The lanky youngster has, among other things, starts for the national team, he got a taste of the domestic top football league for the first time in May 2022 in the extension match of the group final for placement against Mladá Boleslav (2:2).
He waited almost ten months for another opportunity. “I learned on Thursday at practice that I was going to catch. The nervousness subsides in the warm-up and then you try to think only about the match,” said Stoppen.
Looking at the stats, it might seem like he didn’t have much to do. Plzeň threatened the goal only four times, but hit the post twice and the total number of shots rose to 22. Add to that the duels with the tall and strong forward Tomáš Chory and other tricky situations.
“I was near the ball quite often during the passing game, Pilsen created quite a lot of shooting attempts, but not so many of them went on goal. We were also lucky, but that is needed in a match like this. And the opponent’s forwards? Nothing pleasant, they are tall and good headers. In addition, Pilsen kicked a lot especially towards the end, some situations were difficult for everyone, but I’m glad we managed it,” he smiled after the 1:1 draw.
Coach Jílek also spared no praise. He was satisfied with Stoppen’s performance, according to the coach, the goalkeeper had a good effect on the team and gave it energy. “He was also lucky, but I have to praise him, he managed the match very well,” added Jílek.
He also mentioned one situation where he got a little stiff, but Stoppen handled it like a glove. “When you reached for the ball on the edge of the penalty area. I had the feeling that it was too far, I got a little scared. Such moments will help you tremendously. If the ball falls somewhere, it can be a finish or pressure. This way you can relax and hold the balloon,” added the positive assessment.
Jílek himself once put Stoppen in an unusual situation. In the 55th minute, he changed a significant part of the defensive line and adjusted the formation. “It surprised me a little,” the goalkeeper admitted. “But in the system with three defenders I felt good and maybe even more confident,” he added in one breath. After the performance in Štruncové sady, it is not excluded that he will appear between the three posts in a week against České Budějovice.
