The Clear Win Over Karvina: Coach Trpišovský, Individual Performances, and Possible Reinforcements

3/9/2023, Editorial Board

After the clear win over Karvina, coach Jindřich Trpišovský spoke about great individual performances, goal scorers, the deployment of Aleš Mandous, the rep break, Matěj Jurásk and possible reinforcements.

“The match brought a lot of interesting situations from both teams, especially offensively. There were a lot of breaks, shots and dangerous situations in the goal posts. It was a very good team performance from our side with very good individual performances from all the players on the pitch. We entered the match actively, unfortunately Tijani’s goal didn’t count, then we got a goal after the action of the opponent. I would say that it provoked us a little bit to perform even more actively, because we knew that we had to turn the match. However, I think that after a very good performance in the offensive part with interesting actions in the wing areas, we managed to get into dangerous situations. Mainly thanks to the excellent Matěj Jurásk, we were able to create situations from which we turned around by halftime. In the second half, we continued our active performance, it was interesting football on both sides, we added two more goals, unfortunately we did not convert other interesting situations. In some promising positions we didn’t hit the goal, or we only aimed at the goalkeeper. It was a great backdrop, great visit, great atmosphere. We are happy that we managed this match after Europe, we played interesting football with interesting individual performances even by players who haven’t played that much recently,” says the coach after the 5:1 win over Karvina Jindřich Trpišovský.

You put Aleš Mandous in goal. Is it number one for you right now?
“The change was planned in advance. We already talked about it when we went to Jablonec. We wanted to give Mandy space, she is training well, she has what it takes. We already agreed on this before Luhansk, the change would be anyway. Of course, it didn’t work out for Ondra on Thursday, it was all the more on offer. But it was only one game, the guys are both staying here now, so we’ll see after the rep break what happens, how they’re both in mood. God forbid a medical condition might play into it, you never know. Now it was a change for one match, after the rep break we’ll see what happens next.”

Who would you pick in the match with Karvina?
“What I liked most was that no one played badly. Of course, some guys confirmed their performance standard, but I liked Tijani, for example, I see a shift in his running activity and style of play. I also liked Míša Tomič, he indicated great potential both defensively and offensively. Matěj Jurásek was also very good in the first half, Conrad Wallem played his best match for us so far. But I could go on like this, Osky and Zafi played their standard that we are used to. There was no one I was really unhappy with. Lukáš Masopust went down because of the card he had as a stopper, it was not for performance reasons. I am most happy that no one played badly.”

Three top players scored goals in the match, are you happy about that?
“I don’t take it that way. I want us to score as many goals as possible, have as many chances as possible. Halfway through we emphasized that we had to repay the people who came. Of course, scoring goals is important for shooters, for their confidence. Venca didn’t give a penalty last time, now he broke it, what we want from him has brought fruit to Tiji, and that is pressing. Mojma again caught the beginning of the match, which he has been missing a little lately, moreover, he is stronger at crosses from the right side, now he scored from the center from the left. But I don’t care who scores the goals, it’s more important for their feeling. We don’t care who gets those chances, mainly to convert them. For Conrad, for example, I’m happy that he converted the penalty he took, but I don’t care if our top scorer has twelve or twenty goals at the end, it’s about how who works for the team and how the team is doing. Venca struggled again in the match, which then brings the results of the whole team.”

You haven’t kept a clean sheet in the last three games, what can be done about it?
“Sometimes it’s a change of mood, sometimes a change of typology. Recently, we have been starting without a defensive midfielder, we have more offensive players in the middle. Of course, they also perform defensive duties, but sometimes situations arise from this. You’re right that we’ve conceded a few times now, but it’s almost always the first shot on goal after a rebound. Even in Jablonec, it was the case that a player from Jablonec hit his player, and immediately they went to the break. Of course, even with those goals there are some individual hesitations that can be solved. Rather, it bothers me that for how few opponents we let in chances, the number of goals conceded is high. Sometimes you have five games in a row where the opponents have twenty chances and you only get two goals, sometimes every mistake is punished. I would compare it to the situation against Karviná in the second half, when one of the opponent’s players finished with his head, giving Mandy a chance to catch it. It also depends on how the opponent solves it. The team concept that we sometimes praise, where eight or nine players are involved in offensive actions, sometimes leads to us not being safe in defense. But that’s how we want to play, sometimes it just creates dangerous situations, by the fact that Krčík moved to a defensive midfielder, we only had two players in the middle, the opponent three, so that could also play a role. Of course, the personnel composition can also have an influence, but the defensive game is not a problem for the team at all, the stoppers perform the best and most consistently of all, but now the opponent simply punished us in every situation.”

How satisfied are you with where the team is before the rep break?
“I always say that we enter the rep break in a good mood, but then the players leave and fall out of the rhythm and mode they are used to. It is then with a question mark, how we jump into it afterwards. Certainly during the beginning of the season, everything was not rosy, except for the hesitation in Jablonec, where we got a goal from a single shot and where we created enough chances to manage it, so we give constant performances. We managed to get through the qualifiers, although the first halves in both away games didn’t go our way. But it’s still a qualification, where it’s very specific, little things and settings decide. But we are in the Europa League, for which we are happy. In Jablonec, we lost two points after probably the worst performance in the league, but the team works and trains very well, has an inner life and order. I have a better feeling about it than last season, it is further along, and there are also players in it who give interesting individual performances. Of course, we have a lot to work on, whether it’s the defensive component, performances away from home or entering the halves. Even though we were dangerous against Karviná, there were standard situations and so on. In addition, something will appear again, but I am satisfied with how the team works, what is the hierarchy in it, how the players train and approach what needs to be done. I think this is also reflected in the visits.”

You praised the performance of Matěj Jurásek. How satisfied are you with his work and how does he affect you as a person and in the cabin?
“I have already talked enough about Mates in the past. He only turned twenty last week, a long way off for his age. He is such a non-Czech player, terribly strong with the ball in the offensive part, great in leadership, first touch and finishing. He has game intelligence, he can evaluate situations when the ball is in the air and head the ball to the players in an advantageous position, he does this very often. He has improved tremendously in terms of fitness and strength, as well as defensively. What we work on the most are the fluctuations in performance, which are logical and have their reasons for such young players. I’ve known him since he was sixteen, when he first started in Leverkusen, then he went on loan to Karviná and Vlašimi. He has come a long way, he is reaping the fruits of his hard work. As demanding as I am sometimes, I have to say that sometimes I build here in my free time, and he is here alone without the trainers in the gym, even if it is a free afternoon or a free day. He is very goal-oriented and ambitious, as well as docile. In situations that limit him on the field, and we try to help him with some kind of run-up or change of position, he is then able to transfer it into practice, he knows how to use it. It’s easy to say something to someone, but then he has to apply it on the field and know the situation when he has to do it. This has to do with the intelligence Mates has. He helped us tremendously in Jablonec with Luhansk, where he was the main engine of change in the second half. Now in the first half it was a performance that I really liked. Sometimes there isn’t much to see and then he does two or three great things. I would like him to be more active in the game and on the field, so that it is not only about two or three moments of genius, but about constant activity and danger. I’m very happy with it now, he played great. Then there are things he needs to improve, which I don’t want to say publicly, but I will suggest that he needs to focus on his outdoor performances, which he showed in Jablonec and Luhansk.”

Are you close to strengthening your squad before the end of the transfer window?
“For the last two or three days, intensive negotiations have been going on, mainly with foreign countries, we approached perhaps seven players. During those two days not a single transfer took place for various reasons, now there is an option of one player who could arrive tomorrow. The negotiations are very close there, he is a player on the left side, he appeared recently when we had a quick look at him. For the other players, we did not find agreements with clubs that did not have a replacement or were waiting for a better offer. All the options we wanted to use didn’t work out, so more probes and options were quickly made, two players dropped out of it. We tried three more players from the Czech league, but even here the clubs did not agree. This one transfer will probably work out, then there is another player from abroad, that is also fresh, negotiations are currently underway, but it will take longer to find an agreement.”

The Rugby World Cup is upon us, does the sport mean anything to you? Will you be watching?
“This is a man’s sport, so every man and woman will love to watch. I have a lot of admiration for it, whether it’s MMA, boxing or rugby. Firstly, to how the sport takes place, and secondly, to what it is like. I was very fascinated by American football, I watched the series Quarterbacks. In the last fortnight, my football content was about twenty-six hours a day, when I found a little time, I was very pleased with the series. Even though it’s a different type of sport, I have a lot of admiration for it, rugby even more. All the contacts and melees they have to go through, I have a lot of admiration for that. But to be honest, I sometimes saw the Lions and Panthers match in the Czech Republic, but I’m not a big consumer because I don’t have much time for it. I saw New Zealand at the last championship, it’s an interesting sport, even with those series you can see how challenging it really is. But I’ll tell you straight away that I won’t get around to seeing anything. But I will definitely go through the results, I look at what is, I will always support the Czech Republic in any sport. I have to say that before Slavia I was a big consumer of sports broadcasts, but in Slavia there is not much time for anything else.”