Ales Matějů: Pilsen? Key engagement. Italy is close to my heart

The national team defender Aleš Matějů has been working in Palermo, Italy since the summer and will try to move up to Serie A in the spring. In an interview with Ruik, the 26-year-old defender reminisced about star teammates Nani and Balotelli, or revealed why he decided to commit to Palermo.

Since the summer you have been at second-tier Palermo, where you headed after finishing at Venice. How happy are you in Sicily in terms of football and life?

Actually, I’ve been here for three quarters of a year now and in that time I have to say that I’ve grown to love it. Of course, it was a new experience for me after the years I was in the north of Italy.

It’s been a big challenge for me in terms of the life aspect, because the life and the mentality of the people here is quite different. But I’m really happy here in all aspects, both life and football.

Did you have other options than Palermo in the summer? There was speculation about returning to the Czech Republic. And what made you choose Palermo in the end?

Of course I had other options. There were other teams in Italy or a return to the Czech Republic. But I rejected returning to the Czech Republic right away because I didn’t want to go back yet. I feel great in Italy and I don’t think it’s time to go back home yet.

I am somehow comfortable in Italy and I already know it and feel comfortable here. The country has become very close to my heart, both in life and football. I’ve made a name for myself here and during that time, so it was a priority for me to stay in Italy.

And why did I choose Palermo? It’s simple. The club was bought by City Football Group, which is the company that owns Manchester City and a lot of other teams. That was the main reason I got the nod plus the coach chose me to come here, so those two reasons convinced me.

The vision of the club is great and I’m very happy to be part of it. I’m really curious to see what the next few years will bring. Now we have a new training centre being built here, which we will be in from next season. The conditions for training here are and will be really great.

Now we are flying to Girona for the repre break, where City Group has another team and we will have a training camp there. In the autumn we were at Manchester City’s training centre, so the connection is really great. The changes just happen on a daily basis here. I think Palermo will be back where it belongs in the years to come.

Last season you were first at Brescia, where you stayed for four and a half years, and then you signed for Venice in the spring. Why do you think Venice failed to save Serie A?

It’s so in the first half of the season I started at Brescia, where we were coached by coach Inzaghi. In my opinion, we had a good shot at Serie A, but then the opportunity came up to become a free agent and go to Venice. There were those ambitions to save the first league, which unfortunately didn’t happen. When I got there, I immediately caught the coronavirus and was out for two games.

even though we didn’t manage to save it, it was a great experience for me. And the relegation was decided by the fact that we didn’t win certain games. As far back as I can remember we lost at home to Sampdoria, Udine or Sassuolo.

Those were important games for us that we should have managed, but we just didn’t. So unfortunately it didn’t work out, but it was an experience that took me somewhere. Now I have another challenge here in Palermo, and that is to fight for promotion to Serie A.

In Venice you met the star Luis Nani in the same team. What impression did he make on you from a footballing and human point of view?

He made a huge impression on me. Even when I got there, he arrived a week or two before me and was really nice to everyone there. He didn’t play any star and he was humble. Even though he didn’t play as much as he probably thought he would, he never bailed on practice. He was always working on himself and the quality of him was unbelievable, technically speaking.

It was really a joy to watch him. I also took from that a lesson in how a great player should behave. I even texted him in the summer when we were playing in Portugal and we kept in touch because I told him we were going to play there.

And he told me that he would definitely let me know, that he would maybe come and take a look. It was an experience to be in the team with him, because you remember him from Manchester, where they said he was the new Ronaldo. So he got some questions from us in the booth for this period and it was really interesting to listen to him. I’m really glad I got to play with him and get to know him.

As I mentioned you spent four and a half years in Brescia. How do you remember this engagement?

Well, at first when I came there it was on a guest appearance with an option that if I got promoted, the option would be exercised. It did and I moved there permanently. I lasted that long because I was coming in regularly. I was happy there for a while and it gave me a lot. It was actually my first team in Italy, even though the start there was difficult, I grew to like it over time.

I have to ask about one more of your star teammates, Mario Balotelli. A lot of people see him as a controversial player. What’s your experience with him?

Well, as far as Mario is concerned, I worked with him for one year at Brescia and I can’t say a bad word about him. Of course he was controversial and naughty, which we all knew, but he was definitely not a bad person. He was a guy you could have a normal conversation with and he didn’t chase his ego.

Of course, he was a rebel in some way. I have a lot of memories of him, especially the funny ones. He wasn’t as professional as Nani, but he’s definitely not an intrinsically bad guy. I think he’s a generous and good guy. I think a lot of my teammates could attest to that.

Let me go back seven and a half years, to your transfer from Příbram to Plzeň, where you went together with Honza Suchan. How do you evaluate your transfer to Plzeň in retrospect? And what did this engagement give you?

That engagement was definitely the key for me. We had a good season in Příbram, where we finished in fifth place. In that season we actually sold ourselves with Honza Suchan to Plzeň. There I waited for a chance, which then came and I started playing regularly.

We won the title, then came the preliminary rounds of the European Cups and the Europa League group stage. Those two years were great and I actually experienced the cabin where David Limberský, Michal Ďuriš, František Rajtoral, Daniel Kolář and others were still there. For me it was a great experience there and a school for the beginning of the big football.

Surprisingly for many fans, you moved from Plzen to Brighton in England, which was not very common at that time for a player from the Czech league to move to a club playing in the Premier League. How did you react when you heard about Brighton’s interest?

Well, of course it was a shock for some people. Someone might have wondered why he goes there and he comes back in a year. I’ve heard that quite a lot. Well, this is my sixth year abroad. Of course, it was probably a step up from what I was capable of at the time, but it was an important decision for my career. England gave me some experience.

It was a challenge that was put in front of me and I rose to it. Of course, if I said I was playing there regularly, that would have been great. But I did it by going on loan to Italy and I made a name for myself there. I take it as a win because a lot of people thought I would return to the Czech Republic after a year. I’m very happy that I bit the bullet and managed to establish myself abroad.

Didn’t you expect to get more opportunities in Brighton?

Definitely. It would have been bad if I went to a team like that and settled for being there and not caring that I don’t play. I had those expectations but I was probably too young at the time and the club was in its first year in the Premier League.

Preference was just given to more experienced players. Maybe if I’d lasted another year there when Graham Potter became coach and started giving young players a chance, maybe some chances would have come, but you never know. I’m glad I had a year there and then my steps led to Italy. And I’m actually glad it worked out that way.

You are a member of the Czech national team, how do you see the chances of the national team in the next EURO qualification? Are you in contact with the national team and do they count on you?

The chances are great, although it will not be easy, but I believe that we will manage to qualify for the EURO. Now I will keep my fingers crossed for the boys and I believe they will manage the matches against Poland and Moldova, because it will be important to have a good start to the qualification.

I am in contact with the coach and the fitness coach And if they count on me? That’s terribly difficult to answer. It depends on a lot of aspects and the fact that one has to play regularly and have the performance. It’s up to me to put in a good performance to convince the coach to call me up.

Source:: Ruik.cz