The Herald on Sunday

Slovakia talisman Hamsik a class apart, warns former Celtic defender Varga

- By Graeme Macpherson

GORDON Strachan has oft lamented the lack of a superstar among his Scotland squad, citing Wales’ good fortune to have Gareth Bale and Poland’s possession of Robert Lewandowsk­i’s predatory powers. He has a point. It is difficult to imagine too many kids running around Cardiff or Warsaw with Fletcher or Snodgrass printed on the back of their replica shirts.

Marek Hamsik is another who falls into the talisman category. The midfielder may not have the same glamour appeal as the aforementi­oned duo, but his influence for both club and country cannot be overstated.

The 29-year-old is in line to earn his 94th cap for Slovakia when they welcome Scotland to Trnava on Tuesday. A national hero, he is similarly cherished at club level. He has been with Napoli since 2007 and recently signed an extension to stay for a further four years.

Hamsik recently passed Diego Maradona’s club tally for league goals and now has his sights set on overhaulin­g the Argentine for goals scored in all competitio­ns. Hamsik, though, would appear to be as humble as he is talented. “It’s an honour to be near Maradona but he always played at a different level,” he said, with a deferentia­l nod to the man who almost single-handedly delivered the only two league scudetti in Napoli’s history.

Hamsik is also a patriot and an ambitious one, too. “Of course I’d like to win a World Cup or a European Championsh­ip with Slovakia,” he said.

Still, having reached their first Euros this summer, this country of just 5.5 million is moving in the right direction. Next on their to-do list is qualifying for the World Cup for the second time in their relatively short history and Hamsik will have a significan­t role to play in their attempts to do so.

“Hamsik is the biggest threat to Scotland,” said Stan Varga, the former Celtic defender and a one-time Slovak internatio­nal. “He fact he broke Diego Maradona’s record at Napoli tells you how good he is. At the moment, Hamsik is a better player than anyone in the Scotland team.

“Slovakia has a lot of good players, but he’s the main one. He’s a vital player for Napoli too. He showed what he can do at the Euros when he scored a fantastic goal against Russia. On his day, he’s a very good player for us.

“I don’t want to say Scotland have average players but none of them are really top, top players. None of them are playing for a really big team. Even for us, Hamsik isn’t playing for a Manchester United or a club like that. But he’s a player who can make a difference for us. He stands apart from anyone in both sides.”

If Hamsik is the lead soloist in the Slovak ensemble then there are other noticeable contributo­rs in the chorus line, with Martin Skrtel, once of Liverpool and now at Fenerbahce, expected to return from suspension.

“Slovakia also rely on Martin Skrtel at the back,” said Varga, pictured, now managing Tatran Presov in his homeland. “He has a broken nose and was suspended for the game against Slovenia but hopefully he’ll be back for Scotland.

“Everyone here knows about him from his time at Liverpool. I like him because he’s a tough player, a good defender. He should have stayed at Liverpool but maybe the coach didn’t want him. He’s an old-fashioned defender, that’s his style.

“He was at Liverpool for nine years and in one of those, he played every minute of the season. He’s a quality defender. He picked up a red card against England [in the first qualifying game] but that’s his style, so sometimes that can happen to him.”

There will be no Vladimir Weiss, however. The former Rangers forward was dropped by manager Jan Kozak after he was stopped by police in Bratislava and reportedly refused to take a breathalys­er test.

“I can’t talk about Weiss because I don’t really know what happened,” Varga said. “They caught him in the morning. But we’ll see after the investigat­ion what the truth is. He’s a very good player for Slovakia and they’ll miss him.”

Slovakia will provide the answer to a future pub question about the opposition in Sam Allardyce’s only match in charge of England. The concession of such a late goal to Adam Lallana in the 1-0 loss was a blow, but not a terminal one to Slovakia’s qualificat­ion prospects, reckons Varga. “Everyone was down after the England game. We should have had a draw against them, which would have been a good result. But it doesn’t change our ambition for the group.

“After one game, we can’t say we don’t have a chance of winning it.”

 ??  ?? Stan Varga was speaking at a William Hill media event ahead of Slovakia v Scotland. William Hill is a proud sponsor of the Scotland national team
Stan Varga was speaking at a William Hill media event ahead of Slovakia v Scotland. William Hill is a proud sponsor of the Scotland national team

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