the total football
4.1.2018, Redakce
PRAGUE/EDEN – There is a busy month and even busier last few days behind new Slavia first team coach Jindřich Trpišovský. In addition to that, his first training session in the new club has not met with a good weather – starting with storm, going on with hail and (finally) ending with a rainbow. But the team lasted till the very end. “The players are not made of sugar, they must stand a lot,” started Trpišovský after the opening training session of winter preparation.
Bad weather for the first training session, are you surprised?“Nothing much for the players, but we are used to even worse things from Liberec. Snow cats on the artificial grass, slalom among them during the training etc. One day before the start we decided to train on the natural grass because we are leaving for the training camp soon. But what came on the training day hasn’t been seen in Prague for a long time.”
Nevertheless, back to the team. Švento, Altintop and Rotaň are not with the squad anymore, why have you decided so?
“This idea was here even before my arrival and I agreed with it. The decision was quite quick.”
Is the current squad close to the ideal one in your opinion?
“Some names are on the paper now, but there is also big competition on some positions. We have four great strikers for example, even though their typology is different. On the other hand we haven’t so many players on the wings. But we want to get to know the team first and the way we want to play will be important too. Formation is just a detail then. We want to get closer to the total football with eleven players attacking and eleven players defending. This approach is important and we will see which formation will follow, whether 3-5-2, 4-4-2 or 4-1-4-1. New players must match particular positions or be extra talented. We have many players here so the newly arriving should be talents around 20 years old. Or players directly for the starting line-up, nothing in between.”
How hard it is to instil the players into this new approach?
“We need to handle this but there will be some labour pain of course. We have six weeks of preparation in front of us and two training camps, which is a big advantage. The best conditions have been set and we need to manage the task. There are experienced players in Slavia, members of national teams who have played the Europa League. They can play football and it is up to us to explain them the new approach.”
What do you want to focus on? What has not been working lately?
“Firstly, I don’t want to get back to the past things. It was other people’s job, which I kind of admire. I did not even have the opportunity to say Jaroslav Šilhavý has made perfect job here and won the title. We have lost here with Liberec in his first home game as Slavia manager. Many things have changed since, but during the year they won the title and qualified for the Europa League which has not been here for a long time. But now we want to play our football and work on it, train for it, communicate with the team. For us it is starting point and we need to continue. It is nothing older than yesterday’s win.”
What is the strategy towards new reinforcements? Is it rather about domestic players?
“Considering foreign players they should be ready for the starting eleven. We need to be sure they can start immediately. And that is also the reason why some players had to leave. Foreign player must be top-talented one, who comes and have some time to find his feet, or player who comes and plays. Foreigners must be the best players of the team. We are scouting Czech footballers playing here as well as abroad. According to my experience Czech league is a tough one and it is not easy to play here. And many foreign players have recognised that.”
What is the specifics of Czech league?
“A lot of running, a lot of fighting, physically hard, contact. The football here is different and we see it every year when we travel for training camps and play foreign teams. Foreign players need to adapt and it is important for us to find Czech players who have played here and foreign players who have played in top leagues. It is not necessary to bring new players but it depends on the overall setup.”
There have been rumours about the goalkeepers, what is your point of view?
“I have two goalkeeper coaches, which is kind of new for me. But goalkeepers are specific section, as well as left wings (smile). I leave goalkeepers for goalkeeper coaches and do not talk much into it. They know the style I want to play and they work with the goalkeepers according to it. In my previous teams we have had smaller players, now in Slavia there are bigger players and the goalkeepers need to fit to the style of play.”
So the goalkeeper question is open?
“We have three goalies now and the fourth one – young Jakub Markovič – travels with us for the training camp. These are the goalkeepers with contract and they continue.”
