Wanderers sign Weiss from City

January 25, 2010

Bolton Wanderers announced Monday that midfielder Vladimir Weiss would join them on loan from Premier League rivals Manchester City until the end of the season.

Slovakia international Weiss becomes Owen Coyle’s first signing for the club since the manager’s controversial move from Burnley – who Bolton play in a Lancashire top-flight derby on Tuesday.

Weiss, 20, recently signed a new contract with City but has only made four first team appearances this season, scoring against Arsenal in City’s 3-0 League Cup quarter-final victory.

But with opportunities restricted at Eastlands, Weiss has made the short journey from Manchester to Bolton in a bid to get more game time and so boost his chances of being a member of Slovakia’s squad at this year’s World Cup finals in South Africa.

“Vladimir is an exciting young player who adds further options to our squad and can help to get the fans out of their seats,” Coyle told www.bwfc.co.uk.

“The fact that he has a chance of going to this year’s World Cup shows just how much ability he possesses.”

BOLTON, England (AFP)

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Weiss extends City deal

December 18, 2009

Young Slovakian star Vladimir Weiss agreed on a contract with Manchester City on Thursday, keeping the midfielder at Eastlands through the end of the 2011-12 English Premier League season.

Weiss, 20, joined the youth ranks of City in 2005 and made his first-team debut with the Blues late last season in the Premiership. Heralded by both City and Slovakia as a future star on the European football scene, Weiss has been limited to a handful of Carling Cup appearances this season.

City manager Mark Hughes said of Weiss, “He has all the attributes that…can turn matches and we look forward to his further development.”

Weiss is a third-generation Slovakian footballer, his father and grandfather of the same name both appearing for national teams over the course of their careers. Weiss’ father is the current coach of the Slovakian team that will play at this summer’s World Cup.

Weiss has appeared six times for Slovakia and is likely to be on their 23-man squad in South Africa.

Tags: attributes, Carling Cup, Eastlands, English Premier League, european football scene, further development, handful, man squad, manchester city, Mark Hughes, midfielder, premiership, six times, slovakia, slovakian, South Africa, team debut, third generation, vladimir, Vladimir Weiss, World Cup, youth ranks

Triumphant Slovaks celebrate World Cup debut

October 15, 2009

Slovakia woke to a jubilant morning on Thursday, a day after its footballers stunned rivals in the qualifying Group Three to clinch a World Cup debut in South Africa next year.

“Boys, We Love You,” read a front-page headline on the Plus jeden den tabloid, next to a picture of the Slovak team celebrating in a snowstorm that boosted their defence in their 1-0 away victory over Poland on Wednesday.

The Slovaks, led by 22-year-old Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik, capitalised on an early own goal to win the game that triggered an unprecedented party in the nation of five million people.

“All in all, we made only one mistake in this campaign — at home with Slovenia,” said coach Vladimir Weiss, pointing to last Saturday’s game that put off Slovak celebrations as the guests won 2-0 in Bratislava

“So we converted the second matchpoint,” added Weiss, who took the team over in mid-2008 to steer it through the campaign.

“A Dream Come True,” wrote the Pravda daily, while the Sport newspaper splashed a headline saying “We’re Going To Africa!” over its front page on Thursday.

“I feel terrible joy, it’s hard to describe. We are incredibly happy,” Hamsik told reporters at the Bratislava airport around 4:00 am (2:00 GMT) on Thursday amid popping champagne corks.

“We have made history,” he said.

Slovakia won the group with 22 points, ahead of Slovenia on 20 and the Czech Republic, the group’s odds-on favourite and Slovakia’s arch-rival, with 16.

The small Central European country has come a long way since the former communist Czechoslovak federation split amicably into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.

The Czechs won the status of the succession state after the split, and while they reaped the benefits in the most popular sports — football and ice-hockey — their smaller partner had to go the hard way as an unseeded struggler.

The Czechs played at the 2006 World Cup and all Euro tournaments between 1996 and 2008, while Slovakia’s biggest previous hope of qualifying came to a quick end with a defeat by Spain in the 2006 World Cup playoffs.

But the balance started to tip in Slovakia’s favour as they conquered Prague in the spring, beating the Czechs 2-1 in a key game on their way to South Africa.

The team built around Hamsik, Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel, Bochum striker Stanislav Sestak and Manchester City midfielder Vladimir Weiss — the coach’s son and Slovakia’s teenage sensation — will not however be among the favourites in South Africa.

Bookies William Hill set Slovakia’s odds to win the tournament at 150/1.

But the Slovaks have strengths such as rock-solid Legia Warsaw goalkeeper and a team spirit that off-set a lack of experience.

“We played the entire qualification like a great team,” said Sestak.

“Perhaps there were many who didn’t believe us, but we made it. The players gave it all they had, and we were also lucky,” said Weiss.

“I’m proud of the boys. This team has its quality and future, and that’s what matters.”

BRATISLAVA (AFP)