BRATISLAVA. It was at the time when the Slavs began to slowly fall into the dark ages. A few months earlier, the chairman of the board of directors of the club, Ján Ducký, was shot in a mafia manner, in front of his own house.
After the death of the former director of the Slovak Gas Industry (SPP) and former Minister of the Economy, the club lost significant financial support and sponsors.
The budget for the season (2000/2001) was seventy million kroner, which translates to about 2.3 million euros.
It was the fall of 2000 and the Slovan players faced Dinamo Zagreb for the last time in the UEFA Cup. In the first match at home they lost 0:3, in the second leg they drew 1:1. Some Slovan players played two matches without a contract and in uncertainty about their future.
It was a strange time. Slovan was led by Stanislav Jarábek, a Trnava legend. Igor Bališ, another Trnava legend, played on the wing. What was the fate of the Slovan heroes who faced the Croatian giant?
Many do not play football.
One of them is a data analyst at the IT company IBM. Another made it to the director of the savings bank, he was rookie of the year. Another played in the Premier League and was praised by the famous David Beckham. Who did the agent buy the Porsche for?
Tomas Bernady (54)
Goalkeeper. In 2001, he transferred to Púchov. In his jersey, he won the Slovak Cup and caught a memorable match against Barcelona.
In 2005, he went to Inter Bratislava, he ended his professional career in 2009 in his native Ostrava. Miner is the club of his heart. He worked there for many years at various levels. He also led the team – as the head coach.
He later worked in the structures of the Czech Football Association, where he was in charge of the regional academy. Since last year, he has been working again in Ostrava, where he is the head of the A team.
Igor Bališ (54)
In the spring of 2001, the fast winger transferred to West Bromwich Albion for 150,000 pounds, for which he made his debut on December 23, 2000 in a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
“However, at the time, West Bromwich were not particularly rich. I was making the same money there
