Slovakia's element of surprise

Vladimir Weiss's side caused a huge upset by eliminating Italy. Now they are looking to repeat the trick against the Dutch.

Perhaps no side's progress to the last 16 has been as surprising as that of Slovakia. After two games they had two points and, it was widely assumed, they were patsies before the traditional Italian late rally. Except that on that Thursday afternoon in Soccer City, Slovakia were more Italian than the Italians, and produced a brilliant performance to win 3-2.

It was, Vladimir Weiss says, "the second-best day of my life", falling narrowly behind the birth of his son. His son, of course, was also in Johannesburg, for the Weisses are a great footballing dynasty in Eastern Europe. The eldest Vladimir Weiss, the coach's father, was part of the Czechoslovakia team that won silver at the 1964 Olympic Games. Weiss the incumbent coach was a midfielder who played for Czechoslovakia at the 1990 World Cup in Italy and went on to win a dozen caps for Slovakia after the split form the Czech Republic.

The youngest Weiss is a winger who, at 20, is on the books of Manchester City, the English Premier League side, but spent last season on loan at Bolton Wanderers, and is likely to be loaned out again next season, with newly-promoted Newcastle United a potential suitor. Weiss is an undemonstrative coach, his press conferences devoid of the apercus or barbs that have made the South Americans such a joy in this tournament.

His effectiveness, though, is hardly in doubt. He took Artmedia Bratislava into the group stage of the Champions League, and then took Slovakia to their first major tournament, topping a qualifying group that, satisfyingly, included the Czech Republic. As the Czechs flirted with greatness in the early years of the century, the misconception grew up that the Czechs had always been the real power in Czechoslovak football.

In fact, when Czechoslovakia won the European Championship in 1976, the team was predominantly Slovak. If nothing else, Weiss has at least restored Slovak pride. There was discontent ahead of the Italy game, but Weiss always insisted New Zealand and Paraguay were better sides than many in his country acknowledged. "It wasn't easy," he says. "We were under pressure but to score three goals against Italy was fantastic and hopefully will change the minds of the Slovakian media."

Feeling slighted by the press, Slovakia's players refused to speak to the media after the Italy game, but Weiss had made his point. He could achieve something far greater, though, against Holland today. His side are massive underdogs in the match, but Weiss is not bothered by that. "The Dutch are a fantastic team," he says. "They have a lot of players who play in the best club teams in the world, and with good coaches. They are one of the favourites in the tournament, but you never know. It is like when we played against Italy, we have a good spirit and we must impress."

Spirit is arguably the defining feature of this Slovak team. They may have started the group slowly, but over the past two years they have given the sense of a team that is significantly greater than the sum of its parts. Robert Vittek is the classic example. He had a poor season at Lille in France last year and was loaned out to Ankaragucu, the Turkish side for whom he has now signed, but his hold-up play in this tournament has been exceptional.

There was nothing too complex about the way Slovakia played against Italy, and little reason to suppose they will do anything different against the Oranje. The back four sat deep with Juraj Kucka and Zdeno Strba holding in front of the defence - although with Strba suspended, there will have to be a change there. Vittek operates as the lone front man, foraging for the scraps from long balls and looking to create space for Marek Hamsik, Slovakia's classiest player who turns out for Napoli in Italy, breaking from midfield, with Miroslav Stoch and either Erik Jendrisek or Weiss jr motoring up and down the flanks.

Weiss is, in his typical way, quietly optimistic. "The favourites are the Dutch," he says, "like the Italians were, but you never know. We'll see." [e-mail]