They have millions, but live in a bubble

English academies also developed Weiss, Stoch, Mak, and Rusnák. Last week, Albert Rusnák transferred to Major League Soccer in the United States. So far, no Slovak player has made a significant breakthrough into a first team after time spent in an academy.

After Slovakia joined the European Union in 2004, many talented teenagers began moving to foreign football academies. “Recently, however, far fewer Slovaks are heading abroad,” said agent Jozef Tokos in an interview with Denník N. Today, young talents are mostly heading to Italy, where they have a better chance of breaking into the first team. A decade ago, agents prioritized placing as many players as possible into famous English clubs. Miroslav Stoch and Milan Lalkovič trained at Chelsea, while Manchester City developed Vladimír Weiss, Róbert Mak, and Albert Rusnák. None of them broke into the first team—Stoch and Weiss only played a few minutes. That’s why Rusnák’s recent move to MLS, where he’ll play for Real Salt Lake, drew attention. Such a destination is a novelty for a rising Slovak star. The opposite approach is represented by Ľubomír Šatka’s return from Newcastle United to Dunajská Streda.

Rusnák – the pearl of the Dutch league
Rusnák’s career reflects a typical path of a promising player with little real chance of success at a top club. English clubs consistently top the rankings for how many players they send out on loan to smaller European teams. At the start of the current season, Chelsea alone had 38 players out on loan. Rusnák made his mark in the Dutch side Groningen, where he played a key role in winning the Dutch Cup. He was a regular starter in Slovakia’s successful U21 team and was set to play at the European Championship. He was nicknamed “the pearl of the Dutch league” and there was speculation about renewed interest from his former club Manchester City, as well as from Southampton, West Ham, Newcastle, Bologna, Watford, Palermo, and others. “He still has a lot to learn, but if he leaves, he’d probably fit best in the German or Spanish league,” Dutch journalist Michiel Jongsma told Denník N a year and a half ago.

Although the technically gifted Rusnák made it into the senior national team (he played against Austria), his form declined and by autumn there were already talks about his departure. “He was in the starting eleven, but many fans were dissatisfied with his performances. On the pitch, he often behaved as if he had already won six Ballon d’Ors. I don’t think anyone here would lose sleep if he left,” said another local journalist who preferred to remain anonymous. His words came true.

The wash-bag mentality
Leading English journalist Henry Winter spent the spring of last year traveling the country, speaking with experts and football insiders. He was trying to understand why England had failed to win the European Championship or World Cup since 1966, despite often being seen as a favorite. In his book Fifty Years of Hurt, he published an interview with agent Colin Gordon, who described a disturbing problem with England’s most talented players. “The big contracts ruin them. It’s the ‘wash-bag mentality’. The first thing they buy is a Louis Vuitton wash bag, then a Range Rover, then they get a girlfriend, then a new watch. The boys live in a bubble. From training, they go straight to expensive apartments and VIP areas of nightclubs. That’s their mentality. They call their agent: ‘Can you get me on the guest list for this or that club?’ They don’t go to pubs like before. They have no idea how ordinary people work to earn a living. They can’t relate to them. They don’t develop any social skills.”

In September, before the Slovakia vs England match in Trnava, I asked British media colleagues which English players would be most approachable in the mixed zone after the game. A journalist from the PA news agency said: “Some are talkative, but most are used to living in a bubble. That really sums up what’s wrong with English football.” And after the match, his words were confirmed—among those available were exactly the players he mentioned: Harry Kane, John Stones, and Dele Alli.

The latter, a 20-year-old Tottenham midfielder, reportedly being pursued by Barcelona and Real Madrid, is the complete opposite of most young English players. Neither money nor sudden fame, which followed his rapid rise from the third tier to the top of the Premier League, changed him at all. But that’s rare these days—clubs are mostly criticized for their inflated wages. Top-quality 17-year-olds in England can easily earn two million pounds a year. If a young player signs a four-year contract, he’s guaranteed eight million pounds. “If they don’t have strong willpower, these teenage millionaires are in danger of losing their hunger,” Winter concluded.

Too many Slovaks
Big clubs have overwhelming competition, and the chance to break into the first team is very slim. Many former talents ended up playing only in lower-tier Slovak leagues. In 2007, Chelsea signed 15-year-old speedy winger Milan Lalkovič from Košice, but he never broke through at the senior level. He went on several loans to smaller clubs and now plays in England’s fourth division for Portsmouth. “You shouldn’t reject an offer from a big club like Chelsea because it might come only once in your life. In the youth category, I won everything there was with Chelsea. I was very happy there. My time in England gave me a lot—it made me a better footballer and a better person. I learned many things,” Lalkovič told Denník N.

England did help some of today’s Slovak internationals make it to the top level, especially Vladimír Weiss Jr., Miroslav Stoch, Albert Rusnák, and Róbert Mak. However, only Mak currently plays for a top European team—after the Euros, he moved from PAOK Thessaloniki to Zenit St. Petersburg. Mak appears to have matured recently. After failing to establish himself at Manchester City, he succeeded at German side Nürnberg. But in one match, coach Dieter Hecking subbed him off at halftime, and Mak reacted by tweeting a Slovak profanity about Hecking. (...)