by Abejoe » Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:40 am
PRESS RELEASE BY UNION CLUBS OF LEAGUE, SLOVAKIA DIRECTOR OF 2ND DIVISION, PETER DEDIK
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ON BEHALF OF THE LEAGUE CLUBS UNION OF SLOVAKIA, WE WISH TO EXPRESS OUR DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE WAY THE MALAYSIAN UNDER-21 TEAM’S PARTICIPATION IN 2ND DIVISION SPRING PART OF THE CURRENT 2009/2010 SEASON WAS THROWN INTO QUESTION BY THE MALAYSIAN MEDIA.
ALTHOUGH IT IS BASICALLY AN INTERNAL ISSUE BETWEEN THE FA OF MALAYSIA AND THE MALAYSIAN PRESS, IT DIDN'T ESCAPE OUR ATTENTION THAT THE STANDARD OF THE SLOVAKIAN LEAGUE HAS ALSO BEEN PUT UNDER QUESTION.
IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS COULD WE ACCEPT SLOVAKIA BEING LABELLED AS A MINNOW IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL. WE HAVE SUCCEEDED IN QUALIFYING FOR THE FIFA WORLD CUP IN 2010, THE FIRST TIME SINCE WE BECAME AN INDEPENDENT NATION IN 1993.
TO THE UNINITIATED, ANTON ONDRUS, MARIAN MASNY, JAN SVEHLIK AND KAROL DOBIAS WERE FOUR OF EIGHT SLOVAKS IN THE CZECHOSLOVAKIA XI THAT BEAT WEST GERMANY IN THE 1976 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL. SIX OF THEM, ALREADY MENTIONED ONDRUS, MASNY, DOBIAS BUT ALSO JAN PIVARNIK, JOZEF CAPKOVIC AND KOLOMAN GOGH WERE FROM SLOVAN BRATISLAVA, A SLOVAKIAN CLUB WHILE DOBIAS WAS FROM SPARTAK TRNAVA. JOZEF MODER WAS FROM LOKOMOTIV KOSICE, ALSO FROM SLOVAKIA.
CURRENT PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN SLOVAK FA AND THE FA OF MALAYSIA IS UNPRECENDENTED AND UNIQUE IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD. THIS BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP HERALDS A NEW ERA BETWEEN TWO AFFILIATES OF FIFA, THE WORLD GOVERNING BODY.
TO ILLUSTRATE OUR NOBLE INTENTIONS, WE HAVE EXTENDED AN INVITATION TO THE FA OF MALAYSIA TO POSSIBLY PARTICIPATE IN 2ND DIVISION IN A SIMILAR WAY FOR SEASON 2010/2011 WHICH KICKS OFF IN JULY 2010.
HISTORICALLY, THE SLOVAK FA AND THE FA OF MALAYSIA HAVE ENJOYED A VERY CORDIAL AND FRUITFUL RELATIONSHIP FOR OUR MUTUAL BENEFITS OVER THE YEARS. IT BEGAN IN THE 1980s WHEN DR JOSEF VENGLOS, A MUCH RESPECTED FIGURE WHO LED THE CZECHOSLOVAKIA TEAM TO THE WORLD CUP IN SPAIN IN 1982, WAS APPOINTED AS THE KUALA LUMPUR HEAD COACH IN 1985. JOSEF JANKECH WAS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE COACHING SET-UP IN KUALA LUMPUR.
SUBSEQUENTLY, KUALA LUMPUR SENT THEIR TEAMS AND COACHES TO SLOVAKIA, NAMELY BRATISLAVA, FOR ATTACHMENT AND TRAINING STINTS. OUR TEAMS IN RETURN MAKE YEARLY EXCURSIONS TO KUALA LUMPUR TO PARTICIPATE IN NUMEROUS TOURNAMENTS SUCH AS THE RENOWNED MERDEKA TOURNAMENT.
WHILE WE DO NOT WISH TO BE DRAGGED INTO THIS ISSUE, WE WISH TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE CLUBS UNDER OUR STABLE ADOPT A FULLY PROFESSIONAL APPROACH IN OUR MATCHES, SHALL THOSE BE COMPETITIVE OR FRIENDLY MATCHES IN NATURE.
WE DO NOT TAKE RATHER KINDLY TO INSINUATIONS THAT THE TEAMS PRESENT A LACKADAISICAL ATTITUDE WHILE PLAYING THE MALAYSIAN U21 TEAM.
IN CONCLUSION, WE SIMPLY WISH TO HAVE A FRUITFUL CO-OPERATION WITH THE FA OF MALAYSIA AS AN INDICATION TO FIFA AND ALSO UEFA THAT A EUROPEAN COUNTRY AND AN ASIAN NATION CAN WORK HAND IN HAND TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAME OF FOOTBALL.
"When you're pushed… Killing's as easy as breathing"