The draw of the European dream

(published in the Slovak daily Sport)

The football world including Slovakia is fully focused on the World Cup in Brazil, now two weeks underway. Alongside the performances of top teams and star players, we’re keeping a close eye on our former qualifying opponents, Greece and Bosnia, as well as countries similar to ours in size or population, like Croatia and Belgium. The nostalgic thought - what if we were there - fades quickly; on September 8, we kick off a new campaign with our first European Championship qualifier, away in Ukraine.

The dream of qualifying for the Euros is a long-term one. But right now, a different dream is allowed: going as far as possible in the European club competitions—ideally reaching the group stage. The season-long efforts of Slovan, Košice, Trenčín, and Trnava will culminate in the coming weeks.

Clubs have had only a short break before the new season. Preparations are underway, and Slovan has changed coaches. Transfers, although announced even before the window officially opened, remain scarce so far. Spartak has introduced three new signings, Slovan one (with more on the way), Trenčín has welcomed back two players from loan, and in Košice, the winter silence has simply turned into summer silence.

It’s a shame that Slovak football still lacks a new transfer regulation, meaning that players are not truly free agents after their contracts end—something that is a given across Europe. Our representatives in European competitions could benefit from this norm, and they wouldn’t have to skirt the rules through convoluted transfers and back-loans via Polish second-division or other foreign clubs. Let’s not criticize too harshly (even if the question remains: can multiple important reforms really be tackled at once?). Hopefully, the fix will finally come, this time for real, by the end of the year.

Yesterday’s Champions League and Europa League qualifying draws didn’t bring big surprises, since the seeding pots and potential opponents were known in advance. Since the introduction of the separate champions and non-champions paths six years ago, the road has become easier. In 2005, Artmedia Bratislava made the Champions League group stage by eliminating Celtic Glasgow and Partizan Belgrade. Five years later, Žilina had a smoother path through Litex Lovech and Sparta Prague. Let’s also recall Viktoria Plzeň’s two successful runs: in 2011 through Rosenborg Trondheim and FC Copenhagen, and in 2013 through Nõmme Kalju and Maribor.

Looking back, the message is clear: it can be done! And perhaps more often than just three times in 17 years? In Poland, the qualifying brackets are viewed with bitter frustration - their champions, despite far higher budgets than Slovak clubs, haven’t reached the group stage in 18 years...

New Saints from Wales are a manageable, if tricky, opponent for Slovan in the opening round. Given the recent list of Slovak clubs’ conquerors—APOEL Nicosia (2011), Kiryat Shmona (2012, Žilina), Ludogorets Razgrad (2013, Slovan), let’s wish Slovan and the other three clubs the best of luck: both on the pitch and in the next draws!