Sligo fans what he’s all about

A tricky right winger, Twardek represented the Czech Republic (he qualified through his mother and still holds a Czech passport) from Under-17-19 level. Last year, though, he switched allegiance to Canada and while he has been capped at senior level already it was his displays as captain at the recent Toulon Tournament for U21 players which caught the eye of MLS club Toronto FC. They were keen but Sligo’s interest was concrete and he signed a deal until the end of the 2019 campaign. ‘Here’s an opportunity to get a good run of games and basically do well for the club and do well for myself. That’s the best thing I can do right now,’ he feels. ‘For any young player, you don’t want to come back home too early. ‘You want to prove yourself abroad and there is no better way than to play a run of games. If you feel like you can do that here then you would be a fool to throw away that offer,’ Twardek continues, before discussing the appeal of football here. ‘The people in Ireland and Britain would have so much more respect for football than in Canada. It is more something that you go to watch while it’s more of a way of life in Ireland and England. There are great fan bases in the MLS but you just don’t have that same kind of passion that it’s “your team”. At Millwall there is no better example of that.’ Sligo is also a footballmad town and it might just help him kick-start a career that could reach its pinnacle with a place in Canada’s squad for the 2026 World Cup which they’ll host with the USA and Mexico. ‘You see yourself at 27,28 and 29 as probably being the peak of your career so it’s a great motivator for every young player coming through,’ adds Twardek.