2024-03-06 19:29:55
The renowned magazine The Athletic included Spartan defender Martin Vitík in a prominent list of eight young stars who can shine in Europe. At the same time, he compared the 21-year-old stopper to two English Premier League players.
In connection with the round of 16 of the European Cups, The Athletic selected eight footballers under the age of 25 who “can make us want to watch TV”.
He started with established names, pointing to the German offensive ace Florian Wirtz from Leverkusen, to the Gunner from Leipzig Lois Openda or to his Belgian compatriot Charles de Ketelaere, who is visiting from AC Milan in Atalanta.
But then he took a detailed look at Martin Vitík.
“He is the opposite of an established name, but he is extremely valued in the Czech Republic. He has already started for the national team and is expected to be in the squad for the Euros in Germany,” the author wrote, adding that an interesting confrontation for Vitík will already be Thursday’s Europa League duel against Liverpool.
If Sparta coach Brian Priske places him in the starting lineup, he will have to face the Reds’ offensive stars. Mohamed Salah’s start is uncertain, but Darwin Núñez, Luis Diaz or Cody Gakpo should not be missing from the starting line-up.
The Athletic highlighted Vitík’s 193-centimeter-tall figure, which, however, he can admirably combine with speed and pace.
“He has a similar build to Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite,” was the comparison with a similarly young talent in English football.
To emphasize Vitík’s speed, the server used footage from Sparta’s match against Betis, in which the Czech stopper impressively neutralized the fast-footed winger Abde Ezzalzouli in a speed battle.
He also excelled in aerial combat. Vitík has a rating of 73.1 percent, which ranks him third among all under-21 players this season in the Europa League.
“In addition, there is a big possibility that he will be even better as he gains strength,” the server said, also mentioning the significant progress of the Sparta stopper in recent years.
“Eighteen months ago, as a relative newcomer to Sparta’s first team, he made a terrible mistake in passing in the derby against Slavia. It would have marked a less prominent personality, but Vitík responded with elegant performances,” wrote The Athletic.
According to the author, Vitík is able to leave his position on the edge of the three-man stopper formation and move to the center of the midfield. That is why teammates at Sparta are said to compare him to Manchester City star John Stones, the England international who coach Pep Guardiola has turned into a prototype of the so-called inverted full-back.
“One of his greatest weapons is his drive forward. And he can also score himself. It is known that he still has room to improve defensively, but due to his physicality and possession skills, top European clubs are keeping an eye on him,” he described The Athletic Vitík’s potential.
The magazine mentioned that Sparta were approached by several clubs from the Netherlands last summer and that Napoli in Italy showed interest in January.
In the youth categories, Martin Vitík wore the jersey of Králova dvora or Tempo Praha. He has been in Sparta since 2017. Three years later, as a seventeen-year-old, he made his debut in the A-team in a Europa League match against Lille, then played the entire match against AC Milan. In January 2021, he made his first start in the top flight and became a stable member of the first team.