Tvrdík confirmed Olayinka’s departure. They say he deserves a portrait on the stadium wall. How do you react to Slavia fans?
It seems strange. Clubs from abroad wanted Peter Olayinka every year and offered big money. Nothing came of it, and the Nigerian footballer will eventually go to Serbia for free after the end of his contract. What about his playing time in red and white this spring?
Without a doubt, Peter Olayinka has done great service to Slavia and his departure cannot be blamed in any way. It is rather a form of departure. If he left for Fenerbahce Istanbul last summer, as planned and collapsed at the last minute, Slavia would have received a handsome severance package and Nigerians would have applauded the entire stadium.
This way, the goodbye will be a little cooler. With his departure, Olayinka divided the fans into two camps. According to the first group Slavia, he gave everything in 4.5 years, scored beautiful goals and has the right to leave and take the offer, which according to the boss Jaroslav Tvrdík is much more favorable.
However, the other half of the fans do not agree with the fact that the player, who was often the captain of the team, would leave “behind his back” and take a picture with another team’s jersey, when he still has six months left on his contract with Slavia.
Many fans are also upset that he is leaving in the current situation for Serbia, which is supported by Russia and has the main sponsor of Putin’s aggression – Gazprom – on its jersey. However, that is the player’s choice, rather the problem is taking pictures with a different jersey when Slavia has not even issued an announcement that the player will leave.
Let play or sit?
In the spring, the implementation team will probably decide what to do with Olayinka. No doubt they are still a great player, but the question will be how the coaches will take his summer departure.
It would certainly make sense for players such as Jurásek, Usor, Ewerton and Schranz, who will continue to play in Slavia and have a future, to get more space on the wing in the spring.
For Olayinka, the fact that he will leave for free in the summer will still play a role, and it would be better for Slavia to prepare players to take his place.
On the other hand, Olayinka belongs to the team’s best players and understands Trpišovský’s requirements like few others. Slavia is waiting for a stiff fight for the title in the spring and will need the strongest players, there is no room for any insults or slurs.
In addition, Olayinka can still play for Slavia in that six months, and if he were to shoot for the title, he would at least make up for the transfer start that the red and whites won’t get for him. Even according to the statement of Tvrdík, that Slavia will approach its leader in a different way.
However, a problem could arise if Olayinka was already the head of Crvena Zvezda, or if he played so as not to get injured. At that point deploying it wouldn’t make much sense.