Trpišovský likens Sabah to Barcelona before Slavia's Baku match

Ahead of the Champions League match in Baku, Slavia Prague head coach Jindřich Trpišovský unexpectedly compared Azerbaijan’s Sabah to Barcelona. The tournament debutant, he said, plays in a similar style, even though it lost 4-0 to Manchester United in the first round.

Sabah: a Barcelona-like style

In Trpišovský’s assessment, Sabah is close to the Catalans in structure and ideas: the team plays a 4-3-3 in attack and reshapes into a 4-1-4-1 in defence. Against Manchester United the Azerbaijanis adjusted their pattern around runs in behind, but the foundation stayed the same — three attacking players at whom every pass is aimed. The opposing goalkeeper is excellent with his feet, the team likes to keep possession and relies on dribbling and individual actions.

Sabah matches usually produce plenty of chances at both ends. Against Manchester United the team also had good spells, but then came a cheap loss of the ball and a goal. The danger comes from fast wingers and striker Joy-Lance Mickels, and Sabah’s attack is noticeably stronger than its defence.

Favourites without guarantees

The club was founded just nine years ago, and Trpišovský called that a beautiful feature of football. “Some play for a club with history, others build something from scratch. The Champions League is a privilege that people sometimes wait years for,” he said.

Although Slavia are considered favourites, and not only by the bookmakers, the coach reminded everyone of the traps of that role. He cited Kosovo’s Ballkani, whom nobody knew until they played Slavia in the Europa League. If an opponent has no big name, that says nothing about its quality. At the same time, Trpišovský said, Slavia’s experience and ambition make them favourites, and the team hopes to prove it.

Defender Tomáš Vlček considers Sabah the weakest opponent on paper, but stressed that there are no easy teams in the Champions League. “We expect nothing simple, and everything depends on our preparation,” he said.

The “millionaire” coach and the fans

The opposing coach, Valdas Dambrauskas, is known for once taking part successfully in the Lithuanian version of the show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”. Trpišovský declined an intellectual duel: he prefers sports quizzes, and on the pitch both teams will rely on their players. According to him, Sabah is recognisable: it has one style that it repeats time and again, so preparation is easier unless the team comes up with something new.

Between 450 and 500 Slavia fans are expected in the away section of the Olympic Stadium in Baku. Some of them combined the trip to Azerbaijan with travelling to the match against Fenerbahçe, where Slavia play next week. The stadium holds up to 69,870 spectators, and about 40,000 will attend the match. It opened in 2015, has hosted the European Games, the 2019 Europa League final and matches of Euro 2021, and is also the home ground of the Azerbaijan national team.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz