Last weekend, he offered football treats on foreign and domestic greens. In the foreground was the eternal derby in Stožice, the victory deservedly stayed at home, agreed Del’s commentators in the VAR podcast Jernej Suhadolnik and Gorazd Nejedly. “The combination of a soft-spoken coach with a quiet sports director cannot be successful for Maribor,” Nejedly is convinced. In the second part of the podcast, the focus is on Olympia’s European prospects and the favorites to win the Champions League.
Europe as a shop window
Two duels for the top took place in the 1st SNL last weekend. Olimpija deepened Maribor’s crisis, while Celje lost two points against Koper in the dying breaths of the match, but remained undefeated. “The people of Celje show real championship qualities. In fact, they lost two points rather than gained one, given that Bede Osuji scored in the last minute to equalise. “Even though the Koper people had a few mature chances,” long-time Slovenian football league reporter Gorazd Nejedly comments on the outcome of Sunday’s match on the Coast. The editor of the sports newsroom Jernej Suhadolnik points out: “Ideally for the quality of the league, it would be to have Olimpija and Maribor organized, and next to them, even more clubs from ambitious environments, such as Koper, where we can only congratulate the long-term investors, and Celje. Dill is the right middle ground. The question is if it will be like this until the end of the season, where things change quickly and emotionally. If it happens, Koper will also be in the game for the championship. We can already look forward to Sunday’s hosting of Koper in the People’s Garden.”
VAR football podcast
The central topic was Saturday’s derby in Stožice, which the people of Ljubljana won 2:1, all three goals falling on headers. This is not a coincidence, in the absence of real strikers, there is no other team left, Nejedly is convinced: “The fact is that Olimpija does not have a real striker to score goals. Mustafa Nukić is getting older, he was never a classic nine, he played further back. The reality is that it is very difficult to find the right striker, this is not only a problem for Slovenian teams, many other richer teams do not have one either. When someone develops and scores ten goals like Žan Vipotnik last year, he is immediately sold abroad for compensation.”
In the absence of an affordable “center forward” in the Ljubljana camp, they rely on the Iberian style of football, where the wing forwards are in the foreground, Suhadolnik believes: “That’s how it was with Riera and it’s now with Henriques.” At Olimpija, Rui Pedro stands out this year. Even more important for the future of the Dragons will be Marcel Ratnik. It is the 19-year-old who will be the main “export item” of the Ljubljana club, and with him in mind, they should formulate a strategy for the performances in Europe, which begin on Thursday with a visit to Lille. “From the club’s point of view, it would be expedient for them to prioritize the promotion of players, even at the cost of the result. If someone proves himself, he brings a substantial compensation to the coffers – more than the amount of UEFA bonuses or proceeds from the sale of tickets,” Nejedly points out the imperative of Olympia in Europe.
Characteristic deficit
After winning three points, it’s quiet in Ljubljana, it’s hot in Maribor. Josip Iličić is on the way out, coach Damir Krznar has given the club’s management an ultimatum – Jojo or me, and the former star of Serie A will obviously take the short cut. confirms to him: “Maribor is known even more for the lack of character that adorned them during the Zlatko Zahović era.” In the second part of the VAR podcast about who the trio of commentators see at the top of the Champions League.
