“It was quite a whirlwind, but we are all happy with the experience. We didn’t cause shame,” reflects the 18-year-old Russian a few days later.
At first glance, the visible difference was, for example, in the physical equipment of the individual players. In short, the City youngsters had the musculature of an adult. For example, the German winger Farid Alfa-Ruprecht, who ventilated Sparta’s defense in a sometimes unbelievable way.
“He looked like he had been playing adult football for about four years. The difference in the physical aspect was very visible. It was Ruprecht who gave us problems the whole match. Their stoppers played calmly, overall they were excellent tactically. It surprised me a lot. I’ve probably never played against such a team before,” admits the Russian, who signed a new professional contract on Friday at Letná.
“It’s another excellent experience both for those of us who play in the second league in the Czech Republic, but especially for the boys who still play in the U19 competition. We may never meet an opponent of this quality again,” midfielder and captain Jakub Tošnar said immediately after the match.
After the opening 2:3 loss against Salzburg, the young Spartans lost 0:3 at Stuttgart and 0:3 at City. Even though each duel told a different story, at least in the away games, the foreign opponent had the comprehensive technical and physical advantage.
The coach of the second league B-team, Luboš Loučka, who works primarily with players around 20 years old and often younger, sees the possibility of selecting football talents as one of the reasons in general.
Photo: AC Sparta Prague
Spartan winger Daniel Rus (in white) at the UEFA Youth League match at Manchester City, where the young Prague fell 0:3.
“When we talk about the Youth League, Stuttgart, City and Salzburg can reach almost anywhere in the world and bring players. The sieve for the U19 and U21 teams is then so tight that only the best pieces slip through. Players who, in my opinion, can be counted on for the first team. It also applies here at Sparta, but when you see the individual quality of City, for example, it is still somewhere else,” he describes.
Of course, in addition to gathering experience and measuring abilities, it is about results.
“Everything is pushing us, but we are in Sparta and we want to win every game. We are not satisfied in this respect, hopefully we will do better in the remaining matches,” believes the Russian ahead of the autumn duels with Brest, Atlético and Feyenoord.
According to the coach of the 19th team, Jan Kopáňk, a certain progress can be seen over the past three duels. “I can see a shift in adapting to the quality of the opponents in the youth Champions League.”
“We meet top European clubs. We have not yet succeeded in terms of points, but I believe that everyone will take something away that can move them further. We should draw from that,” adds Kopáňko for the club’s website.
The under-21 selection, basically the B-team, then participates in the Premier League International Cup again after a year. So far, he has lost 1:2 against Norwich, until the end of January, his peers from Fulham, Manchester United and Liverpool await him.
Photo: AC Sparta Prague
Spartan winger Daniel Rus (in white in the middle) at the UEFA Youth League match at Manchester City, where the young Prague fell 0:3.
“We have been playing the Youth League for a long time and the picture is that the teams are one or two steps ahead of us. Personally, I will judge the Premier League International Cup better, where the difference is not dominant at all. Maybe even the other way around,” outlines Loučka.
As mentioned, the Letenských reserve has been fighting in the second highest Czech competition since the 2021/2022 season. At the premiere, it finished 5th, then 7th, last year 11th, and is currently in 12th position after 13 rounds played.
Young people are having a good time with an adult female. “At City, the quality of football was greater than in the second division. “It’s more about fights and emphasis than about football,” the Russian thinks. “Similar in speed and intensity, but in such a quality that it cannot be completely compared,” adds Tošnar.
In any case, the Spartans also gather knowledge at the matches of the big Champions League, which they always go to visit in the evening after their performance. The last time they saw how the group around captain Filip Panák fell 0:5 at the Etihad Stadium.
“The first half was good. They outplayed City in the area, but they didn’t have clear chances. Then, when Erling Haaland scored a beautiful goal with his heel, it broke. He touches the ball 10 times a game, but he scores two goals, that’s unbelievable. Personally, I really like Bernardo Silva, for example. In general, everyone is great individual, it’s great for us that we could be there. But I liked our fans the most,” emphasizes the Russian.
