Slovakia Ministry of Foreign Affairs Summons Tibor Peto

Tibor Peto is the ambassador from Hungary to Slovakia. He was summoned by the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Slovakia when incidents of anti-Slovak comments and slogans happened at the qualifier match for Euro 2020 played between the two nations. The match was being played at Budapest when offensive slogans were heard from the spectators and the state symbols where denigrated. Meanwhile, the Ministry condemned the signs of hostility and aggression of the nationals along with the incidents of slogans and comments during the game.

The Ministry said that these kinds of expressions will not be accepted in the stadium as well as in other places. He added that incidents like these are very unsafe and dangerous. They can even upset the relations between Slovakia and Hungary. Tibor Peto has been asked by the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Slovakia to request the governmental authorities of Hungary so that they can give more attention to this incident. They must also use all the ways that are available to them so that they can eliminate it.

A criminal complaint has been received by the Office of the General Prosecutor regarding the football stadium incidents concerning suspicions of the crime. It has also been mentioned in the complaint that the race, belief and the nation have been defamed during the crime. A tense situation accompanied the whole game by which the fans present in the stands were being influenced.

The fans for Slovakia were controlled by the police as there were Slovaks who are nationals of Hungary and they cheered for the Hungarian team. The situation did not improve even after the match was over. The fans for Hungary started booing during the national anthem of Slovakia. Criminal proceedings have been launched by the Hungarian police against two persons who were detained when the match was being played.

Steven Gerrard Closes Transfer with Slovakian Player Martin Skrtel

The thirty-four-year-old has turned into an agent following his contract with Fenerbahce; the Turkish side was over towards the end of the season. Steven Gerrard has talked to the defender, as per the reports. It is believed that the answer is positive. Reports also suggest that Skrtel is arranging for a journey to Glasglow to have a discussion in person in a few days. However, this will not be the first time that Gerrard will bring the Slovakian international onto the team as Liverpudlian identified the defender to be the transfer target prior to his appointment as the manager of the Ranger in the previous season.

Nevertheless, the first approach of the club failed as they were unable to reach the valuation of £5million for Skrtel. In January Gerrard returned hoping that the club is going to allow players to move since he was in the final year of the contract. However, they failed to agree upon the personal terms. Skrtel had a large contract at Fenerbahce as he earned £60,000 every week and according to his agent, he wasn’t ready to take the cut of over 50% to push the deal in January.

Now, this defender seems to be free and might be open to a new challenge. There is a chance that he will reunite with Gerrard. At present, Gerrard is at the Algarve to over the pre-season training of the Rangers as they prepare for the first qualifying round of the Europa League on 11th of July. Skrtel had conversations with Rangers with a deal that might be only a few days away. Nonetheless, the transfer might be delayed with Gerrard and the team at pre-training. According to reports, there have been some conversations and we have to wait for few days to see if the deal really happens.

SIMEONE PRAISES SLOVAKIAN STAR

Atletico battled to a hard-fought 2-0 victory at home to Celta Vigo which keeps the club in the hunt for the La Liga title with a few games left in the season. Antoine Griezmann scored a fantastic freekick to open the scoring before loan forward Alvaro Morata added a second for the hosts.

Celta Vigo who came to the Wanda Metropolitano seeking a victory to draw out of the relegation battle were unlucky to meet Atletico stopper Jan Oblak in good form.
The Slovakia international put up a man of the match performance making three world-class saves to ensure victory. After the game, Atletico’s manager Diego Simeone was full of praise for the former Benfica ace. The enigmatic Argentine told a packed media that he believes the Slovakia international is the best shot-stopper in the world.

Oblak joined Atletico from Benfica in 2014 as a replacement for Thibaut Courtois and has quickly developed into one of the best goalkeepers in the world. the 26-year-old is known for his sharp reflexes and excellent handle of the ball and has been linked with a big transfer in the past seasons.

“It was reported in the summer that Manchester United were reportedly considering a move” for the stopper in the scenario that David De Gea fails to agree on a new contract. While PSG are also thought to be interested in the stopper as the club feels that it lacks in the department as “Alfonso Areola has failed” to convince boss Thomas Tuchel.

Atletico Madrid wary of losing their number one have offered him a new contract worth £166,000 a week with an increased buyout clause of £100 million. The Spanish side would be hoping that Oblak would be the bedrock of the team for years to come.

HAMSIK – THE TRUE NAPOLI LEGEND

When Marek Hamsik signed for Napoli in 2007 on a €5.5 million deal from Brescia not many knew the spiky-haired youngster. However 12 years later the Slovakian leaves Italy as a bonafide star after giving his all at the Naples outfit.

Hamsik was one of the players Napoli signed after regaining promotion to the Seria A after spending some seasons in the lower league as a result of bankruptcy. He quickly became a fans favourite becoming the top scorer of the club for two consecutive seasons as Napoli sought to consolidate their stay in the league.

However, the 2010/2011 season would be the season when the Slovakian would shoot into the limelight alongside attacking duo Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi. Napoli finished in the Champions League places in the league with Hamsik contributing 11 goals and 6 assists in the League.

Playing at the tip of the midfield of Walter Mazzarri’sfavoured 3-4-3 formation Hamsik became one of the most feared midfielders in Europe. That Napoli squad was blessed with quick counter-attacking pace combining the brain of Hamsik, the Skill of Lavezzi and the scoring touch of Cavani.

He also played a pivotal role in the 2011/2012 season scoring in the final against bitter rivals Juventus as Napoli lifted its first title in 20 years. That summer saw the departure of Edinson Cavani and Lavezzi to PSG but Hamsik decided to remain with the club despite offers from Chelsea and Real Madrid.

This move endeared him to the club supporters as he remained in the quest to win the elusive League title for the club. Maurizio Sarri’s arrival at Napoli saw the player move deeper into central midfield and Hamsik adapted excellently in the new role. Tasked with connecting the ball from the midfield to the attack Hamsik became part of the famous Sarri-ball tactics that became famous in Italy.

“ Last season was his best season in terms of points tally as the Naples side finished “on 91 points but subsequently fell short of winning the Scudetto. It came as no surprise in February when the player cut short his stay for a lucrative move to“Chinese outfit Dalian Yifang“.

Napoli fans poured out the plaudits for their captain and star player as he closes his chapter with the club but it would be no surprise if he comes back in an administrative capacity in the nearest future.

Football Scene In Slovakia

There was a pre-tournament game on Friday for the world junior’s category and here Slovakia was up against Canada. Canada was able to get three points ahead of Slovakia. Cody Glass of Canada was particularly successful, getting the three points to get his team ahead of the opponents. The final score was 6-1. Those who played well for Canada team were Glass, Jack Studnicka, Maxime Comtois, Ty Smith, Nick Suzuki, and Shane Bowers.

On the side of Slovakia, Patrik Hrehorcak was the only one to score a goal which he did in the third period. The other active contributor on part of Slovakia was Samuel Hlavaj who made about 39 saves for his team. Both the teams traded goals in the third period when Hrehorcak replied on behalf of Slovakia and Smith made a wrist shot. There were several chances taken by both sides. The Canadians and Slovaks made a score of 45-23. There were several opportunities opened up by both sides. The first period saw Canada dominating Slovakia with a lead of 4-0 which ended with a score of 19-7 for the Slovaks.

“Another piece of news from the world of Slovakia football games is Jan Gregus“, the Slovak midfielder being added as the third player in Minnesota United. He has played for his country in UEFA Europa League group C. Being six foot two and 27 years of age, he is considered to be an asset that the Minnesota United club has invested in, He is pending the joining formalities to cross the waters and “join the US team“. The authorities at Minnesota United feel that he would be an anchor for the positions in midfield. He has passing abilities for long and short distances that are commendable for which the team management have chosen him.

Slovakia Relegated From UEFA Nations League After Suffering A Defeat

Slovakia has been relegated from UEFA Nations League after losing to the Czech Republic by 1-0. One point would have been enough for them to ensure their survival in the group which had been won over by Ukraine. Patrik Schick, the Roma striker had fired his side ahead just after the 30 minutes mark to make sure that Czech Republic team in the second tier of Nations League. Norway has managed to secure a place in the second tier with a promotion in Cyprus since the Challengers in Bulgaria had been held to 1-1 draw against Slovenia.

The side of Lars Lagerback came to the game level on points and is close to the record of Bulgaria in group C. The double by Ola Kamara, the Los Angeles Galaxy striker is all set to earn Norway top position just due to a goal difference. However, the equalizer by Miha Zajc for Slovenia had ascertained that the men topped Lagerback by two points.

“Giorgi Chakvetadze and Giorgi Merebashvili’s goals had been enough for handing the promoted Georgia 2-1 victory against the team of Kazakhstan“ in D1 Group. In other games of this group, Latvia and Andorra had played out the goalless draw. Macedonia is going to play in the 3rd tier in following Nations League.
The host has recorded a comfortable win by just needing a point against Gibraltar for defeating Armenia in order to secure a top spot in the Group D4. Armenia is “known to have drawn“ in Liechtenstein with 2-2 finishing five points back.

In Aarhus, the Republic of Ireland has drawn the match against Denmark with 0-0 after Danes managed to seal the promotion securing a victory over Cardiff’s Wales. The Netherlands scored two times in the last 5 minutes and secured a dramatic draw against Germany and qualified for the finals of Nations League.

After 5 years at the helm, Jan Kozak stepped down from Slovakia

The Slovakian national football team has always struggled trying make an impact in the international scene as they have consistently failed to qualify in the FIFA World Cup as well as the Olympic Games and in the Euro’s.

However, since the introduction of Jan Kozak as the head coach of the Slovakian national football team back on 2013, the Slovakian side was able to compete in the European Championship’s for the first time ever in 2016.

It was after Slovakia lost 1-2 to Czech Republic in the Nations League Group 1 on September 6 of 2018 that the confirmation of Jan Kozak resigning from his managerial position was announced as he was replaced by PavelHapal who had a few things to say concerning his new role with the international side as he said:

“First of all, I have to say that it’s a great honor for me to lead the Slovak national team. Not everyone manages to get this post. Maybe it helped that I have worked in Slovakia for a long time and I also achieved good results with the Slovak national U21 team. I appreciate this opportunity and it is very binding for me,”

“”According to the Slovakian Football Association (SFZ) president, Kovacik stated that the recently appointed manager “PavalHapalwas offered a contract that has the duration of one qualification round and an option “”of having it extended.“

It still remains exactly unclear as to what was the main motivation behind the resignation of Jan Kozak as there are rumors suggesting that it was due to some of his own players while other rumors are claiming that it was due to the 1-2 defeat against Czech Republic which put the final nail on the coffin as they had already sustain another loss with Ukraine only 1 month prior and ultimately this led to Slovakia failing to qualify for the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League.

Marek Hamsik not thinking about Juventus

Slovakia international Marek Hamsik has stressed that Napoli are not focusing on Juventus ahead of the new Serie A campaign. The Naples outfit managed to secure 91 points during their previous season under Maurizio Sarri but they were still unable to stop Juventus from winning the title with a six-point advantage.

In an interview with Premium Sport, Hamsik indicated that the club are not looking into the progress made by the Bianconeri and their sole focus lies on the season opener versus Lazio, he said:“We’re not thinking about them. The first game [Lazio] will already be difficult, the most important game is always the closest one.”

Meanwhile, Hamsik admitted that new boss Carlo Ancelotti was influential towards him staying with Napoli after the club did not receive a suitable offer for him to head to the Chinese Super League, he added: “The right offer [From China] didn’t arrive so I stayed. It doesn’t change anything, I’ve always given my best for this shirt and I’ll continue to do so. I have a new [deeper] role, we’ll see what happens. Ancelotti? He was one of the factors that pushed me to stay because he kept calling me, he told me to stay.”

“The Naples outfit looked very likely to end their trophy drought during the previous campaign“ but things fell apart during the backend of the season where they felt the pressure of leading the standings. As such, they could only settle for a runner-up finish behind“ the Bianconeri and their “challenge this term is expected to become much tougher with the champions strengthening the squad further.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been the Bianconeri’s and the summer’s standout signing after making the shock move from Real Madrid and the Portuguese would unquestionably be eyeing the league title to create history. No professional footballer has yet to win the top-flight titles in England, Spain and Italy to date.

Stanislav Cherchesov: Russia’s victories are not an accident

Russia manager Stanislav Cherchesov has said that his team have deserved the victories over Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the group stage of the World Cup. The Russians had come into the global tournament without a win in 2018 but they have managed to turn things around with six points acquired from their opening two group stage games.

Speaking after the 3-1 win over Egypt, Cherchesov said: “It is not an accident that we have two wins under our belt, we have a group of solidarity. We will win because we want to.” Meanwhile, striker Aytem Dzyuba stressed that the team should not look into future and they should savour the moment of having qualified for the round of 16 stage, he said: “Let us not talk about the next stage now and simply rejoice and celebrate this moment and this victory. We pressed them across the whole pitch, did not let them pass the ball. It was a very good and a strong match.”

Russia had started the World Cup as one of the worse-ranked sides but they have none assured themselves of progress beyond the group stage after Uruguay won their game against Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, the focus may now be on topping their group ahead of Uruguay with the next round of fixtures expected to test their resolve.

On paper, Russia are likely to face one of Spain or Portugal in the round of 16 but based on the team’s strengths, the hosts may prefer tackling the latter instead. Portugal have done credibly to secure six points from the first two matches but they have nevertheless been overly dependent on captain Cristiano Ronaldo to influence the pace of their game. Ronaldo has netted all four goals for Portugal at the World Cup including a hat-trick in the 3-3 draw versus La Roja.