Brabec: Rio Ave Project & Thessaly Return Revealed

He has already painted as he ends his professional career in Greek Aris and Thessaloniki will become a new home for his family. In the summer, however, defender Jakub Brabec heard a new challenge – the fourth foreign engagement. In previous days he became a player of the Portuguese Rio Ave, where it is to be part of a new ambitious project. “The club has big plans. I like its project,” he says in an interview with Livesport News.

Why does your Greek mission end after four years?

“In the summer, my future was dealing with, because Aris brought two new tracks and speculated whether I would change his engagement because some possibilities appeared. Once the conference league fell out, it was clear that I would look for a new location.

Wasn’t the topic of returning home yet?

“I do not want to abandon the Czech Republic at all and I certainly like to come back there, but when I went to Portugal, I had in my head that returning home to us would mean back to thessaloniki.”

They say you got almost a week to pack your family and move?

“That’s right, because we have a lot of things and pack the whole house with the family, to deal with transfers … It was challenging.”

You said that Greek ties also decided to engage. How did it happen?

“I was approached by a Greek coach who knows me from the Greek league, and who has a lot of Greek players. They introduced the whole club project and attracted me.”

What will be your role?

“There are a lot of young players in the team and I realized they needed to bring experience. It attracted me because it’s something new, moreover, a quality league. I’m not going to exotic.

Do you take it a bit of a reward, or did you plan to finish in Greece?

“I honestly thought that such an offer would not come and I would take care of Greece. But the situation has changed and I got a huge challenge in front of me. I perceive it that I can extend my career to Portugal.”

What are the impressions of the club?

“Positive. The good thing is that I can continue in Greek, because there are a lot of players from Greece, including a coach. There are other foreigners, some of them I know from the Greek league. I think we will have a lot in common with the new teammates.”

Rio Ave has big plans

How do you control Greek?

“I am fluently talking.”

Are you really serious about that life in Greece?

“Sure. I have learned intensively for two years, and I am talking to the Greeks today.

You move to a stronger competition with Sporting, Benfica, Porto, Braga and many other clubs that are of great quality. How do you look forward to this challenge?

“From a personal point of view, it is difficult to evaluate, because I have no experience. Of course I know all the names, I am aware that it will be difficult.

What are the ambitions in Rio Ave?

“The club has big plans. According to what they presented me, they want to climb higher. And that’s why I think that the club and we players will do everything we can to get as high as possible. After the season we will evaluate how successful it was.”

The article was originally published for Livesport News.