Artmedia success confounds Weiss
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Article summary
FC Artmedia Petržalka coach Vladimír Weiss was in reflective mood after his side completed the Slovakian domestic double – exceeding his own expectations.
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Weiss return
A 5-4 win at FC Senec combined with MŠK Žilina's 3-1 defeat by FC Spartak Trnava ensured Artmedia ended their challengers' reign as champions. It confirmed the magic touch of Weiss, who led Artmedia to their only previous title in 2004/05 and then masterminded a memorable run past Celtic FC and FK Partizan and into the UEFA Champions League group stage, before leaving for a spell in Russia with FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast.
Historic achievement
Reappointed at Artmedia last summer, he said: "I thought one trophy would go to Žilina and the other one to us. I was mistaken. We won both titles, cup and league, and have to be happy about it. It's our first, a historic double. Žilina are also a good club, but we played more consistently." The 43-year-old was part of Czechoslovakia's last FIFA World Cup finals squad in 1990, and was delighted to confound the old axiom that coaches should never return to the scene of a previous success. "A second title is usually harder to obtain, because it's difficult to repeat something, but we did it," Weiss said.
Unbeaten run
Artmedia had trailed Žilina at the halfway point of the season but have been unbeaten after the winter break, winning eleven and drawing two of their 13 matches. That earned a UEFA Champions League first qualifying round slot for next season, with Žilina and cup runners-up Trnava in the UEFA Cup. Captain Ján Kozák, whose last-minute penalty decided the game against Senec, said: "Yes, in the first part of the competition Žilina were top but the gap between us was never large. We believed in ourselves and when we won 1-0 at Žilina [on 5 April] everything went right for us. It was a key victory. We moved top and stayed there. Victory in Senec was our last step, now we are ready to celebrate."
'Fantastic feeling'
It was an odd day for Ľuboš Kamenár, admitting that it was probably his most profligate day as a professional goalkeeper even as he was celebrating a first career title. "I am just 20," he said. "Being a No1 for such a club as Artmedia is a fantastic feeling. Being part of title celebrations is amazing too. Although I don't remember when I last conceded four goals in one match."
