Scoring goal has always been my dream
You run across the whole pitch to take the ball for the penalty in the last minute of the game, what was Petar Musa’s reaction when giving you the ball?
“It was a great gesture from him to let me take the penalty. I asked him directly when I came to him and he gave me the ball right away. Of course, I am sorry for him, because I am sure that he will fight for the league top scorer as he did last season. I took the goal away from him and I appreciate what he did for me. It has always been my dream to score a goal. Radek Černý (former Slavia goalkeeper and current goalkeeper coach) always told me, that the only thing I couldn’t do was scoring a goal. And I did it now. I apologise to Petar and I apologise to Příbram if it raised some negative emotions.”
How did it come to you mind? Was it your idea or someone called you?
“I was talking to Nico Stanciu before the game. If there was a penalty and the game would be decided, I could take it. And when it came, I looked at the bench and everybody was shouting let’s go, run. So, I did not hesitate, and I run.”
Have you been nervous?
“I was. If I would not score, everybody would laugh at me. But I believed I would score. I took penalties during training, but of course, it’s something completely different in the game. I waited for the first move by the goalkeeper and I sent it in the opposite direction.”
Last year you made the league record in number of clean sheets in one season, overcoming Zdeněk Jánoš. But he scored three goals in his career. Is it another goal?
“I’ve heard about it. But no, it is not. I am glad I could score at least this one goal. And I want to apologise to Příbram players once again. It might not look good, but there is no disrespect in it. It has always been my dream to score a goal and the manager and my teammates just allow me to fulfil it.”
Back to usual goalkeeping, you have two clean sheets in two league games, how does such a start feel?
“It feels great. We work hard and we play well. I am glad we score a lot of goals too. Last season it was a problem sometimes to score, but now we have nine in just two games. And we have conceded none, it’s great.”
There is an international break ahead, how are you looking forward to being part of the Czech national team?
“I am looking forward to it, of course. It’s different from the club football. There will be a lot of lads from Slavia and it helps a lot. The team will be great, and I can’t wait.”