From February 10, Krejčí jumped into eleven competitive matches. In Sparta’s jersey, he completed a duel against Galatasaray and a double-header with Liverpool. Yes, he was not always, to put it mildly, 100% successful. In Pilsen, he was sent off after two fouls on Tomáš Choré.
As expected, the invitation to the national team from the new coach Ivan Hašek did not pass him by. Krejci played 60 minutes in Friday’s duel in Norway and got a full load on Tuesday at home against Armenia. At Letná, he scored an important goal to make it 1:1, but at the same time, he did not look completely confident in all moments.
“Láďa still seems to me to be the leader and captain of Sparta, so I perceive his position. I can’t go into more analysis, but I would look at everything through the lens of the fact that he has recently started twice against one of the top five clubs in the world. Even the best Premier League defenders have problems with Liverpool players. I also think that the 90 minutes in the match against Armenia did not add much to the demanding program that he completed in the current season,” Vácha, a former Sparta midfielder or assistant in the Letenské reserves, describes to Sport.cz.
In Norway, Krejčí jumped to the number six position next to captain Tomáš Souček. With Armenia, he stood, as he is used to from Sparta under Brian Prisk, on the left side of the stopper trio.
“I know I’m talking after the battle, and the trainer has to know everything before it. But lately I have a problem with Krejci. I observe that it has a lot of shortcomings for a top European level. He made a lot of mistakes and it’s fatal in the position he plays. He is very valid and effective in standard situations, especially offensive ones, but he is literally looking for a post in the national team. And I wouldn’t do that. The other stoppers who were in the nomination are currently doing better than him,” assesses coach Vlastimil Palička.
Vácha’s view is slightly different. “I perceive Ládi Krejčí’s role in the national team very positively. During a few starts, he scored several goals, which is an absolutely essential thing in football,” he points to Krejčí’s effectiveness (he scored nine goals across all competitions this year and added three assists, editor’s note).
Against Armenia, he scored at the end of the first half, somewhat traditionally for him, with a header after a corner kick. However, he wasn’t always 100 percent when defending or building the game, which is why criticism poured down on him (and not only) via social networks.
“He is definitely not a worse footballer than a few months ago. On the field, they perform their tasks extremely well. The criticism leveled at him now could have both a positive and a negative impact on how he plays going forward. He must be able to receive it correctly. The implementation team will definitely evaluate with him the direction in which it should proceed,” explains Vácha.
Sparta’s captain is 24 years old, he is part of the national team, he is fighting for a place at the Euros in June. Over time, there is also more and more talk about his possible move abroad. To Spain, Portugal and elsewhere.
“There can certainly be interest. He regularly starts for the continuously first team of the league, which is defending its title. In addition, he also plays in European cups, which is one of the basic prerequisites for him to be watched closely abroad,” adds Vácha.
As he outlined, the full load with Armenia did not seem to help Krejčí. Maybe he needs to rest, properly regenerate his body and head. On Sunday, Sparta will play on the ground of the last České Budějovice, so we’ll see.
2024-03-27 19:59:49
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