National football player Tomáš Holeš had to deal with the fact that the chance on the field did not come right away in all his matches. You waited for her, you fought for her. The twenty-nine-year-old midfielder also talks about this in the podcast, which is preparing the project Without Phrases in cooperation with Aktuálně.cz. Another topic is Holeš’s belief that a special energy helps him in the game.
The most famous goals of his career were scored by Tomáš Holeš against Arsenal and the Netherlands at the Euros. | Video: No Phrases
Tomáš Holeš already openly admitted in his text story on the Bez frazí pages that he is a believer – an evangelical by profession – and he is not ashamed of it. On the contrary, at some moments on the field, he feels as if, thanks to his faith, some kind of force is guiding him from above and directing his steps.
“It doesn’t happen that often. Rather, in moments that others would call lucky, I think someone is helping me on the field,” he says in the podcast.
“Like in the match with Raków, when I wanted to cross, but I missed it and the ball fell into the goal. I believe that someone led it there,” the Slavia footballer recalls the lucky hit in the preliminary round of the European Conference League.
The guardian angels, into whom Holeš embodies a special energy, stood by him even in the two most famous moments of his career so far. Last year in the first quarter-final of the Europa League at the Arsenal Stadium, when he equalized at 1-1 at the end, when he moved at the back post at a corner, which is not his usual place.
And then in the round of 16 of last year’s Euro against the Netherlands, when Holeš was the main architect of the Czech victory 2:0. He scored the first goal, setting up the second for Patrik Schick.
“They also helped me with that. I wanted to get a touch in the goal, I wanted to go alone and shoot. But I got a bad touch, I was driven to the side and I had to look for someone to pass to. to be, it happened on purpose,” smiles the native of Vysočina.
He went to church mainly in his youth, he doesn’t visit it often in Prague anymore. “We have matches on Sundays, there is not much time,” admits Holeš. “But when I go there, I listen to nice words, I take something away. It gives me peace and a special joy. It has energy, then I feel good,” he adds.
He started playing football in Polička, from where he moved to Hradec Králové. There he started working with a mental coach and found his own way to approach football matches.
He used to follow his dad’s advice not to mess anything up on the field. “Dad meant well, but it doesn’t work that way at the highest level. I’ve mentally overcome this thing. The main thing is to be confident in yourself, not to doubt,” Holeš points out.
Before the start of the match, he is also helped by breathing exercises or visualization, when he imagines certain match situations and their solutions in his head.
He threw aside the comments of the youth coaches to get under the opponents’ skin more on the field, to literally be a bigger z**d. “That’s not me, I need peace and focus on myself. It also comes from the way I am in life, I would never steal anything or lie to anyone,” he says.
After years in Hradec, where the team struggled on the edge of the first and second leagues, in 2018 he transferred to Jablonec. And a successful season moved him to the chance of a lifetime with the staples. At all addresses, however, he had to fight hard for his place at first, which he also describes in the podcast.
When asked about a possible engagement in one of the best European leagues, Holeš hesitates a bit. “After last year’s Euro, I thought it would be beautiful, but nothing came of it and I’m 29 years old. Now I don’t expect it so much, it’s probably too late. It’s more of a big dream than a goal,” he says soberly.
He is happy at Slavia, has a signed long-term contract until 2026 and enjoys the annual title fight and matches in Europe. He is currently preparing with the team for Thursday’s match in the European Conference League against the unknown Kosovar team FC Ballkani.
In the podcast, he talks, for example, about the opponents in the European Conference League group, why he would be attracted to Jakarta, following the example of his former teammates, or why Pilsen can keep up with the more mobile “S” from Prague.
