From the bench to the elite. Mucha made history

Everton goalkeeper is the first Slovak to play in the Premier League.

In January three years ago, he signed a contract with Everton, a club from the world’s best competition, the Premier League. Since then, however, the hero of the World Cup in South Africa sank to the bottom. In the English club he didn’t play, only sat on the bench and occasionally appeared in cup matches. Goalkeeper Ján Mucha only trained and waited for his chance. Frustrated, he was under heavy criticism in the national team, made mistakes, and eventually temporarily ended his international career.

Now Mucha finally got his chance. At last. And he rewrote Premier League history. He became the first Slovak goalkeeper to play in the best league in the world. In the weekend’s match, he even helped Everton to a 3–1 win over Reading. “This is a breakthrough milestone in his career in England. Mucha chose the harder path behind first-choice keeper Tim Howard, and now his patience has paid off. He put in an excellent performance. He is mentally very strong and it has worked out for him,” said his agent Jozef Tokos for the Economic Daily.

They wanted to swap him, now he shone
His debut was made possible by the injury of the team’s number one, Howard. Even then, until the last moment, he didn’t know if he would get the chance to play in the league. After years of sitting on the bench, Mucha finally stood in Everton’s goal. In an important match too, as his team is fighting for a Champions League spot (Everton is sixth in the table). The Slovak’s debut went well. In the first half he saved two great chances from the visitors, and after the break produced a fantastic stop. His debut was praised by the British media. In total, Mucha stopped six shots on target. “I have no doubts about his qualities. Jano showed that he is an excellent goalkeeper and grabbed his chance,” national team coach Stanislav Griga told the Economic Daily.

However, the dark period may not be over for Mucha. In the winter, the club considered moving him on, as his contract expires in the summer and he could leave elsewhere for free. “In the end they didn’t let him go anywhere. And now it has been shown that Everton has an adequate replacement for Howard in goal,” added Tokos. Mucha also spoke with coach David Moyes, who praised him for the win against Reading. At the moment, though, it is not clear what Mucha will decide. Whether he will stay at Everton or change clubs. “I have a meeting arranged with coach David Moyes before the match against Manchester City. We will see what his future will be, but it is in Jano’s hands,” explained the football agent. (...)