“Maxi” does not agree with Slavia: transformation into a force, conflict, upset by exclusion
Maksym Talovjerov’s connection with Slavia has been broken for the second time. The coaching staff assessed that the Ukrainian would play the role of a mere extra in the second half of the season. Therefore, he travels to Austria for further football education, spending the spring in Linz. It is not a surprise, on the contrary, an expected step. The defensive specialist did not stick in Eden.
It’s a strange story of unfulfilled expectations. Certainly mutual misunderstanding. Disillusionment. Breakups. Slavia and Maksym Talovjerov have not yet found their way to each other. The consequence is a second posting on loan within a few months. The Ukrainian takes the handle in Linz. He will stay in Austria until the end of the season. The reason is simple. The implementation team headed by Jindřich Trpišovský has no place for the twenty-two-year-old defensive specialist.
“Given that Maksym would not be getting the amount of minutes on the pitch that he needs at his age, a loan move before the summer European Under-21 Championship is a logical solution. Czech and foreign options were in play, after an agreement with a player who preferred Linz, he is heading to Austria,” Jiří Bílek, the club’s sports director, explained to the club’s website.
It is the second time in a short time that the tall Ukrainian nicknamed Maxi has left Slavia. He did not find employment in the squad already in the summer. He moved to Liberec. It must be said that in the north they were enthusiastic about the foreign reinforcement. Talovjerov was one of the permanent stones of the starting line-up, he was naturally the boss of the defense, directing the game of the entire team. Either from the stopper position or from the position of “six” in backup forms.
Although he didn’t want to leave Slavia in the summer, in Liberec he managed to perform above average. He toiled, fought, supplied the team with a lot of energy, did not hide his emotions. He gained the status of a recognized fighter.
“I have known him since he came to the Czech Republic. He applied himself to the academy in České Budějovice, and I have been following his journey ever since. He is a great somatotype, the quality on the ball has improved. When Tiéhi left, we needed a player like that. I have been satisfied with him since the first moment he was here,” praised Liberec coach Luboš Kozel.
They spoke of him similarly nicely and with appreciation before in České Budějovice, where he primarily played as a stopper. So why didn’t it work out in Slavia? Maybe because the coaching staff pushed too hard to change the Ukrainian’s nature. From the beginning of the engagement, i.e. from January last year, Jindřich Trpišovský had a plan to transform Talovjerov into a defensive midfielder and later upgrade him to a typical “box to box” midfielder.
Yes, the goal was to raise a new Tomáš Souček. “I see Maksym more in the middle row, he has the same parameters as Suk,” repeated Trpišovský.
But the transformation from the beginning of the bond. Talovjerov had a hard time getting used to specific tasks. He was especially unsure of spatial behavior. No, it wasn’t a problem at all. But the average is. But it is not worn in Slavia. In addition, in March, Trpišovský fest was upset by an unnecessary expulsion in the match with České Budějovice (1:0). “I don’t like when a player with a yellow card goes to the slide, the risk is huge,” the coach said. The popular Ukrainian was not even greeted by a sharp quarrel with Ibrahim during the end-to-end match with Feyenoord in the Konfer quarter-finals. He hasn’t played much since this incident…
Talovjerov was responsible for some things, but he could not influence others. For example, the fact that he did not get a really serious test in the defensive four.
“I think he’s a stopper. This position certainly speaks for him more. We also tried him as a defensive midfielder in the summer training, but he has certain limits for playing in this position. Due to his somatotype, he can be a very good stopper for the offensive phase, he is above standard there. Defensively, he still has some reserves, but after all, he is a young player. If I improve in this, I can be a footballer for a better team,” Luboš Kozel described his experience.
He returned from Liberec in the winter. I wanted to reclaim the lost position. But it was a fight with windmills. Slavia’s stopper line-up is elegantly padded with Ousou, Santos, Kačaraba, Kričfaluš and the newly arrived Ogbu. Hovorka is recovering. In the heart of the reserve, the situation is very similar. Hromada is experiencing a renaissance period, Traoré still has confidence, Oscar is counted on as a backup, captain Holeš will announce his return in a month. The chances of penetrating the foundation were minimal.
Therefore, Talovjerov adopted another alternative solution. Austrian Linz, after the autumn the third team of the local Bundesliga. And also the team that Slavia successfully confronted in the spring of last year in the round of 16 of the Conference League. The paradox is that, according to the first statements, Linz is counting on the Ukrainian as a backup. “Maksym was one of Slavia’s most striking players in the matches. We plan to use it in midfield, where it was primarily used in Slavia. We are getting a very robust player who is strong in the air and who will give us new options in midfield,” says Radovan Vujanovič, sporting director of LASK.
Talovjerov has been active in the Czech league since the summer of 2019. He leaves for Austria with a record of 71 league matches, in which he scored two goals. A potential permanent offense is not part of the six-month contract.
This is not the first store on the route Slavia – Linec. A few days ago, he moved to Austria on loan with winger Moses Usor. Both clubs are planning to continue their cooperation in the future.