Well, the 4 matches against Slavia have been very entertaining for the neutral football fan, but for the involved Feyenoord and Slavia fans those have been nerve wrecking, bad for your bloodpressure experiences.
I can imagine, the first 3 were quality football too. The last match was certainly something... it had its moments early but the decisive moments really felt like watching compilation of worst goalkeeper and defensive errors. I did feel going into the round that the winner had a fairly strong chance at winning this competition.
Just an update. Alex will continue with the U17s for at least the time being. Probably best. Will get to play all the time and in a leadership role. Team had a week of pre-season training this week, capped with a friendly against FC Slovan Liberec, another top-flight team. Slavia won 9-0. Alex had 2 goals, 2 assists. Now, 186 meters in height. Still a bit gangly. Hopefully this season he gets back in the Czech NYT picture.
Has he gotten his growth spurt yet? if recently it's indeed good to wait a bit before taking on the next step in physical demands.
Yes. He's had a lot of growth over the past year, and now has a strained hamstring. He's still not shaving and looks young. 1.86 centimeters and will likely add a few more. Really not his time for quick movement! Two key years now. Make or break. Coach said he will push him hard. I think they see the potential there, given his physical attributes.
Wow! Been over a year. Small update. Rollercoaster last year. With U17s now. Getting up to gear slowly. Scored a goal each against Slovan Bratislava 3-1, and MFK Ruzomberok 3-0. Both decent sides from Slovakia. He's about 188 cms now. Outgrew everyone else, but paying for it....
Exciting! Good luck to him. paying for it meaning joint pain and some awkwardness? I grew from like 5’5” to 6’5” in 2-3 years… was not a pretty sight.
Exactly! Just when we think it's done, he grows a bit more...looking more and more like he'll be a back at some point...
Tall guys can still be midfielders and forwards. Peter Crouch, famously, but there’s lots of others. Keaton Parks is at least 194 cm and has resisted every attempt to turn him into a center back, keep fighting that battle!
Thanks. It's been a long road. Who knows where it ends. At least we haven't sacrificed school for this. Take comfort in that!
So, Alex has been 'loaned' out to Viktoria Zizkov, a storied Prague team that is now in the second division. So far, this is working well. Three games, 270 minutes. Two assists playing as a withdrawn midfielder for the U19s.
Alex will head out with the senior side for a training camp at the start of January. Finished the U19 winter season strong with three goals in last four games, including a goal apiece in a 4-1 win over Slavia and a 2-2 tie with Sparta. He likes it at Zizkov. Great group of guys. Coach really likes him. They let him play his game. He's enjoy footy again! Whether they'll have the cash to buy him is another matter....
Not much really. They've been approached by a couple of clubs about whether they can pursue him and have not raised any objections. These are smaller first-league sides: Liberec, Pardubice, Hradec Kralove.
Obviously, if he is happy at Zizkov it's for the best. That said, despite their history, they are constantly teetering on losing professional status. In terms of resources & track record, Liberec is definitely the stand out of those, in the modern era they are probably the 4th most successful club after Sparta, Slavia & Plzen, and there is a strong history of buy backs from the Prague clubs or selling to foreign teams. Also, unique stadium and nice town.
Thanks. Zizkov is ideal for us just that it's in Prague and they are in the 2nd league. But, as you say, financially they are suspect....which is a shame. He could have headed to Liberec now, but has to finish school here first.
Hey @feyenoordsoccerfan! Pretty shocking events here. Obviously, this is not an everyday event. We live a few kilometers down the road from the shooting spot. My wife and daughter were out and about at the time, and luckily took a different route home around that time. Police reacted very quickly and did what needed to be done. Just out today and everyone seems a bit nicer. Puts things into perspective....
Just a little update. Things going well. Named a co-captain for the U19 Zizkov team. Most importantly, he's enjoying the game again and doing well. A nice measuring stick this weekend was game against Jablonec, sitting first in the division and likely to be promoted to the national U19 league next year. So, good competition. Plus, a kid who played a couple of years at Turin, and has played in the top league, even scoring some goals, Krulich, was on the field. Big kid, good in the air, but Alex didn't seem any worse than this kid, whose on the U19 national team....(Game ended 3-1 for Jablonec with Zizkov getting goal on penalty after Krulich took down Alex in the box with a nasty foul). So, things are on the right path again. At 6'3", Alex will get his chance again. Zizkov treats him really really well. Night and day compared with Slavia. Hopefully, they buy him from them.