18/05/2024, Editorial Board
Jindřich Trpišovský spoke at the press conference after the win over Slovácko (2:1) about the disappointment of losing chances for the title, described the increasing quality of the league, paid tribute to Martin Svědík and covered the cards before the final round of the season.
“By way of introduction, I would like to pay a big tribute to Martin Svědík and congratulate him for everything he has achieved with Slovácko. It is always one of the most difficult opponents for us, I have great admiration for the work of the coaching staff. As for the match, it depended on converting our chances, which we had from the start and unfortunately most of them were thrown away. Even the great goalkeeper Heča kept the opponents at bay. I liked our activity, but it did not bring a goal in the first half. In the second act, a beautiful goal by Tomáš Holeš helped us, he hit it with his left hand. Then we did not manage the situation on the right side of the pitch and the ball unfortunately bounced into the goal. I’m glad that there was a quick reaction after a nice pass by David Douděra. Mojmír Chytil can do it from similar positions. Overall, from my point of view, a well-deserved victory and a quality performance in all directions. I’m only worried about productivity, there should have been more goals for sure. It would be much easier for us to play,” he evaluated the match in Uherské Hradiště coach Trpišovský.
You mentioned Martin Svědík, will you miss the mutual fights?
“I will miss him mainly as a person. But I am convinced that we will soon see each other on the bench as opponents, I am really looking forward to it. His team is always well prepared, they give us problems every year. Even so, I will definitely miss him, especially in connection with Slovácko. His handwriting is admirable.’
The title fight is over. When did you find out about the progress of the match in Mladá Boleslav?
“We didn’t deal with it at all. I didn’t register it until the end of the game. You can’t do anything about the other matches, you have to focus on yourself and hope for hesitation. We mainly wanted to perform as well as possible for the sake of the people who came to see us and for the sake of the fans on TV. Even if you have the biggest lead or loss, you still have to play just as aggressively and with maximum effort.
Did you believe until the last moment?
“Of course. In football, anything can happen, which was shown, for example, last season in the Bundesliga. Sparta had a successful year, practically did not lose and managed important duels at home and away. But nothing changed for our work, we tried to do it one hundred percent. We knew that we had a very difficult game ahead of us against an opponent who would be hyped. He said goodbye to the coach, some players. They left everything on the field. The title requires enormous quality, which increases every year. We played for first place until the last rounds, we fought until the end. Decisions are often made in mutual encounters, from which we did not manage to take advantage. However, it is a combination of several circumstances that the team must manage without hesitation.”
So how do you rate second place?
“It’s a failure. You are in a huge club that has the highest ambitions. During our coaching tenure, we won three times with Slavia, now we are taking silverware for the third time. You always want to be above your rival, to get to the top. So a great disappointment prevails in me. A lot changed during the season, we had to react. But you have to win every match regardless of all the factors, and unfortunately we didn’t always manage to do that. A lot of things went well, a lot of things didn’t. But in the end, I consider it a failure. The team is still forming, developing. He showed great strength in the superstructure, but even that is sometimes not enough.”
The current points account would have been enough for you in most previous seasons for the title, why not now?
“As I said, all the clubs are on the rise. Especially the first three teams are of great quality. They made the Czech Republic an indelible advertisement in Europe. When the third team in the competition plays in the quarter-finals of the Conference League and concedes two goals in fifteen games, you get the answer. We have 25 wins out of 34 games and we are not playing for the title in the last round, it is a bitter paradox. Next year we have to go a level higher. We have more European matches, the EURO, a shorter winter break and the fight for a place in the Champions League ahead of us.”
You mentioned the EURO, will you save potential representatives in the last round?
“It is possible that such a situation will arise. Some players started with minor injuries, Mojmír Chytil and Petr Ševčík were not completely fit. So we will discuss it from all angles. On the other hand, some players will want to show themselves in the league epilogue, we will take that into account as well. It’s quite possible that a couple of the guys will get a vacation to at least get some rest. It is possible that he will join us again only for the qualification or the first round.”
Can the battle for the top scorer also play a role in the composition of the lineup?
“It is of course one of the topics. Even last year, the boys played a lot on Venac Jurečka to get to the first place. Now we still have Mojma there, they both have a chance. We will definitely want to help them. Venca has a huge xG, but unfortunately he doesn’t benefit from it as much as we would probably like. On the other hand, 37 goals in two seasons in the league plus a few more hits in Europe is a great report card.”
