Sparta’s reinforcements under the microscope: a calm Finn, a new start and unnecessary losses
The first duel after the Christmas holidays, the first duel within the traditional game camp in Marbella. An ideal opportunity to show fans new faces. Sparta sent three to the fight with Stuttgart. Dimitrije Kamenovič, Awer Mabil and Kaan Kairinen played half against the German opponent. How did they do in the premiere in red?
Plug
In the duel with Stuttgart, he led his teammates with the captain’s armband, as is often the case with rookies. The young defender was very busy in the first half. He held his own in aerial duels, proved his quality positional play and certain left-handedness. However, he had problems during acceleration, one of the opponent’s counters had to deal with pulling the emergency brake and malfunctions, otherwise the takeoff could not go well. But this can also be based on the current level of workload and related fatigue. Only sharp matches after the winter training will show how the guest from Lazio is doing in terms of speed.
Wing
He could hardly have dreamed of a better introduction. After only a few tens of seconds on the pitch, he took the ball, cut a brilliant Zidanovka in a serious opponent and invited Lukáš Haraslín to score a goal with a fluffy cross. Even in the following match, he confirmed that Sparta got a typologically completely different player in it. The Australian representative solves individual situations in his own way, I always try to find a constructive way. But efficiency does not always mean bingo. That’s also why he lost a lot of balls cheaply in the second half.
Mid-fielders
He moved lower in midfield than they might have expected. He practically replaced the role of the number six, i.e. the defensive midfielder. But he was definitely not lost. He knew how to handle the ball, he was able to calm down the game. Even difficult moments when he was under pressure, he solved in such a way that Letenský did not lose the ball. He worked on a large space and purposefully changed the center of gravity of the game. And an important bonus: left foot or right, practically no difference for the Finn. Once he settles in, however, he will be required to make a greater offensive contribution.
Mid-fielders
He watched Thursday’s duel against Stuttgart only in his civilian clothes. It was too early for him to jump into action. The Albanian representative, whom Sparta pulled out of Ligue 1 in the winter, joined the team at the training camp in Spain later, he only started the training process on Wednesday. Therefore, he could only encourage his new teammates from the sidelines. If everything goes well, he could make his debut on Monday, when Letenský challenge Salzburg in Marbella. The next (and last) option before the sharp start of spring is only the summer general with Nuremberg, which is scheduled for January 21.
The win is great, but I don’t think this is exactly what we wanted, says Loučka