Slovan Bratislava’s Rising Star: Matúš Vojtko’s Journey to Success

news-content">He was born and raised in Michalovci. At the age of 20, he came to Slovan Bratislava. Geographically a big jump, football wise even more. At first it was not easy for him, even for a short time he left Slovan, but gradually he gained the trust of the demanding coach Vladimír Weiss st.

Twenty-three-year-old left-back Matúš Vojtko scored his first Belasom goal on Sunday, almost three years after arriving at Slovan. He did it in the stadium of his biggest rival from Trnava and with his weaker right leg. Besides, it was a successful scene.

“If someone had told me that before the game, I probably would have laughed if it was normal. I would take it as a joke. I’m left-handed, so I closed my eyes and tried to hit the goal with my right foot,” laughed Vojtko after the match.

He started a quarter of an hour before the end with Vladimír Weiss Jr. He was given prime protection instructions. “My job was to stay behind Vlad, who is in charge of the offense. But once I went on and scored,” he laughed.

He made his debut at the age of 17, he immediately went to Hološka

He made his league debut against Slovan when he was 17 years old. On the left side, he defended Filip Hološko, a 65-time representative and participant in WC 2010. He played three seasons in Michalovce before leaving for Slovan.

Transfermarkt reports that he moved for 200,000 euros. He arrived in the first transfer window after coach Weiss returned to Slovan. In the first season, he played only nine league games, he did not get a single minute in the European Cup.

He spent the entire next year as a guest in Gorica, Croatia. He played almost throughout the autumn, in the spring he hardly appeared at all.

It was criticized. You suffered, but you suffered

In this season, he stayed at Tehelno polí, but he was not counted too much. He was waiting for a chance behind Lucas Lovato and Jaromír Zmrhal. It was only at the beginning of March that he started playing regularly and gradually he is bringing back the bail.

“I said to him: ‘Matúš, now is your chance, you have been waiting for it for two years.’ He was on loan in Croatia and matured. He is more confident, he trains well, he has a left foot. If we improve his quality alone, he can be a valuable player for Slovan future,” said coach Weiss after Sunday’s derby with Trnava.

He looked back on Vojtek’s difficult path to Slovan’s starting line-up: “He was also criticized. Both from my side and from the people around me. You suffered, but you suffered. He was waiting for his moment and now is his time to play in Slovan. He has a great desire, I am happy for him. He is a very good boy, as I say. A true and rightful member of this team.”

He came young and inexperienced. Today is good for Slovan

Weiss is a challenging coach, Slovan is a challenging club. It is not easy for young players to establish themselves here, they fight for places with far better and more experienced footballers than anywhere else in Slovakia.

On Sunday, Weiss based it on Vojtek’s example: “It’s not easy to play for Slovan right away.” That is the case of Matthew. A young, inexperienced boy, Bratislava, Slovan, Ježišmária… And today he is a good player for Slovan.”

VIDEO: Coach Slovan Weiss after the derby with Trnava: After a long time, I had to raise my voice: