Priske introduced reinforcements. And autumn? I expected progress to be faster, he says
The third Sparta loses seven points to the leader Pilsen, five to the second Slavia. That is also why four new reinforcements came to the team even before the start of the main phase of winter training, part of which the team will spend at a game camp in Spain.
All from abroad.
“It’s common for the team to change and add to it during the season,” Priske pointed out. “From the moment I joined the club, Tomáš Rosicky and I regularly discussed the short-term and long-term vision. We’re six months away, we’ve figured out what we need and what we’ve been missing. It’s great that we managed to bring all the players in so early.”
After your arrival, did you expect that there would be so many changes in the squad during a single half-season?
Yes, I don’t. It took us a long time in the summer before we started to improve. Longer than I expected myself. Numerous injuries or the suspended striker Kuchta were also reflected in this, but the end of the autumn was, with some exceptions, according to expectations. The game shown and the results were better and I believe that with the new expressions our progress will be even better.
New assistant Lars Friis“Every coach would prefer his execution team to stay together for the whole season. But since we let go of Thomas Nörgaard, I’m glad that he was replaced by Lars Friis. We already met in Midtjylland, she also knows some other female colleagues and I believe she will adapt quickly. Nothing changes for the team, everything remains the same, only now a different voice will speak to it. Lars now mainly needs to get to know the players quickly, which is a matter of a few days.” |
Kairinen, Kamenovič, Laci and Mabil, the names of your reinforcements. Why them?
First of all, I would like to mention that I certainly did not choose it myself. It is the work of the entire team around Tomáš Rosický, we worked together, prepared ahead and also looked at players in our reserve, academy and the Czech league earlier.
Did not find what you were looking for?
We wanted extra quality and international experience. I myself have pleaded with the management to add players from abroad to our current mix. We already had a good team in the fall, but thanks to the new players we can move forward.
Can you introduce the newcomers in more detail?
The Spartan scouting department had been following Kamenovič for a long time. He has a great left foot, you can play on the edge of defense or as a stopper. He got to know the environment of a big club, even though he did not play much in Lazio. He also has experience in the Serbian U21 team.
What about Awer Mabil, the footballer you know from Midtjylland?
A representative of Australia, a participant in the World Cup in Qatar, which speaks for itself. From the position of the wing, he collects a lot of assists, scores goals and most importantly: he is very hardworking both offensively and defensively.
Two more players came as reinforcements in the midfield: Finn Kaan Kairinen from Lilleström and Albanian Qazim Laci from Ajaccio.
Qazima has also been in the club’s sights for a long time, and right now there is a good opportunity to get him. He has great physical qualities and will occupy more positions in the middle of the reserve. He understands the ball, he has a great passing game.
Kairinen?
Another player I know a bit from Midtjylland where I met him as a very young lad. Since then, he has come a long way, he found out that undisputed talent is not enough for him, he started working hard on himself, he improved and won a transfer to Norway, where he belonged to the players. He is a fighter, also a Finnish representative.
Aren’t you worried that it will take time for foreign players to get used to the Czech league?
I’m not afraid, because all four of them are already working abroad, they have this experience in their careers and they know what it entails. It is possible that, for example, Kamenovič, who had a small workload, will need more time, but maybe a change of environment will help him and he will catch on right away. It’s like that with some players.
Why did you really want to bring foreigners to Sparta?
Because they can also move a local player on. We are in Sparta, a Czech club that must rely on Czech players, but at the same time we need an impulse from outside. Guys who see football from a different perspective, guys who have different stories and different paths. They will create competition, bring diversity, new energy and dynamism. It is for all of us that they make their mark in Sparta.
With what ambitions do you actually enter the spring part of the season?
They are still the same. Nothing has changed. We already said before the start of the season that Sparta’s goals are always the highest. There are two clubs ahead of us after the first half of the season and I would like us to get more points than them in the spring. What will it be good for? We’ll see. But we are hungry, brave, determined and I believe that nothing is impossible. In the autumn we complicated the situation ourselves, but now we have strengthened well and are ready to fight.