World Cup 2010 Previews: Slovakia

Zvaz, indeed

Country Name: Slovakia
Nickname: Repre (Basically, “the representatives”)
Coach: Vladimír Weiss

Slovakia reemerged to the world on January 1, 1993 with the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. While the Czech Republic quickly became a force in European football, it has taken longer for Slovakia to exert its will on the world game. 2010 will be the first World Cup for the teenaged nation. They are excited, but not without reservation. In the words of striker Stanislav Sestak, “we want to go as far as we can”. Lofty goals, for sure.

First Round Fixtures (Times EDT):
Slovakia v. New Zealand – Rustenberg – June 15 – 7.30 AM
Slovakia v. Paraguay – Bloemfontein – June 20 – 7.30 AM
Slovakia v. Italy – Johannesburg – June 24 – 10.00 AM

I hope you like blue

Preliminary Squad:
GK: Jan Mucha (Legia Warsaw), Dusan Kuciak (Vaslui), Lubos Kamenar (Nantes), Dusan Pernis (Dundee United)
DF: Marek Cech (West Bromwich Albion), Jan Durica (Hannover 96), Tomas Hubocan (Zenit St. Petersburg), Lubomir Michalik (Leeds United), Mario Pecalka (Zilina), Peter Pekarik (Wolfsburg), Martin Petras (Cesena), Kornel Salata (Slovan Bratislava), Martin Skrtel (Liverpool), Radoslav Zabavnik (Mainz)
MF: Marek Hamsik (Napoli), Miroslav Karhan (Mainz), Jan Kozak (Politechnica Timosoara), Juraj Kucka (Sparta Prague), Marek Sapara (Ankaragucu), Zdeno Strba (Skoda Xanthi), Dusan Svento (RB Salzburg), Kamil Kopunek (Spartak Trnava), Miroslav Stoch (Chelsea), Vladimir Weiss (Manchester City)
FW: Stanislav Sestak (Bochum), Filip Holosko (Besiktas), Martin Jakubko (Saturn Moscow), Erik Jendrisek (Schalke), Robert Vittek (Ankaragucu)

Temporary Home:
The Villas, Luxury Suite Hotel, Pretoria
Well, their website has its bandwidth exceeded, so we’ll have to rely on what some other sites say about it. Let’s see: “ideally situated”, “perfect for local and foreign travelers”, “56 aesthetically furnished suites”, “Checkout 1100h”. Yep, sounds wonderful. Honestly, it’s a pretty well situated site for the Slovaks, being under 100 miles from both Rustenburg and Johannesburg. Bloemfontein is a bit of a haul at almost 300 miles, but the centralized camp should suit them well.

As mentioned above, this is the first World Cup for Slovakia. They are not without a certain amount of World Cup experience, however. Coach Vladimir Weiss played for Czechoslovakia and was on the team for the 1990 World Cup, when the team made it to the quarterfinals. Czechoslovakia as a nation did have a certain level of success in the World Cup, qualifying eight times and losing in the final twice, in 1934 (Italy, 2-1) and 1962 (Brazil, 3-1).

How They Got Here:
Slovakia qualified first out of a middling UEFA group. Their 22 points from a 7-1-2 record beat out Slovenia (20 points), Czech Republic (16), Northern Ireland (15) and Poland (11). San Marino rounded out the group. Slovenia did the double over the Slovaks, with the other points being dropped in a away draw to the Czechs. Qualification was assured on the last day of Group Three with Slovakia defeating Poland away 0-1 on an own goal. Stanislav Sestak was the group’s joint top goalscorer on six goals. Embarrassingly, Slovakia managed to give up the only goal that San Marino scored during qualifying while eking out a 1-3 win over the principality.

Team Style:
There are some rumblings out there that Slovakia play a sort of catenaccio–get a lead, the defend. The numbers belie that point. During qualifying, Slovakia scored more goals than any of their group opponents, but allowed more than all but Poland and San Marino. Therefore, one would get the impression that maybe they are more fast and loose on the pitch. Nope. In the eight games against quality opponents (Poland included) — 12 goals for, nine against. Put into EPL terms, watching Slovakia will be oddly reminiscent of watching Blackburn (sorry, Joe). Their defense will keep them in games, while most of the players wait for Marek Hamsik or Miroslav Stoch to do something wonderful.

Recent Form:
Since qualifying, Slovakia has defeated the USA 1-0 at home, while also losing at home to both Chile (1-2) and Norway (0-1). The team has two more friendlies booked before the Finals start, hosting both Cameroon and Costa Rica.

What The Media Says:
Telegraph: “Limited resources are likely to hinder Slovakia’s progress”
Sky Sports: “The Slovaks can and should get out of this group”
Sowetan: “30 AIDS orphans get to watch New Zealand-Slovakia World Cup game”
Suffice it to say, pickings are slim for in-depth write-ups on the Slovakian national team.

Key Players:
Marek Hamsik, MF – Napoli
At 22, he is the engine of this team. As he plays, so the team goes. Apparently, he has a bit of a wild streak. As in driving around 90 mph through Naples and then bragging about it. He has the talent to back it up though, just remains to see if he can hold it all together on the big stage.

Martin Skrtel, CB – Liverpool
Skrtel is fighting back from a broken bone in his foot, suffered during Liverpool’s ill-fated European campaign. Strong in both the air and on the ground, his fitness is vital for Slovakia’s success. Never afraid to get stuck in, he’s rather intimidating on the pitch. Plus, he bleeds like a champion.

Miroslav Stoch, AM – Chelsea
This Chelsea loanee had an eye-opening season at FC Twente, helping the club to a first ever Eredivisie title, scoring 10 times form the midfield and playing in 32 matches. He’s listed at about 5’6″, but most feel that he’s even shorter. Such limitations never stopped Messi, did they? Speedy and elusive (But more like Shaun Wright-Phillips than Messi)

Robert Vittek, ST – Ankaragucu
The presumed captain of the squad (though some reports have Hamsik having taken over the arm band), Vittek is still riding the glories of past years, though at 28, he is hardly over the hill. Basically, his reputation rests on the second half of the 2005-06 Bundesliga season when Vittek pumped in 16 goals in 16 games for Nuremburg. He has never reattained that form. He shuffled off to Lille in 2008 and has recently moved to Turkey.

Vladimir Weiss, AM – Manchester City
The coach’s son. Not in this section for his skills, though he may feature. Instead, he will be the third generation to play in the World Cup after his father (Vladimir Weiss) and grandfather (Vladimir Weiss). I wonder what his son’s name will be? Also short.

Question Marks:
The real question mark? How the schedule plays out. The obvious goal for this team is the second round. Unfortunately, the schedule makes it hard for them to control their destiny. Everything hinges on the second match against Paraguay–win and move on, lose and need a result against Italy, draw and play the goal differential game. The last scenario is as troubling as the second, as New Zealand in the first game will be a different test from New Zealand in the last game, which Portugal faces. Add in the fact that Italy will therefore still need a result to assure first place in the group, and it becomes highly unlikely that Slovakia move on.

UF Prediction:
I’d love to therefore predict that Slovakia goes out easily, finishing third in their group, but I can’t. By rights and reputation, Slovakia should have finished no better that fourth in qualifying, but they got that right. And they can get it right here. Bag three points from New Zealand with as little effort as possible, hope Paraguay overextend themselves in trying to give Italy a fight, and win that all-important second match. It’s doable. . .

for an older, more experienced squad. It’s likely that Slovakia will have a midfield consisting of three players under the age of 23. As much talent as they may have, youth tends to wilt in bigger games. Just ask Arsene Wenger, right? Third place in group, out on goal differential to Paraguay (who won’t deserve it).