First team

VACLIK ON SIGMA 'THEY PLAY MODERN FOOTBALL AND THEY'LL LOOK TO CREATE CHANCES'

22/08/2018

Sevilla's goalkeeper returns to his home country, the Czech Republic, with Sevilla to play the away leg of the UEFA Europa League Play-off Round.

If there's anyone who knows Sigma Olomouc well, Sevilla's next opponent, it's Vaclik, a Czech international himself and who has played for Vitkovice, Viktoria Zizkov and Sparta Prague from 2007-2014. This is why he attended an interview with Sevilla's Official Media to analyse our rival on Thursday at 19:00 CET: 'I've only got positive things in my mind about Sigma, they've improved a lot in the last two years. Two years ago they were playing in the second division and in the first season they got promoted in first place with a lot of young players and players from the academy, so they have a big heart and a connection with the city and the region. They play good football. I know the manager because he was the assistant manager at Sparta in my last season when we won the double, so I've only got positive things in my head. We're going to face a really difficult opponent, they're very aggressive and they play modern football. They'll press us, they're going to play, they're not a team who only wants to destroy, they want to create chances and play football. I'm looking forward to playing these games.

In terms of the stadium and the atmosphere Pablo Machín's team will face in Olomouc, Vaclik commented: 'All the tickets have sold out, I think they sold out in just a couple of hours, the atmosphere is going to be great. It's important for us as players that the pitch is in good condition, and obviously the atmosphere will be very good as it's an important game for Sigma Olomouc fans due to their history as I've said, so it's going to be really good.'

'The schedule is really tough now, but we're only looking ahead'

From his words it's clear that he's excited about the season, even if it's packed full with matches: 'Yeah, everything's going well. You're right, everything has happened so quickly, the league has started and for a month we've been playing game after game. We're playing every three or four days. The schedule is very tough right now, but we're only looking forward.

On a personal note, the keeper confirmed he felt 'happy because I'm part of a big club, with a big history and big players with high expectations, so I'm happy here and looking forward to facing new challenges. The league has started and now we have important games to see if we qualify for the Europa League group stage. My family is here as well, we have a house now and everything's going well. I'm very happy here.'

Vaclik wants to adapt as quickly as possible and has started to learn the language: 'Yes, I'm learning and I'm trying. I think I'll improve more in the next days as after the internationals my plan is to start with a teacher. Our daughter will be going to nursery so we'll have a bit more time to learn Spanish with a teacher. I'm trying now, but I think I'll improve more in the coming weeks.