The veteran coach of the Slovak national football team Vladimír Weiss senior he said that working with players like Stanislav Lobotka, Dávid Hancko or Milan Škriniar is a challenge for him. The vice-president of the Slovak Football Association (SFZ) for the national team, Karol Belaník, informed at Thursday’s press conference that the experienced skipper signed a contract until November next year with an option for another period. At the same time, SFZ President Ján Kováčik announced that Peter Pekarík will say goodbye to his national team career.
Weiss st. returns to the national team after 14 years. Before that, he was the coach of the Slovak national team from July 2008 to January 2012, leading the team to the 2010 World Championships in South Africa. “First of all, I want to thank you for the trust that the Slovak Football Association has shown me. From my side, I will call everything else in just one word, and that is responsibility. Every coach dreams of some kind of career, dreams of some kind of success, first of all, dreams of the highest goals, and that, in the case of a coach, is a representative career. I thank Slovan, I thank my players with whom I worked, for not an easy period, but also for the beautiful moments that moved me to this chair today, because of course there were many candidates, the competition was good,” said Weiss Sr. at the press conference.
He signed a contract with SFZ until November 30, 2027. “There is an option for a possible playoff or qualification for the European Championships. At the same time, we also have an option for the next qualification cycle for the 2030 World Championships. The coach’s basic salary is 40,000 euros,” informed the vice president of SFZ for the national team, Karol Belaník. Appointment of Weiss st. approved on Tuesday by the SFZ Executive Committee, to which the four-member selection committee forwarded the proposal.
In addition to Belaník, it also consists of SFZ vice-president for professional football Ivan Kozák, member of the executive committee for coaches Ján Kocian and technical director of the association Oto Brunegraf. “Together, we followed up on the communication we had about four years ago, when we conducted communication on the topic of the national team coach. At that time, he had an offer from us for a four-year cycle, which did not work out then, and I am very happy that today this mission was achieved and resolved to such a state,” said SFZ president Ján Kováčik.
Weiss st. replaced the Italian Francesco Calzona, who led the Slovak national team from August 30, 2022, and whose contract expired on March 31, 2026. “I know that I am coming after Francesco Calzona, who put his stamp on the team, changed the way of the game. The team’s game had and still has its own face, even though the beginnings were not easy, of course, but I, too, had a difficult time abroad, where I worked several times. of course everyone will now compare you to Francesco, who brought the team to almost tactical perfection. I will try to add something extra or something else that is in my power and that characterizes my character or my life as a coach and we will see how we will succeed.” continued the 61-year-old helmsman who led Artmedia Petržalka to the main stage of the Champions League in the 2005/06 season and Slovan Bratislava in the 2024/25 season.
He had signed a contract with Slovan Bratislava until the summer of 2027. However, the reigning Slovak champion released him without any severance pay. With the “whites”, Weiss st. rejoiced at winning six championship titles and one triumph in the Slovak Cup. For now, the last game on the Slovan bench awaits him on Saturday against Michalovce at Tehelno poli in the final round of the Nike League.
The eight-time winner of the Slovak Coach of the Year poll is already looking forward to working with the national team, which also includes players from major European clubs: “The team is a challenge for me, because I always wanted to work with players like Lobotka, Hancko, Škriniar, Dúbravka or Duda. Still also with Peter Pekarík, who has an incredible career and was an incredible player. There are many talented players there, whether it’s Suslov, Strelec, Sauerovci and so on. The Gro of the team is excellent in my eyes. Of course, you’re dependent on those key players being healthy because I still think they’re at a good age. Even the players I mentioned can still last two or three years at this level. And those young people will still have to take on more and more responsibility from time to time. I came to an environment that is more or less familiar to me. I know what awaits us.”
The next friendly matches for the Slovak national team await Malta in Dunajská Streda (June 1 at 6:00 p.m.) and Montenegro in Košice (June 5 at 6:30 p.m.). It will meet at the summit on May 27. “Two friendly matches in a row, that’s a godsend for a coach. And ideally, when a coach starts, that’s a clear exception today. In the match with Montenegro in Košice, Peter Pekarík will say goodbye to the national team for good, so I believe that it will be dignified and the stadium will be full.” added Kováčik.
A successful coach who led the national team of Georgia from 2016 to 2020, currently is also working on putting together the implementation team: “I haven’t finished it yet. I had more or less a week to do it, after the official opinion of the SFZ there wasn’t much time for it yet. I still have to say goodbye to Slovan, also many people from my implementation team will finish their mission and we will see. I am used to some people, but not all will come, whom I had in Slovan, and not all will stay who were in the national team. Marek Hamšík will definitely stay and my new assistants will definitely come.”
The first challenge under the leadership of Weiss st. will be from September the 3rd group of the C-division of the League of Nations, in which Slovakia will meet Kazakhstan, the Faroe Islands and Moldova. “I know what awaits me, I played with them and I know how football is played there and how they go forward. It is our duty to advance from that group so that there is a chance to fight for the playoffs. I believe that we will advance to the European Championship from the qualifying group, but we have to work hard. We have to re-motivate the players because unfortunately they didn’t qualify for the World Cup, it will leave some scars on the players. I know that the League of Nations is not attractive, we will not play in Bratislava, but in smaller stadiums in good cities, where, I believe, it will be sold out,” responded the old pilot of the Slovak national team.
Weiss st. at the same time, he outlined that new and old faces could appear in his first nomination this year: “In my eyes, the best players will be in the national team, regardless of age. Of course, we have these friendly matches to test someone from the under-21 national team, or other players, even from our league. We have good football players. Someone will say that the league is this or that. I know what the league is like, what quality the players have. We know that we are pressed for the position of right defender, maybe even left defender, if Hancko is not there. He is a stopper, but we didn’t have a left back and he played excellently there. I haven’t coached anyone from this generation of players except Pekarík. Greif is one of the best three goalkeepers in Slovakia, so he should probably be in the nomination, but we have to consider all the pros and cons of each individual.”
