Did you confirm the good mood at the beginning of the season?
I think yes. It is difficult to win every game. I would say that this was the most challenging review for us so far, all things considered. On Thursday, we played a challenging match in the preliminary round of the Europa League, even according to the running data. Now it was played from three in such weather against an opponent who I think will be extremely strong. I am confident that he will play in the top five in the league. Even though we didn’t have as many chances as in other games, I think we gave the best performance. The boys did a great job defensively, they completely eliminated the opponent. We played maturely, sometimes we play up and down, now we played, I would say, safe the whole match. Over time, we increased the speed. Sometime from the 55th minute, when the match breaks down and fatigue sets in, we showed the best football. We gave a refined performance, although we expected more from some players. But that was also caused by the quality of the opponent.
Ondřej Lingr was not nominated for the match at all. Why?
On Saturday, during training, he complained a little about the pain in his thigh after the fight with Wallem. They were locked in a duel. Ondra felt it a little, the sono was clear, but he went for a resonance to be sure. We are waiting for the result. We didn’t want to risk anything more serious.
It was Conrad Wallem who left the game at the end of the first half. What happened to him?
He complained about a similar place as Ondra. He didn’t feel a twitch or a tear, but rather discomfort in that spot. He wanted to go down as a precaution. He will go for a resonance, then we will see.
🎙️ Coach Jindřich Trpišovský evaluated the win at Mladá Boleslav at a press conference.
According to the coach, it was the toughest test of the season so far, see how he answered questions about Tijani, the state of the injured and the ongoing replacement of the turf at Eden. 🌱
Follow the feedback 👇
— SK Slavia Prague (@slaviaofficial) August 13, 2023
Muhamed Tijani, who came onto the pitch at that moment, got involved in the scoring situation. How is his adaptation process going?
She is working on herself, getting used to the demands without the ball and the way of the game. He wants to fulfill it, but if he doesn’t know how to work with it, he’ll be exhausted in five minutes. It’s good that he wants to run, but it needs to be done efficiently. Not to destroy yourself in five minutes and get into oxygen debt. That’s what they learn. He gets used to the players around him and the style of play. I think this match was exactly for him. We got into a pressure game, we held the ball and especially from our left side we got into quality situations. We also bet on the fact that the opponent’s defenders have to focus on him in the penalty area. Other players then have more space. Muhamed is a good and ambitious boy. It’s like on a swing with him. Sometimes he has a day where he does everything great, other times it reflects on him. It’s about his confidence, but I think he can be very beneficial for us.
In the first half, you debated several times with Boleslav’s assistant coach Pavel Medýnský. What did you discuss?
(smile) The professional license we studied together. We even slept together in the room a few times. I treated him like a player, we even played against each other a few times at a lower level. We have known each other for a long time, we discussed common experiences from school.
Really? I assume you were discussing the judging of some tackles on the pitch. Did you find it inconsistent?
You always see the situations down there during the match somehow. My reaction was more of a yellow for Tomić. I would judge this situation as a foul, but considering how previous situations were judged, the yellow seemed strict to me. He played the ball, before there were other things like holding that the card would be more suitable for. I think he (referee Machálek) wanted to calm things down, because there were a lot of interventions. My reaction was that we had been fouled seven times before without a card, and our first tackle was right after the yellow. Medy and I explained it to each other, but in a good way.
Do you think it’s difficult for players to navigate the referee’s meter?
Players sometimes swim in it. Sometimes I’m terribly surprised that it’s a foul. Then again, there are moments when I think it’s a foul, and it’s not whistled. But I want to emphasize that the assessment is completely different than two or three years ago in favor of football. Even referees have to learn it. We are looking for consistency. Still, it’s better than intimidating players before. Players sometimes don’t quite know what and how it will happen. But I don’t want to criticize it, I myself fight the most for the highest possible clean time and for the players to be protected.
High attendance continues. What do you say to that?
It is brilliant. We must all appreciate that. It’s about the whole product, it’s the merit of many things. The facilities at the stadiums are improving, we are trying to attract people to football. Football as such also contributes, teams try to play offensively, many goals are scored. From what I see, it’s not a kung-fu league with a hundred and fifty fouls per game, twenty backhands and twenty-five collisions without the ball. Technical players, who are also more protected than before, are gaining ground. Clear time is increasing, the weather is good, the terrain is good. It’s a shame there aren’t more matches now. In December, January and February, visits will decrease, the terrain will be worse. In any case, it is the duty of all of us to make the match as attractive as possible.
When you mention terrains. What is the current state of Eden where the turf is changing?
At the moment there is a sand arena, the pitch is torn down and the ground is being prepared. The new lawn from Germany should be laid on Monday. It is reinforced with felt, it should be stronger and catch faster. But in this weather you never know what will happen. There are an awful lot of influences, it can steam, catch mold, there is a lot of water. Weather around twenty or twenty-five degrees would be ideal. If there is extreme heat, there is some risk. But the club invested in the most expensive version of the grass.