On the gloomy mood

(Published in the Slovak daily Sport)

As the November weather grows darker and more dismal, it seems to mirror the long-standing gloom that hangs over Slovak sports. Monday’s articles in Sport Daily summed up the national hockey team’s performance at the Deutschland Cup with headlines like: “Slovak Effort in Vain. Defeat Means Last Place. The Swiss Exposed Us Completely. The Worst Tournament in Memory.” Tuesday brought the harsh conclusion on the front page: “Vujtek: A Complete Disaster!” Just before the Olympics, these are not encouraging headlines—but perhaps such a slap in the face is what’s needed to spark future success. At the club level, positive hockey news is rare, breaking through only occasionally amid the usual echoes: financial shortages, licensing issues, even grim murmurs suggesting the potential collapse of the domestic league as we know it...

In football, the national team’s qualification hopes were squandered long ago, in Liechtenstein or even earlier. Let’s hope for a strong showing today against Poland. After the formality of the match against Gibraltar, there will be time to reflect before the February draw for the next European qualifiers. Yes, we must take a hard look at what’s happening and where we’re going, just as Dušan Tittel, president of the Union of League Clubs, said last week. He pointed to Slovakia’s drop of nearly 50 places in the FIFA ranking over the past three years. No national team success has been offset by any breakthrough at club level, there was no triumphant run in European competitions, let alone the Champions League group stage. And even individual successes like a standout transfer from Slovakia to a strong foreign league, or a high pick in the NHL draft have been few and far between in recent years.

There are no major sporting triumphs for our national teams or clubs in Slovakia’s two most popular sports. Do we at least have some organizational success to celebrate? Aside from hosting the U-17 European Championship, which helped our youth team qualify for the World Cup, there’s little else. Yes, the football association recently opened the National training centre in Poprad, and we’re set to see a National Football Stadium in Bratislava, with other modernized or newly built stadiums around the country, starting with Trnava.

Still, the idea of uniting Slovakia’s sports associations, so fond of pouring resources into concrete, around more challenging topics seems almost unimaginable. For example, real discussions in football and hockey about youth talent development, or about improving the quality of sports high schools. Or pushing for three physical education classes per week (instead of two) in the new State Education Program currently being prepared. Yes, that’s harder than splitting the second football league in half with an artificial line and calling it a “reorganization” despite opposition from 20 of the 24 clubs in the top two divisions.

In the coming weeks, football and hockey fans looking for something to enjoy on TV might find satisfaction in watching a few Slovak players shine for their foreign clubs. Let’s hope their national teams benefit from those performances. But as long as we keep stumbling in the dark, uncertain of what’s happening or where we’re headed, the gloomy mood will remain.