For Slavist midfielder Jakub Hromada, Thursday’s rematch of the 3rd preliminary round of the Europa League against Dnipro in his home asylum in Košice will be extraordinary.
For the first time, he is returning to his birthplace for football. The 27-year-old Slovak footballer has not yet played at the start of the season, but after serving his cup disciplinary punishment, he hopes to get at least a few minutes on the pitch. He said at the press conference that he was looking for over 40 tickets for his loved ones.
“It’s my hometown, all my friends live here, first of all my family. Not only mine, but also my wife’s. It’s the first time I’m coming back here for football. I’m very happy for it, I’ve been waiting for it for a very long time. Definitely here we plan to live in the future, it’s my heart. I’m happy that we’re playing in Košice, but it doesn’t change anything in the preparation for the match,” said Hromada.
“I don’t have a promise that I will start. I don’t think anyone ever gets a promise from the coach if he will play in the upcoming match. Coaches always make decisions before the match, often even at the last minute. But I would be very happy if I were here at home in Košice he got on the lawn,” added Hromada.
In the auditorium of the new stadium for almost six thousand spectators, he will have a number of loved ones for whom he managed to get tickets. “I solved it with the team leader Standa Vlček, in total there were about 40 tickets. Many acquaintances, friends and family will come to watch the match,” said Hromada.
Prague coach Jindřich Trpišovský will try to start Hromad for the first time in the season at least for a while. A 3-0 lead from the home match could also add to that. “I was wondering if Cuba paid for the tickets or not,” laughed the coach.
“Now I’m under pressure. Kuba was bothering me about it already at the training camp in Austria, he said that it would definitely happen, that we would go to Košice. Even when Dnipro was playing with Panathinaikos Athens (in the preliminary round of the Champions League), he was already reporting hotels to us and all kinds of things in Košice. He’s been living it all the time, it’s great for him. If it’s even a little bit possible, we’ll try to have him appear on the field,” said Trpišovský.
In the opening home match against Dnipro, Hromada was still serving the remainder of a three-match ban from UEFA for a red card in the play-off for the Europa League group the year before last against Legia Warsaw. “If I’m not mistaken, it will be almost two years since my last match in Europe. So I’m happy that I’ve finally cleared the ban and can be available not only for league but also European matches,” Hromada said.
In all four rounds of the league season so far, he only remained on the bench, so he has not played a single minute in the season.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a bad situation. During my time at Slavia, I found myself in it several times. Of course, the minutes are not what I would have imagined. There are a lot of us, we have all positions doubled, so you have to wait for a chance. I am convinced that the chance will come soon, I am doing everything for it in training,” said Hromada.
“I believe in myself and I firmly hope that I will come out of it again. I believe that, as I managed to do it last season, I will succeed now and I will fight my way into the lineup. In any case, the team and its successes come first, and only then my ambition. Everyone wants to play, but it’s a price for being part of a team like Slavia,” added Hromada.
He is excited that a new stadium has recently been built in Košice, where Dnipro has a home asylum due to the Russian military attack on Ukraine. “I am very happy that Košice has such a beautiful stadium. It will be even nicer when the stands behind the goal are completed. I am also very happy that Košice has been promoted back to the first league after many years. The club and the city deserve it,” he said .
“I personally have never played men’s football for Košice, I left for Michalovce when I was 15. I only played in Košice as a youth player, not for MFK, but for KAC Jednota Košice. At that time they had pupils in the first league,” added the former Pilsen player or Liberec.
2023-08-16 20:19:31
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