6/4/2024, Editorial Board
Jindřich Trpišovský evaluated the victorious Vršovice derby (2:1) with journalists at the press conference, who with his 191st victory reached the top of the table of coaches with the most triumphs.
You beat Bohemians 2:1. How do you rate the match?
“Such our classic home match with a great territorial advantage. We played against an opponent who knows how to consolidate the defense, it is difficult to get into it, they had an overcrowded penalty area. In the first half, we should have made more use of our dominance and combination play. We hit the first player a lot with shots and crosses. They were well positioned there and launched counterattacks, always at least two players remained on top. In terms of running, it was a very demanding match, two players ran over thirteen kilometers, which is also due to the fact that there was a lot of up and down, it was a great clear time. I’m glad that we managed to score points, but we should have scored more goals and created more shooting positions, we were very inaccurate in a lot of actions. The unconventional scorer Petr Ševčík gave us the lead and a nice goal by Mojmír Chytil came when we finally got a good ball into the goal. We should have added a third goal, but instead we let the opponent into a chance after the car, when Jindra Staněk caught it and then, luckily, at the very end, Hůlek scored beautifully. Challenging match, thank you very much for the great backdrop and the visit. I really liked the red shirts. It’s a shame that we didn’t score more goals, we were the weakest in the box out of the entire pitch.”
In the first half, a lot of balloons flew into the pocket between the defenders and the goalkeeper, but nobody closed the space. Didn’t feel like going there? Did you point out Mojmír Chytil, who scored the second goal like that?
“I probably should have let myself in there (laughs). You are right, compared to other matches we had few players there and there were a lot of balls thrown around. In the second half, we had a lot of crosses from the right side, when we were there a step late, hit the opponent’s player or lost it to us. We didn’t have a good selection of places in the box, there were a lot of crosses, with Doudis there was a certain quality of crosses from the right side. On the other hand, Bohemka is really strong in the area in front of the goal, they have three stoppers, a halfback from the other side and two midfielders. You prepare that chance, but you have maybe three or four players there. A player from the second wave has to get there, which didn’t work very well for us this time, we didn’t close the back posts well, we were there very late, which was the reason why we weren’t so dangerous.”
Chytil and Jurečka put a lot of pressure on Křapka, and then they didn’t jump so much into the second wave. What is more important to you, centering balls into the goal or playing it?
“The ideal is to play it into a goal. We were always missing something, we found Venca well twice, but he didn’t hit it. It depends on which opponent you are playing. Sometimes we talk a lot about typology, and it’s just about what kind of match you’re in for. Such matches were a lot for Ondra Lingra or Venca Jurečka, but we did not get along. In the second half, Doudis went there from the side, shot, and Venca was all alone there on the penalty. Sometimes when he was occupied, we decided to pass again. It’s about matching the tackler with the tackler. It is timing and preparation for the opponent that covers the spaces better. Somewhere a weak point appears, everyone has it somewhere else. One prepared thing worked for us with the first goal, even though it was a deflected ball. We were nervous in the first half, which is related to how you go into the game.”
With your 191st victory, you reached the top of the historical charts alongside Pavel Vrba. What does that mean for you?
“I appreciate it enormously, it’s unreal for me. I watched Pavel with admiration already during my time in the division. At that time, he won with his team in Naples and Manchester City scored two goals at the Etihad Stadium. Normally I don’t follow statistics like this too much, but I knew about this one and talked about it for a long time. Of course the order will still change, there are plenty of trainers out there who will be adding more wins. I appreciate it mostly internally, because I reached the finish line without a break, without stopping… It means a lot to me.”
There was only one foreigner in the starting line-up. Is this a theme for you in the spring phase of the season?
“I personally noticed this aspect only on Friday, when we were finally putting together the lineup and taking into account various criteria. I would rather say that it simply worked out that way, it is not a specific intention. Christos Zafeiris is getting into it again, he will soon attack the starting eleven. It is also a current form, which Tomáš Holeš and David Zima had, for example. They showed great performances in the national team, which they also carried over to the club. Replacing David was more of a preventive measure, we didn’t want to squeeze him out after a demanding program. We also needed the space for subsequent substitutions in the direction of the offensive. Due to the formation with four defenders, we prioritized these stoppers also because of communication, which is key in this system. But there is nothing else behind it, if he hadn’t been carded by Conrad Wall, he would have definitely jumped in from the first minutes.”
Petr Ševčík scored for the first time in the season, somewhat symbolically with a long shot. Where do you see the causes of his (un)productivity?
“He definitely had a smaller shooting break than I did (laughs). We clearly need goals from midfielders, we are pushing for them. After Slovácko, I talked about it with Lukáš Provod, who is really improving both in running and playing. But the team also needs numbers from them, especially when they have a great shot from mid-range. Matches are decided by complexity – play in the boxes, on the wings, quick transition, play in full defense and shots from the second wave. Of course, each player has a different typology and strengths, but with Oscar, for example, it’s not a shot at all (laughs). When playing against the block, you need to collect rebounds and use the space from the second wave. In short, successful teams must be able to outplay their opponents at all levels, and finishing is the most important. I secretly wish that Šéva will repeat his performance at Chelsea and score two or more goals in one game.”
Do you appreciate the fact that the team did not panic even when the score was 0:0? The second question is directed at Igoh Ogbua, is he out of the starting lineup now?
“I’ll start with the second question, sometimes it comes together and if Igoh came on, I would be just as calm and sometimes you just have to make a decision. The teams start in different typologies, and maybe Tomáš Holeš will be on top again in the next match. It is not easy to make such a decision, the current form speaks volumes. I don’t want to shout it out, but we don’t get goals in the stopper pair Zima – Holeš. When we scored the last two goals, Zima was not on the pitch. But we have quality in all positions, this time the line-up crystallized from a four-back system. Vlček took such a position that we could possibly switch to three defenders. Only this match was possible, Igoh played a great match in Slovakia. It’s match by match, it’s about the typology of players playing against you. It depends if they are forwards, if they are headers, but sometimes they also play a role in our standard situations. Provod is mostly guarding the best headers and there is a need elsewhere on the field, but at the moment everyone is doing well in terms of performance. Regarding the first question, I must especially praise the pitch, which is really fantastic now. We completed two training sessions on it and it still holds up. This of course helps the game flow. As for the team, we have only lost once this season, we are much more experienced. For example, I am happy about Ondřej Zmrzlý, who has been in the team for three months and his calmness and contribution are great. The team is on a good wave, which we have to maintain. Of course, there are situations in the match when a psychological advantage is needed and the boys know that even in a tie they still have pressure on the opponent and those chances will come with time. Some guys from the national team also have a psychological advantage. It is important to be patient, goals sometimes come only in the last minutes of the match. We are in a good mood, which is reflected in the shooting form of the attackers, to which the other players also join. The important thing is that we can break the matches.”
To the physical side of the team. If we look at the current season, you are doing much better. Is the team set up to perform at their best in May?
“Honestly, nothing has changed. I think that we go exactly the same, at most there is a different typology of players. Before, there were guys here who couldn’t maintain the intensity for the full ninety minutes. Sometimes it is caused by a virus in the team, a national team break, or a trip to a match in a European competition. Hard to say. Rather, I think that the better typology of players is deciding at the moment.”
David Zima was replaced after halftime, was it a health problem or did you primarily want to strengthen the offensive?
“David had a virus, and the whole match was very demanding for our defense. He has to walk with an attack and then immediately come back again in a sprint. It was clear from David that he was not 100% fit, which is why we wanted to get Matěj Jurásk into the game. According to the numbers available to us, we knew that Tomáš Vlček and Tomáš Holeš would finish the match. I have to give them credit for that, which I don’t do very often. In particular, Tomáš Holeš’s performance was completely above standard. Right captain. And as I say, we wanted to send Zafeiris and Jurassic into the game. We didn’t want to lose these substitutions by David playing over the power and we had to substitute differently.”
