When Thiago Motta said something to his son in training, he didn’t understand anything, but just nodded his head, “si, si”. The next day he was already on the side field – Sport – Football – European Cups

Dávid Strelec is gradually becoming a mainstay of Slovan Bratislava and the Slovak national team, and his father, football tutor and mentor Milan Strelec (51), watches everything from a distance. He was also present at yesterday’s match of the Whites in the 2nd preliminary round of the Champions League in Celje, Slovenia.

Have you ever said to your son, “David, goals were harder to shoot in my day than they are today”..?

They are two different situations, the son plays in Slovan, where there are many legionnaires, I was part of a purely Slovak team. However, I think that I haven’t told him this directly yet, but there will probably be something to it.

During my time, Slovan played against Real Madrid – although I did not start in that match – Kaiserslautern, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, such teams did not score goals easily and all of them were even matches.

In addition, the competition at that time was better than today’s Slovak league. The best stayed in it.

Vladimír Weiss also defended you in it at one time…

I believe, I played against him, but also with him in the same team. I won’t lie, he was a good player, it was difficult to prevail against him. Dávid and I are perhaps the only ones who accompany two generations of Godfather st. – Weiss Sr., Godfather Jr. – Weiss Jr.

By the way, do you think it was harder to score against him or train under him?

(laughs) This is really hard to answer. But it is true that Coach Weiss has been confusing David’s first name with Milan for years. However, lately he has been forgetting about me.

I know what you are referring to, it is said about him that he is a strict coach, but I have known Vlad for a very long time, and what he is like. Today he is a pure professional, he knows what he is doing, he knows why he is saying it and he knows where it is going.

Who was the strictest man in the dressing room during your time?

Perhaps Rudo Novák, who guided me when I was growing up as a Slav. I’ll tell you what, nobody likes when the other is strict with them, I didn’t like it either, but today I understand that it was the best way. That someone must hold a whip in their hand. Even above the football booth.

So you don’t mind Coach Weiss raising his voice at your son?

But where. However, the two of them have known each other for a long time, they know what they can expect from each other.

Weiss says about Dávid that the dialogue with him is sometimes a comedy… What do you think he means?

The son is after me in this. We both like to have fun and prefer to put serious things aside. The world is a button. But beware, many people talk about how Dávid is, that he could work even harder, but in my opinion, he trains the most in all of Slovan. I am one hundred percent convinced of that.

He’s still training, you can see it even in the fights, if you were to spend a day with him, you’d say, “hats off”.

Is such a carefree nature ideal for an attacker?

I don’t know if there is a best character for this position. Dávid is currently in top form, and I mean it seriously, when he played in the youth national teams, he scored forty or fifty goals.

He has his goal, he does everything to achieve it, and it will pay off in time. Maybe in a year or two he will go even further, because he lives non-stop with football. He has a cryochamber at home, practices yoga, but no one sees this.

Tell me, when did you first say to yourself that “my son will become something”?

I could see in him from the beginning that he wanted to. I didn’t push him into football at all. When he was fourteen, coach Vladimír Gála told me that “Milan, you’ll see.” And then I really saw.

He improved quickly, he has something that is rather rare in typical strikers. He can score but also set up, we saw that against England didn’t we?

What else did he inherit from you – apart from the surname Strelec, with which he is destined to score goals?

I often assisted on that recording as well. He inherited practically everything, but compared to me, he also has a lot more. Especially hard work.

Do you still advise him today?

We call each other every day, we talk after matches, we discuss what he did well and what he did wrong, but even so, everything is always up to him to decide what to do in a given situation.

The father of the Sauer brothers told us that he is still the biggest critic for his sons…

But it should also be praised. If – of course – for what. It’s just like the sugar and the whip. After all, no one just wants a fight, then it would be too demotivating.

So what did you say to Dávid after returning from the EC in Germany?

I have been to three matches, I am very satisfied. With everyone. It was unbelievable how they played against England, because they shot only once on goal. All I had left was pride.

When coach Calzona says that Dávid has 40 percent more in him than he shows, are you happy or do you rather cringe?

It has potential. He’s getting to the stage now where I want to see him. That he will decide matches with goals or passes. It’s one level for me. It’s called Shooter and not “Recorder”, but I don’t really care. Even against Struga, he had the lion’s share of the goals.

I keep telling him, “you have to be the one to decide!” That’s what he’s there for. I want him to be a key player for Slovan in the upcoming season. Although it is already there, it needs to maintain its long-term performance.

Parents often fulfill their dreams through their children. Where would you like to see David in a few years?

Nothing like that threatens me. I played my part, I was in Malaysia, in Düsseldorf, it bothers me when parents put pressure on children. I experienced it with Dávid, I saw many times how parents constantly “beat” his teammates, but everyone has their own life after all.

But you would like to see him in a more famous club one day, wouldn’t you?

And I hope to see. But I don’t have anything concrete in mind. He already played in Italy, when he was in Spezia, I was with him, I called him, I saw that he was unhappy. He didn’t know their language and that was his main problem. Italians, on the other hand, did not speak English.

He is currently happy in Slovan, and if he were to stay at Tehelno poli until the end of his career, I wouldn’t even say a soft f. When David is happy, I will be happy.

When the opportunity to leave presents itself, will he give it more consideration this time?

He mentioned to me that Thiago Motta was saying something to him in training, but he didn’t understand anything, he just nodded his head, “si, si”. The next day he was already on the side field. He’ll be careful, he probably won’t go to Italy again. (laughter)

It was a lesson for him, a good lesson at the same time. He found that playing football well was not enough for him. Italy is all about tactics, we see that on the Calzona, right? However, the instructions must be understood.

Did you also then advise him to return home?

No, nothing like that, it was purely his personal matter. I could see that he was not happy, but when he came to Slovan, he immediately had sparks in his eyes. I knew it was the right move.

You spent a significant part of your career at Artmedia Petržalka, which was first sponsored and later owned by Ivan Kmotrík. Do you know each other personally?

I think yes. (laughter)

Did you also deal with your son’s return home together?

Not at all, Ivan the Younger was more in charge of that. He called him. David asked me for my opinion, I told him, “of course, if you feel that way, don’t hesitate and come back”. He did well, today he is back in the national team. The past year benefited him one hundred percent.

With Slovan, he now awaits the 2nd preliminary round of the Champions League against Celje. A tough opponent?

I just read that they are owned by some Russians, they have a decent budget and they dominated the competition there with a twelve point lead. Well, it won’t be easy at all. But Slovan still has at least thirty percent on top.

Weiss st. he says it’s 50/50…

That’s what he says all the time. (smile) That’s how coaches do it. After all, that’s every match, because at the beginning two elevens play against each other. However, I believe Slovan.

He has played in the Conference League group twice in a row, it should be a step forward, right?

I believe, but we can’t solve that over the phone, the guys have to prove it on the field. I heard somewhere that they have a good draw for the possible next round, APOEL Nicosia.

How did they last play against the Cypriots? Didn’t they get six goals there? Is this a good draw? But hey, it would take at least a Europa League group.

Is there a team you’d like to see at the Brickyard?

Real Madrid. I want to hear the Slovakian fans booing Jud Bellingham. For the way he behaved after the goal in the round of 16 at the EC in Germany, he would deserve it.

It was disgusting, pure insult, I saw it with my own eyes. We also whistled, but we did not drown out the Englishmen, who applauded him profusely for it.

Your son has been rumored for years to be a great football talent. It was also said about Petr Dubovský, who was in your year and also a Slavologist…

We met in Slovan youth club, we played together. Amazing player.

If you could give Dávid one thing of all that this legendary footballer had, what would it be?

To also play in Real Madrid. Such an answer can be? (laughs) But no, Peter was a great player, everyone has their strengths, and I’m curious to see where Dávid will take it one day. But I repeat, he does everything to go far.

Do you sometimes think back to your playing career?

Only with beer. With Ivan Žig, Milan Kusalík, Milan Timko, Martin Obšitník. The team that plays for the old masters of Petržalka.

What do you miss most about the football of that time?

Playfulness. Unfortunately, she disappeared.