Again, disagreements arose between Weiss Sr. and Kmotrík Jr. regarding Slovan’s team. The recurring pattern raises questions
Zdroj: N Daily, Ondrej Lauko"I think he is satisfied with the current state of the squad. Today we sat down together and talked about it," said Slovan football club’s general director Ivan Kmotrík Jr. in an interview for sport.sk published on July 19, when asked whether coach Vladimír Weiss Sr. was happy with the new players. Exactly two weeks later, Weiss said: "The rejuvenation of the team is not what I had imagined so far. Some of them shouldn’t even be near the stadium," he commented after the league match with Podbrezová on Saturday, August 2. "I would ask the media to write that new players have arrived, not reinforcements."
No surprise
It is nothing new that Kmotrík says something different than Weiss. Several times in the past, the club’s general director has defended his decisions and claimed that the coach agreed with them. Weiss, however, either directly, or more often indirectly, denied those claims. The same is happening now, when Slovan failed to qualify for the main phase of the Champions League. According to both of the club’s most important figures, everything was supposed to be done to strengthen the squad adequately and return to the Champions League. One says it worked, the other says it didn’t. (...)
Far from ideal
Since Vladimír Weiss Sr. became Slovan’s coach, the Bratislava club has signed 41 players. (...) In an ideal world, it should work so that the coach himself selects players for the team. The club management then evaluates whether it can afford them financially and whether they will truly benefit the club. The scouting department also plays a role. It should recommend ideal players to the coach. In other words, scouts must know the coach’s needs and, according to his requirements, find available players on the market. In many clubs, that is exactly how it works. Again, that is the ideal scenario. Despite Kmotrík claiming that the player selection process at Slovan works as it should, from the outside it looks like the club’s transfer policy is far from ideal. (...)
This either means that Weiss is dissatisfied despite having agreed with the selected players, or that these players come even though he would not want them in his team. The dissatisfaction was also suggested after the return leg with Kairat by assistant coach Boris Kitka, who led the team from the bench due to Weiss’s suspension. "We made transfers, but we still had the feeling that some new players need more time. So far we haven’t managed to create such pressure that even among the new players we had alternatives for the starting lineup. In the future, players must come who are ready to step right into tough matches. It is important that players come to the squad who immediately increase competition in individual positions. Now we still had the feeling from training and individual performances that last season’s lineup is the strongest," he said, confirming that the new players have not yet met expectations and, with their current performances, do not belong in the starting eleven.
No surprise
It is nothing new that Kmotrík says something different than Weiss. Several times in the past, the club’s general director has defended his decisions and claimed that the coach agreed with them. Weiss, however, either directly, or more often indirectly, denied those claims. The same is happening now, when Slovan failed to qualify for the main phase of the Champions League. According to both of the club’s most important figures, everything was supposed to be done to strengthen the squad adequately and return to the Champions League. One says it worked, the other says it didn’t. (...)
Far from ideal
Since Vladimír Weiss Sr. became Slovan’s coach, the Bratislava club has signed 41 players. (...) In an ideal world, it should work so that the coach himself selects players for the team. The club management then evaluates whether it can afford them financially and whether they will truly benefit the club. The scouting department also plays a role. It should recommend ideal players to the coach. In other words, scouts must know the coach’s needs and, according to his requirements, find available players on the market. In many clubs, that is exactly how it works. Again, that is the ideal scenario. Despite Kmotrík claiming that the player selection process at Slovan works as it should, from the outside it looks like the club’s transfer policy is far from ideal. (...)
This either means that Weiss is dissatisfied despite having agreed with the selected players, or that these players come even though he would not want them in his team. The dissatisfaction was also suggested after the return leg with Kairat by assistant coach Boris Kitka, who led the team from the bench due to Weiss’s suspension. "We made transfers, but we still had the feeling that some new players need more time. So far we haven’t managed to create such pressure that even among the new players we had alternatives for the starting lineup. In the future, players must come who are ready to step right into tough matches. It is important that players come to the squad who immediately increase competition in individual positions. Now we still had the feeling from training and individual performances that last season’s lineup is the strongest," he said, confirming that the new players have not yet met expectations and, with their current performances, do not belong in the starting eleven.
Recurring pattern
If the first option applies, then the mistake is also on his side, he
just hasn’t openly admitted yet that he always approves new signings.
But if the second option applies, the mistake is repeatedly made by
Kmotrík. Indications suggest the second option is more likely. And this
can be illustrated with several transfers.
It is well known that Weiss explicitly requested some players for the
team and that his personality played a role in their eventual arrival.
This applies to Guram Kashia, Jaba Kankava, and Giorgi Chakvetadze, whom
he coached in the Georgian national team, Juraj Kucka, whom he coached
in Slovakia’s national team, or Tigran Barseghyan, whom he knew from his
time in Kazakhstan and Georgia. All these players were true
reinforcements and key men of the team. The same, however, cannot be
said about many others who came to Slovan during Weiss’s era.
For example, Siemen Voet, Maudo Jarjué, or Malik Abubakari. In the case
of Július Szöke, an unnamed club source told us that Weiss was surprised
when he saw him for the first time at Slovan’s stadium, despite having
previously agreed to his transfer. "He knew he was coming to the club
and even met him personally after signing the contract," said the
player’s agent Jozef Tokos.
It is natural that not all transfers work out. But in Slovan’s case, the
pattern repeats: the players chosen by Weiss become true pillars, while
those who arrive not expressly at his request struggle to establish
themselves. In this sense, the coach spoke for example last May, when he
even admitted he might leave Slovan. "New players must come. The owner
knows it, young Ivan knows it, and I know it too. Good and reasonable
decisions need to be made. If it happens without me, I won’t stand in
the way," he said.
Afterwards, during the transfer window, Slovan brought in several new
players, including goalkeeper Dominik Takáč and winger Róbert Mak.
However, only Takáč became part of the starting eleven, while the others
mostly played in the league. In European competition, the same players
as before carried the team. In practice, it looked like general director
Kmotrík Jr. announced major squad changes and significant strengthening.
But apart from Takáč, the players who arrived barely played.
Nevertheless, Slovan reached the Champions League group stage for the
first time in history. (...)
