Helping the needy is more than a sport, says Jan Homola, captain of the Futsaal Slavia Prague
I am glad that I succeeded and that I tasted this feeling. Historically, no one will take it from me anymore. But I appreciate every nomination to the national team more. We now have a strong generation of players, and every national team moves me forward.
Now it is possible to claim that you are a stable player of the Czech national team. You even played at the September World Cup in Lithuania. It must also have been an extraordinary experience…
Yes, really unreal. From the matches themselves through the organization of the tournament, sports halls, to hotels and everything connected with it. The highest level of futsal. I really appreciate that I got into the nomination and I was able to experience the atmosphere of the tournament. The World Cup is once every four years, not everyone is lucky enough to get there. I was lucky. Seeing the world’s best players playing and coaching for a month was a big school for me. And also a commitment to work on each other and more.
Jan Homola
27 years
Fusal – I. league
Club: Slavia Prague
Current season: 14 matches – 9 ocels – 6 assists
I. league table:
1.Chrudim 15 13 1 1 112: 15 40
2.Teplice 16 12 3 1 78:35 39
3.Pilsen 13 10 1 2 79:22 31
4.Slavia 14 9 1 4 62:29 28
5.Helas Brno 15 7 2 6 45:56 23
6.Sparta 17 14 7 0 7 51:54 21
7.Mělník 14 6 2 6 53:55 20
8.Liberec 16 5 1 10 48:64 16
9. Estuary nL 16 5 1 10 37:85 16
10.ŽV Brno 16 4 1 11 38:90 13
11.Č.Lípa 16 3 1 12 37:82 10
12. Č.Budějov. 15 1 2 12 38:91 5
Let’s go to your Slavia. How do you evaluate the autumn part of the season?
It could have been happier if we had managed some matches that we had played well or where we were as a paper favorite. But even so, we stay in fourth place and after the basic part we want to fight for the best possible starting position for the playoffs.
And what are this year’s output goals?
We would like to get a medal after a long time. We have a great team. It’s a mix of experienced players who are at their best age and young guys who are the future of the club. But everything will depend on the current form, health and mental distribution of the team. I am convinced that we can time the performance to go as far as possible in this year’s playoffs. So to that medal.
In December, you placed in the derby with Sparta, which you crushed 10: 1. Giving her four goals doesn’t stay every day and everyone…
I got to the productivity tables of the history of the Prague S derby. This is an interesting success. I really had no idea I had so many Canadian points in the derby. I didn’t find out these statistics until after the match, when they were published. By having the most derby of all the players in history, I have a bit compared to the others. But it’s still a pleasure to know how many great players have played in these two teams in history. But these are not individual statistics and in the derby this is doubly true. It is the biggest match, in such matches the ego of each individual must go aside. Concentration must be focused only on the success of the team.
Your girlfriend Tereza Pokorná is the best scorer in the MOL handball league. That is definitely a good motivation. Are you hanging out in this direction with the Písek gunner?
It certainly affects my performance and the goals scored. We support each other and it has a very good effect on me, thanks to which I am much calmer in matches than I used to be. But as far as goals scored are concerned, I don’t want to equal her and I can’t. What I give for the season, she manages to shoot for the match. (smile)
Is the beginning of the year, what are your sports plans and goals for the future?
I have a lot of plans, whether in sports or personal life. I’m a competitive type of person and I still want to move forward. Everything, but it depends on a lot of circumstances. I still want to improve, both as a player and as a person. I definitely want great success on the club scene with Slavia. I am happy to be able to work in one club and in such an organization as Slavia Prague for so many years.
Some time ago, you were also an unofficial advisor-consultant to the coaches of second-league Amor Vyškov. Do you monitor his performance and results?
Yes, I watch it closely. The boys probably didn’t do well in the autumn. But I believe that they will get up and that they will still shuffle the cards in the second league. But what I follow more than the results themselves is the charity that the club, led by Mr. Petlach, organizes. It’s more than a sport to me. And I’m really glad that for several years now he’s still being led by great viewers. I would like to expect Cupid and their chairman to advance to the first league. He deserves it over the years.
You went to big football, or more precisely futsal, from your native Dražovice. Class I was played here at a solid level. Now Dražovice is three floors lower, only in III. class in the Vyškov region. Aren’t you sad about that?
I grew up on that field. I had a great childhood there, even as a fan of our A team. But times have changed, football in the villages is generally falling. At that time, the league youth was in Drnovice, a lot of boys who did not get into higher competitions went to play in the surrounding villages. Today, the base is missing. There is a second league Vyškov, but there are not that many players. That is the reality. That is why village football suffers. Nowadays, football is moving to big cities. It is also difficult to build a product in the villages. I think that Dražovice has nothing to be ashamed of. And the football district should be proud of them for how long they have stayed in such above-standard regional competitions for the municipality. But the decision to play III. class was the best possible solution. That is my subjective opinion. They play the top of the table, they win, everyone enjoys it. Families meet on the playground. This is how it should be in villages such as Dražovice.
Your team caught the covid. How annoying is postponement of matches and how do you deal with unplanned time off?
These breaks are always uncomfortable for athletes. You fall out of the training and wrestling rhythms, then it takes some time again to get back in peace. Players who are able to train, so we have video trainings with a fitness trainer every day, so that we can stay in shape in some style and lose so that it is not so striking.