It wasn’t a dozen absences. This was also recognized by the novice journalist who visited the Spartan press center after the match. When home captain Filip Panák was asked about the atmosphere in the cabin and the alleged dispute between coach Friis and offensive lineman Birmančević, club spokesman Pavel Jína intervened.
“I’ll get into it, it’s not a question about Fíla. Burma has an injury.’
Can it be specified now? “Not at this time.”
Only after the end of the part with defender Panák did the spokesperson clarify: “It’s a groin.”
And it continued on. When coach Lars Friis took the chair instead of Panák, the first question that came to him was: “Would Veljko Birmančević play if he wasn’t injured?”
“Yes,” replied the Danish coach. “He’s out for four to six weeks.”
Let’s get to the facts and the beginning of the whole story, which resonates among the red supporters.
Shortly after the Spartan crash with Baník the infotbal.cz server published a text with informationthat Birmančevič had a sharp exchange of views with Sparta’s A-team sports manager Tomáš Sivok. The people of Leten are not having a good time. Before the weekend, they lost three out of four league matches. The title is moving away. They were trained for this in the Champions League by Manchester City, who gave them a blast.
The results and impressive performances were reflected in the cabin. According to a server specializing in behind-the-scenes events, coach Friis should have reacted to Birmančevič’s argument with Sivok, who should have removed the 26-year-old Serb from the lineup.
It happened. But according to Sparta, ultimately for a different reason.
“I think it would be fair to keep the content of our interviews within the team. It’s internal. I would like to put energy into results, that’s what I want to focus on,” asked Friis.
Maybe even such an answer will tell something…
Birmančević arrived at the match in civilian clothes, wearing a black jacket with dark trousers. He was walking around the field after the defeat. He was part of the wheel in which the Spartans were telling themselves another crash, after which the top of the top competition could be removed from them.
Birmančevič also had an interesting moment. While the disappointed Spartans slowly left the field, in the corner of the home team near the Serbian flags, the fans also pulled out a banner: Support for Burma! Support for Burma.
The Serb stopped by the group, applauded the spectators, thanked them, and took a picture. It was obvious that he appreciated the message.
The fans noticed that Birmančević was not feeling well. He reigned supreme in the top competition last season. He contributed significantly to the title, scoring 16 goals and 11 assists. Although he has been far from such a style in recent weeks. He scored three goals in the league, two from the penalty spot. But Flek still belonged to him in the starting eleven.
If Friis’s forecast is confirmed, Birmančevič will have played calmly in the fall
In the meantime, the club must evaluate whether Birmančević’s drop in productivity is related to the summer changes in the squad. Sparta brought the Kosovans Rrahmani and Krasniqi to the team, the Albanians Laci and Tuci are already working for Letná.
All of these are representatives of countries that do not have the warmest relations with Serbia due to their recent troubled history. And that is a very polite description of the Balkan conflict.
But Sparta has other and bigger worries. After the fourth defeat in the last five league duels, the footballers will probably face another round of negotiations and interviews. And who knows if it will only concern sports results.
