You were out of action for half a year except for two autumn matches. How can a captain fulfill his role in such a period?
From the beginning it was clear that I would only be away for a short time, I was always with the team. As time went on, more time came out due to rounding up medical examinations. But I’ve always tried to live with the cabin, figure things out off the field. Over the past six months, we managed to improve our relations a lot. The role of captain is generally very new for me, I am gaining a lot of experience.
Who is your biggest partner when planning the mentioned events?
Overall, definitely Filip Panák, the creation of non-football activities also goes a long way to David Pavelka or Ondra Čelůstka. For example, Dominik Holec contributed a lot, so there are definitely more of us. I dare say that almost everyone feels a better atmosphere.
How many times have you been told that you are too young or too inexperienced to captain Sparta?
I have to admit that not even once. Maybe I just noticed it somewhere. I live in a certain circle of people who know me. If they thought something was weird, they would tell me.
Couldn’t there be some truth to that?
The situation is of course specific, that I have the function, when we have so many experienced players. But it is always important how the club sets the rules from the inside, not the reaction from the outside. I have already heard so many things about myself that this does not confuse and overwhelm my head too much.
What’s the sharpest thing you’ve heard?
There is an awful lot of it, from swearing to threats.
Because of red cards or sharper interventions?
After more heated matches, I am certainly perceived as a more controversial figure, criticism is directed more at my person. But on the one hand, I’m glad for it, these moments have hardened me a lot, for example during a match I can already react differently to certain situations.
Do you consider yourself a controversial person?
I’m not popular with fans of other teams and in tougher matches. But probably everyone who watches football knows that.
In autumn there was also a solution to an unusual and unpleasant situation. In the match with Slovácko, you and coach Brian Prisk had to negotiate with the raging cauldron.
There was a protest that escalated into flares flying at our players. We had to intervene, even though I personally didn’t know much about what caused the riots. We cleared it up with the fans and moved on. Of course, I’m sorry for the situation, it’s not pleasant to play without a boiler, on the other hand, the rest of the auditorium handled it great, we felt supported.
Was it your idea to go there?
The boys from the playground were hollering at me if we should go there. So we looked at each other with coach Prisk, whether it was a good idea. And off they went.
If your health holds up, do you see 2023 as an opportunity to stabilize in the senior national team?
In terms of longer-term goals and dreams, of course I have it, it is a great challenge and desire. But at the moment I have to return to the pitch and to the form I had before the injury. After that, when I can think about the national team, I haven’t even started playing in the club yet.
You have only two games under Prisk.
Exactly, just a few training sessions. I need to show myself a little after a long break and get comfortable playing. When I feel good and jump into every game, I can hope for an invitation to the national team.
Training environment of football Sparta in MarbellaVideo: Jiří LizecSport.cz
Even if you haven’t been directly in action, what do you see as the biggest change under the new coaching team?
How can they cover a lot of things around football itself. From the gym, through jogging, tactical things or supplementation. Everything is explained to us step by step, why we are doing the given activity and what will happen to us. This is not only new for me, all the young guys can immediately see how it works in professional football, what it takes to play at European level.
Czech coaches don’t work like this?
I would rather say that European teams have far more options. There’s an awful lot of modern stuff and it’s hard to bring in an element without understanding it. It’s pointless to use something just because they work with it elsewhere. We see that coach Priske already has experience from other teams and can transfer it to us. It’s definitely not a criticism of the Czech coaches, I also didn’t know how some things work because I haven’t looked abroad yet.
Before leaving for the training camp, the coach indicated that it took longer than he thought to find an understanding between his team and the cabin. What do you think was the snag?
The biggest adaptation was to the intensity and speed at which the coaches want us to work. From the press to moving. On top of everything, football skills must be added. This is probably the thing we had to get used to the most. A lot of sprints, then play with a calm head and transfer the habits to the offensive, which has been bothering us for a long time.
Dele Alli was also in charge of the offensive, according to an interview for Zbrojovka Brno in 2018, your football role model. In addition, his former employer Tottenham as the most popular club. Does this still apply?
That is a long time ago, everyone had a favorite club in their childhood and Tottenham were in form then. Of course, I still follow his performances, but my most favorite clubs are currently Sparta and Zbrojovka Brno, where I grew up.
Adam Hložek and Dávid Hancko.
When you mention Dávid Hanck, are you still in contact?
As I get more and more involved in training, there is not so much time left. But Filip Panák and I visited him in the winter, we spent a short vacation together. Sometimes we call each other, we have a common group. Unfortunately, after his departure in the summer, the contact is logically no longer the same.
The former Sparta captain is currently at Feyenoord. Is it true that this club was looking for you, and if so, how seriously?
I learned about the interest from Instagram. I didn’t deal with anything more specific, moreover, everything happened outside the transfer period, so I took the information rather lightly. I had a lot of back problems, the main goal was to get back on the field healthy.
Wasn’t everything so that if the injury recovery didn’t come, you would already be kicking in the Netherlands?
