On Thursday, the players of Slovan Bratislava have a match that can decide their fate on the European stage this year.
In Skopje, they will play in the fifth round of the league phase of the Conference League against the champion of North Macedonia, FK Škendija 79 (from 18:45, live on Joj Šport). If Slovan wants to think about advancing to the playoffs, they should score points in the Balkans.
“We know what the math is, what the table looks like, what we are going to play for. With Vallecano, we took a breath and we are alive. It will be a difficult match. We will have to show quality and fight more,” said the coach of the Slovak champion Vladimír Weiss senior at the press conference before the match.
Weiss: A slap is good if you learn from it
Weiss reminded that he is returning to the stadium in Skopje for the third time. Twice in the fight against North Macedonia, they drew – once with the Slovak and once with the Georgian national team.
“Macedonians know how to play football. The national team is playing in a play-off for promotion to the World Cup. You won’t find a clog there who just kicks the ball away. In Georgia, I lost to them in the play-offs at the European Championship, so I don’t have good memories of them. They will fight, they have it in them.”
Slovan is going through a difficult period. In the Nike League, he lost two games in a row, at home with Ružomberok and in Košice.
“Every slap in life is good when a person learns from it, takes a positive attitude from it. I believe that we will give a performance that will be worthy of our club, even with all the worries that we have,” said Weiss.
He did not like some journalistic questions, he answered them in an irritated tone.
“You don’t ask the players at all who has what worries. I don’t want to lecture you, but no one writes that we are missing four or five offensive players. We also have to look at that. We will play with what we have,” he said.
Barsejgan wants to help and play
20 players arrived in North Macedonia. Also Kucharevyč or Ofori, who will not start, but Weiss wanted them to be with the team. Also in Skopje is Tigran Barsejgan, who was troubled by an injury, but according to the coach, he offered to help and if necessary, could jump into the match under an injection.
“We’re playing every three days, I’ve got a lot of injured players. I can’t rotate them the way I want. I can’t do magic. If you understand a little bit, you’ll read it,” Weiss said.
VIDEO: Weiss during the press conference
He also commented on the meeting with club owner Ivan Kmotrík Sr., which he announced after the loss in Košice. “I don’t hold on to Slovan tooth and nail. Even the owner knows that, I was with him. We had a good conversation.”
